Working out of the house can be a daunting task. Responsibilities to the family and the home can overshadow the daily process of working. However, there are some basic steps that can be taken to ward off distractions and to increase the success of running an office out of your home.
Compartmentalize
It is important to compartmentalize work and family. When business hours are in effect, work should take precedence. Once the rules are bent, then family will ask for more of the time that is supposed to be allotted to work. It can be difficult to draw the line and remain firm on the rules you have set, but it is important to try. The more space put between home life and business, the easier it will be not to fix the faucet in the kitchen instead of contacting clients.
Spend some money on separate phone lines for your business. Be sure to have not just a phone line, but also a fax line and one for a modem. This is another easy way of increasing the separation between home life and work. Letting the answering machine pick up the family’s telephone line will also allow more time to be focused on work issues.
Organize the Office
Keep your office as organized as possible. Although the office may be in a back room in your house, it is still an office. Remaining organized will not only enable you to easily locate information, it may prevent potential disasters that are inevitable with family or pets in the office. Be sure to keep superfluous paper down to a minimum. Remember – when in doubt throw it out.
Setting up your office on the dining room table is a bad idea, and is asking for problems. If a separate office space is unavailable, then partition off a part of a room that is not in the house’s direct traffic flow. This space, once it becomes a workspace, should not be anything else. It is important for family members to understand that door or not, the office space is off limits. This understanding will help distance home and office life, making office work more productive.
Arrange furniture in the office in a way that facilitates the work that needs to be accomplished. If this means that a desk must be purchased, then do it. Make the office space conducive to productive work. Remember that even if the office doesn’t have a door, it is still the place where all of the big decisions get made.
Set Regular Office Hours
Establishing a regular pattern of office hours will help family and friends know when not to disturb you. A regular pattern of hours when the office is ‘open’ will not only deter distractions, but will also give customers a regular time frame in which to reach you without intruding on personal time. When taking breaks, let the business answering machine pick up, and return the calls when the break is over.
One woman commented on a message board discussing home office topics, “I also have established specific time frames during which I only do work. Things like laundry are out during work hours. I don’t even answer my home phone during work hours. This is a bit difficult for my husband, who is still getting used to the concept of me not being available to run errands during work hours.”
Children in the Office
If small children are around during office hours, hire a babysitter. Although it is nice to be in the house when the children are around, keep in mind that you are still at work. Having to stop a conference call to mediate a fight over a toy is not a productive working environment. If there is no way to get a babysitter on short notice, hire a neighborhood child a few years older to play with your children, but not as a babysitter. Be there for the real emergencies, but not to entertain the kids.
Working out of the home is an option that many people choose so they can be closer to their families, but it is important to not let the family get in the way of the office. Setting up basic ground rules for yourself and your family can stop problems before they start. It may be difficult at first to force the separation of work and home life, but things will function a lot smoother in the long run if the rules are non-negotiable.
Content copyright Enterprise Interactive
