Taking the Home Out of “Home Office”
One of the most appealing aspects of being a freelance professional is the opportunity to work from home. I know it was a real lure for me when I got started about a gazillion years ago.
However, I’ve since found that a home office can be both a blessing and a curse.
Sure, there are a lot of advantages. (Like being able to stay in your pyjamas until noon.)
But if you’re not careful, the “home” in home office can have a disastrous impact on your productivity. Think of all the wonderful things that are so temptingly close by. The kids… the television… the refrigerator. It’s all too easy to get sidetracked.
Just last week I was chatting with a fellow home office dweller about this very topic. She said, “Yesterday, I went to the kitchen to make myself a coffee and, before I realized it, I was putting away some dishes, wiping the countertops and flipping through the newspaper. A five minute coffee break turned into a half an hour!”
So how do you avoid the built-in distractions of a home office so you don’t fall behind on important projects? Here’s what works for me:
- Keep office hours. If you plan to work from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., don’t do anything else but work. Don’t answer your house phone. Don’t check the mail. Don’t catch a few minutes of Oprah. Pretend your office is far from home, on the other side of town.
- Set the rules. Make sure everyone in your family understands that when you’re working, you cannot be disturbed. In his book, Six Steps to One Million Dollars, Gordon Pape tells the story of having a special code for his home office. Door open: I can be interrupted. Door slightly ajar: Interrupt me only if it’s important. Door closed: Unless there’s a fire, please don’t disturb me!
- Don’t juggle. Avoid trying to make dinner and sketch out ideas for a client’s brochure at the same time. You’ll only spill the sauce and mess up the drawing. Keep home stuff separate from work stuff.
- Be disciplined. A house is filled with tempting diversions. I know that when I’m up against a tight deadline with a client project, I suddenly get the burning desire to do just about anything else — like cleaning the toilets. Be your own tough boss. The more productive you are in your home office, the more time you will have later on for family and hobbies.
- Stock up. Make sure you have plenty of supplies, such as forms, paper, printer cartridges, etc. Nothing kills home office productivity quite like running out of an important necessity, like paperclips. (And if there’s a Starbucks on the way to Staples, you’re in real trouble!)
Go ahead and enjoy working from home. I certainly do. Just don’t forget that the most important word in “home office” is office.
Selene M. Bowlby says:
July 1st, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Great advice! It’s really so difficult to work at home sometimes because of all the distractions.
Of course, I also have the other issue… of being on ME time or FAMILY time, and having to fight an overwhelming urge to check my email “one last time” or work on a client file for “just one minute” etc. It must be psychological, but I find (sometimes) when I close the office door I’m less likely to go in for “one quick check” than when it’s wide open.
Still incredibly difficult, though, LOL. I’m on my 3rd week after taking the freelance plunge, so I’m working on setting up all my specific rules and office hours, etc. It’ll take a while of getting used to, but I absolutely LOVE the freelance life (and hope I’m a wealthy one soon - in the full sense of the word!)