How to work from home with success!

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By qianab
User-Submitted Article

Article Rating: (6 Ratings)

Working from home is still work and it can be very challenging but the good thing is that if you are really serious about successfully managing a home business, there are some wonderful tips that can set you on the path to success.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

The ability to self manage
A positive attitude

Step 1

Get dressed for work. In the working world you probably took pride in the way you looked when you went in to the office. Very often a sharp suit could set just the right tone for your day. You had more pep in your step. You were the captain of your ship. The same thing goes when you are at home. You feel like a professional when you are dressed like a professional, and this leads to better use of your time. So, when you are taking a business call your tone and demeanor will reflect the way you are feeling about your appearance. Also, when you look like a professional, others will take your work time more seriously. Your husband and children will not be quite as prone to infringe on your work time if you are not dressed like “mommy”.
Step 2

Create and maintain a professional workspace. Your workspace needs to be just that, YOUR workspace. Your desk and computer are yours and should be treated the same way that they were treated when you worked for someone else. Were your co-workers allowed to sit at your desk, use your computer and rearrange things? Then your children and spouse should be expected to follow the same rules. Others will follow your lead on this. If your workspace is cluttered and sometimes used as a play station, it will be expected that this is the standard. Set boundaries. Your computer should not be the household computer. No games get played here. No recipes are stored here. As a matter of fact unless it’s work related you probably shouldn’t access the Internet from your work computer. Again, treat your office the same way you treated your away from home office.
Step 3

Give yourself business hours. In other words, actually GO TO WORK. I think that we all know that when you work from home it’s easy to get distracted by things in the home. For example you may want to just vacuum the floors really quick or quickly water the plants. All this does is lead to you doing other non-work related stuff. Which leads to you getting to the end of your day with no work getting done. Only work gets done during business hours. No telephones get answered. Do not answer the door. Do not schedule lunch dates or errands during this time. When you actually set aside a block of hours where nothing gets done but business, your productivity will shoot through the roof. When you set this standard for your day, others will eventually get used to it and they will stop calling and inviting during that time. And believe me that does not mean that they will stop calling and inviting all together, they will just respect you and your time more.
Step 4

Start your day with a to-do list. It’s no use getting all dressed up and heading to “the office” with nothing to do and no plans on where to start when you get there. Without any idea for what you need to get done, you leave yourself wide open to opening the door, inviting your girlfriend in for a quick coffee and being talked into a mid-day shopping trip. NOT GOOD!

Comments

angiet said

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on 11/15/2009 This is a great article! It also helps to have unlimited training and support to help you with your success. I work with a team that provides all the training and support one needs to be successful in a WAH Biz. We don't sell anything, do parties, pressure people and there's absolutely NO FNANCIAL RISK! Find out why we have been called the most powerful women on the internet in the world!
http://www.MomsWhoSucceed.com

Psalmist4M said

on 9/16/2008 Really great article. Well written and defined. 5*s

qianab said

on 9/16/2008 That is true. In my business, I do not sell any merchandise that anyone would purchase from me, but I do sell my services as an editor and writer. The same goes for consultants, they are selling their expertise.