Working from home is NOT glamours like you see in the movies…
Most think that working from home is a luxury. You get to wake up when you want, work in your PJ’s, no commute, no traffic, no money spent on gas, lunch money saved, and you get naptime as if you were in preschool. Those things I have learned easily become your curse instead of your blessing.
I am a mother of 2 and I work my business from home. My 6-month-old son stays home with me full time so I have to work and be a mom to him at the same damn time. I get so many messages on how I balance my two lives and make it look easy. I came up with four simple tips that help me stay productive since I am working from home.
1. Get dressed as if you have a 9-5
Working in your PJ’s the first week you work from home is life but after that high is over, you develop a pattern of always working in your PJ’s. You become unproductive and lazy because you have not fully prepared yourself. It is so true that when you look good, you feel good which makes you perform better. Stop working in your PJ’s and get dressed all up like you have a job to go too because you do. It just so happens to be your own business that you work from home.
I comb my hair, I beat this face, I wear cute clothes, and I get all dolled up to go to work. You don’t work from home, you work from the office that just so happens to be in your home. Change your mindset.
I wake up 30 minutes earlier than my children so I can get myself ready. At 8:30 am when I drop my 5-year-old off at kindergarten, I am cute in my office with my laptop and coffee ready to start my job at 9:00 am.
2. Create a top 3 to-do list
Life happens but life really happens when you work from home with children. I can’t control if my 6-month-old wants to be a whiny brat all day and all he wants to do is be held and cuddle. So, I come up with my top 3 things that I MUST get done that day. I have my day planned by the hour but my main priority is completing my top 3 task so just in case my 6 months old decides that he wants to be king of the day, I am covered. When my 5-year-old and/or husband comes home or when my son goes to sleep I can start to work on the other things on my list that I didn’t get to tackle earlier.
I also wake up in the middle of the night and many times I can’t go back to sleep so I will work on my top 3 things to get ahead in my day. So make your list before you go to bed.
3. Work in an uncomfortable setting
Don’t work from your bed, the coach, in front of the TV, or any other place in your house where you can get comfy because you will get tired and see a good place to take a nap in your house and sleep will be your business for that day. Don’t set yourself up for failure because it will work and you will be mad when you wake up. Work from your desk or at your kitchen table. If you were at a job, you would be working at a desk not your bed to act as if you are at a job
4. Buy cute stuff
Cute notebooks and pens motivate me to be productive. Get you some cute stuff that you like for your workspace to make it your own. If you were at a job, you would decorate your cubicle with pictures of your family. You also use your pink pens/pencils, glitter notebooks, and inspirational quotes so do the same thing for your home workspace. You need that décor to keep you motivated.
I had an office space in downtown Chicago on the 21st floor. So, working from my office and working from home was a major adjustment. Having a new baby though and wanted to stay home with him and take my daughter to and from school. The fact that I am saving the $1,200 a month bill that I was spending on rent. I save money that I won’t have to spend on daycare for my son and afterschool care for my daughter is a definite win. Working for the home requires discipline if you plan to produce as if you weren’t at home. I run my home-based business as the cooperation that I am. Working from home has major perks but you don’t want to turn perks into an everyday ritual. If you need a 15-minute power nap, take one but don’t turn that into a 3-hour sleeping session.
