Stay Focused While Working at Home

Once you make the decision to start your home based business, the first objective is to set up your office. Naturally this is going to be in your home and quite frankly you’re going to need to be a smidge selfish about your choice of space.

Choose the Best Location

One of the most important things that will increase your focus and productivity is the location of your home office/work space for your Home Based Business.

An ideal location for your office or work space is a separate room that is free from any noise or distractions such as the family room where the kids are playing and entertaining themselves most of the time.

Not only is having a great location of utmost importance, but choosing the right furniture and fixtures that you are comfortable with will set the tone for productivity. Your office should be well lit, with good ventilation, not a dungeon. Should your office location be in your basement area, open the blinds, let the light in and open the windows (when practical) for fresh air. Your work area should be efficient and functional, a place where you want to work. It is not recommended to have a bed in your home office, as this could encourage you to lie down and take a nap during working hours. This is your business area not your resting/sleeping area.

Being a neat freak and anal about your office is not necessary, but make sure that it remains clean and organized so that you can easily find your material and get to work. A cluttered room is a huge distraction which is not what you want.

Manage Your Time Effectively

Working at home means separating yourself from your professional life. It means maintaining a schedule so that you can find a good work and personal time balance. When your scheduled work hour ends, turn off the computer and don’t look back until the next scheduled work day.

Maintain Open Communication

Since you are working at home you will definitely encounter challenges to staying focused. Your family members and friends need to understand that being focused is very important to getting your work done. They must understand that constant distractions make you less efficient and will actually take you longer than if you have focused time. Therefore, you must communicate the need to be focused as this will enable you to achieve it and do your work well.

Take Breaks

Give yourself 5-10 minutes during the day to allow for breaks away from your business. Leave the computer, get up and walk around, stretch the legs and refresh yourself. By allowing these breaks, you can actually increase your level of focus and productivity. My advice is to schedule short breaks and let your mind wander. You can even use a kitchen timer so that you don’t go over the allotted timeframe.

Remember by staying focused you can get more done in less time and still maintain a sense of accomplishment in creating and operating your Home Based Business.