Working From Home: 5 Essential Tips
No one likes driving to an office or making a long commute to and from work each day. Not only does it waste time and gas, but it also takes away from precious time you could be doing other things like spending time with your family, relaxing, or just doing absolutely nothing at all. A recent survey from Stanford University revealed that more than 10 percent of all U.S. employees now work from home. That’s the dream though, isn’t it? You get to be your own boss. You can sit around in your pajamas all day — whatever you want! Of course, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. During an interview with Glassdoor, the founder of Jobacle.com made a comment about working from home that applies to a great many people: “losing the structure provided by a regular office job can be detrimental to success.” Working from home can be difficult for a lot of reasons, but let’s not dwell on the negatives here. Instead, let’s focus on some of the top ways you can stay productive when working from home. Read on for some key strategies and tips for working from home, so you can keep your head on straight and your stress levels in check. 1. Create a set schedule The worst thing you can do when working from home is to fail to define the clock-in and clock-out times during the week. You don’t have to work the 9-to-5 grind unless you want to. But even if you’re more of a night owl, you need to set the hours and stick to that routine. If you don’t set work hours, you’ll find yourself pulling long nights every day — and you’ll end up burning yourself out early on in the week. 2. Ensure minimal interruptions It’s hard to treat your home or makeshift office like a workspace, but it needs to be treated as such. If you worked in an office, you wouldn’t be interrupted by kids, family members, or even dogs and cats, would you? When working from home, it’s hard for these people (and pets) in your life to understand that you still can’t be interrupted for every little thing and still get your work done. Have a conversation with your friends and family about keeping their questions and comments to you at a minimum during your working hours. It’s important that you do this delicately so as not to insult them or come across as demanding. Use real world examples like an actual office job or an off-site position to showcase the kind of environment you need when working from home. As far as Fido goes: he may not understand English, but a good bone should keep him busy for a while.