Balancing home/office Life

Know-it-Alls Don’t Know What They’re Missing

February 24, 2011 By Lisa 2 Comments

I have a friend who knows everything.

Well, she thinks she does.

If you can stand being around her you have to ignore her “I knew that” comments and try not to roll your eyes. Her “No, you have to do that another way” suggestions can put anyone over the edge.

You probably know someone like that. We all do. Without realizing it, you may be spending less time with someone who knows it all and more time with those who don’t.

What a know-it-all doesn’t realize is that her or she is missing out on a few things.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Working at home Tagged With: know-it-alls

Being a Perfectionist Can Keep You From Being Organized

February 3, 2011 By Lisa 3 Comments

Back when I was in the corporate world as an event planner, I worked for a boss who was a perfectionist. She revised proposals until they were perfect and almost missed a few deadlines.

On the day of events, she would drive the set-up crews crazy. Everything was set up according to our plans, but she still didn’t think the set-up was perfect. She focused on the small details of each event and forgot about the parts of the event that really mattered.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Working at home Tagged With: Perfectionist, working from home

Do What You Love, But Make Money Doing it

November 12, 2010 By Lisa

How many times have you heard someone say, ”Do what you love and the money will come?” I know I’ve said that to others, but after reading an article by Chris Guillebeau, author of The Art of Non-Conformity, I’ve changed my thinking a bit. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life Tagged With: Chris Guillebeau, small business tips, The Art of Non-Conformity

Ways to Tighten Your Belt to Fit Your Budget

November 5, 2010 By Lisa

When you’re a small business owner, you need to watch your bottom line. Considering that most of us don’t have the same large budgets as our corporate counterparts, saving money can be as important as saving time. Consider these five ways to save money while working from home.

1. Use an all-in-one machine. Rather than use separate machines to print, copy, scan and fax, use one machine to handle all of those tasks. You’ll save money and space.

2. Buy supplies ahead of time. When you have to buy supplies late at night or last-minute, you’ll pay a premium. Stock up on paper, printer cartridges and any other supplies you use often. Don’t buy more than you can store, but buy [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life Tagged With: Home Office Tips, Saving money, working from home

5 Antidotes to Hating Home Working

November 3, 2010 By Lisa

Guest post by Judy Heminsley

I wrote recently about 5 reasons to hate working from home and a lot of people seemed to identify with them all. But the best thing about home working is that you’re the one in charge, and so you can plan your life to minimize the pitfalls and make the most of the possibilities. Here are my suggested antidotes: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home Tagged With: Home Office Tips, Judy Heminsley, working from home

Set Your Own Rules and Live Your Own Life

November 1, 2010 By Lisa

I used to read dozens of books each year. I’d read one book at a time and wouldn’t pick up another book until I’d finished the first one. Then my business, personal tasks and life in general, got in the way.

Now at any one time, I’m usually in the middle of two or three books. That was until I read The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau, from start to finish. Without sounding too dramatic, this book has changed the way I view my life and my business. It’s all about taking risks, doing what you feel is right, instead of doing what everyone expects of you, and taking the “live each day like it’s your last” approach to life.

Without sounding preachy, Guillebeau shares the life lessons he’s learned by traveling around the world, putting money and possessions aside, and finding meaning in everything he does. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life Tagged With: Chris Guillebeau, The Art of Non-Conformity

Decluttering Your Home Office Can be Freeing

October 29, 2010 By Lisa

The trend for “living small” continues to grow. That includes less square footage, less expenses and less stuff.

Until I downsized a few years ago, I didn’t understand what people meant when they described how freeing it was to live small.

They were right.

In the past two years, I haven’t missed the stupidly high property taxes, outrageous utility bills and all of the other things I left behind in my old house. Now I’m the one saying that living with less can be freeing…and I’m saying it often. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office organizing Tagged With: decluttering your home office, Home office organizing, working from home

You CAN Take it With You, But What Would You Take?

October 27, 2010 By Lisa

In one of my favorite “brain candy” movies, The Jerk, Steve Martin leaves his house (with his pants around his ankles) upset and a broken man. As he walks to the door, he picks up things to take with him. Each time he reaches for something he says, “All I need is my thermos…my lamp…my chair…” and so on.

If I had to leave my house (with my pants on, of course), there are a few things I couldn’t leave behind. Although a few would be physically impossible to take without a little help, I’d have to take my:

iPhone. I’m addicted to this second brain of mine that makes my life so much easier. Between the calendar — the alarm feature keeps me from missing [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office products, Home office setup, Home office technology Tagged With: Home office products, Home Office Tips, iPad, iphone, MacBook, working from home

Time to Hire a Virtual Assistant?

October 25, 2010 By Lisa

Guest post by Jessica Maes

As a Virtual Assistant, I work directly with small businesses to support their business efforts. A byproduct of doing this is that I have the opportunity to observe small businesses up close and I notice certain tendencies that other people may not notice.

Small business owners try to do everything in their business. Often it is because they don’t think they can afford assistance, and sometimes they think that delegating would require an employee. An employee is something they don’t want to take on.

Some business owners can’t afford not to have assistance in their business. Time is money and when you spend time on parts of your business that you don’t enjoy or aren’t your strengths, you miss out on time that you could spend doing work you love that will generate revenue for your business. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office organizing, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home Tagged With: hiring home office help, Home Office Tips, Jessica Maes, Virtual assistant

How to Make Working From Home More Interesting

October 22, 2010 By Lisa

I love working from home. My no-commute arrangement gives me the freedom to work whenever I want. But sometimes all that freedom can be incredibly boring. Sure, social media can adds a little spice to each day, but there have to be other ways to make working from home more interesting.

Wendy Sullivan, freelance writer and blogger, takes a more creative approach to beating boredom by celebrating Topless Wednesday and No Pants Friday. (She takes Working Naked to a whole new level!) Her not-so-G-rated approach to working from home inspired me to find out what other home office pros do to fight home office boredom.

– Music. I max out my free 40 hours of Pandora within the first week of the month.
- Twitter. Lame, but it does make you feel somewhat like you’re talking to people.
- Hula hooping. I have a client who teaches hula hoop classes. It’s so much fun, so from time to time I hula hoop in the middle of the day.

—Sarah Early, dodeline design [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office design, Making money from home, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home Tagged With: fighting home office boredom, Pandora, Small business, Twitter, working from home