Home office expert's guide to working from home/home office tips
Working from a home office never felt so cool
Analysis:Clients calling at all hours, weekend showings and indecisive buyers can take their toll on any businessperson, including a realtor. This 24/7 realtor has been working from home in the same spare bedroom for 16 years. She was fine working in her “creative” space until some important papers got lost in the shuffle (literally). [Read more...]
To the right of my desk is a metal sign that reads, “It’s all about you.” It makes me smile when I look at it because it’s something I say to others while kidding around, but it also reminds me to do something for myself every day and not take myself too seriously.
When you’re working from home, especially when you’re working by yourself without anyone around to encourage you, you may need a little extra push. Whether it’s a funny cartoon, a famous quote, or photos from your last trip, find something that inspires you to keep working, get new clients or even go on vacation more often. [Read more...]
When I research home offices for the All Dressed Up page and look through photos readers submit, I get inspired to change my own home office…again. The photos have the same effect on some readers, while others feel they can’t do anything to change their home office.
If you want to change your home office, you can, and you don’t have to spend a fortune. The right rug, furniture and even accessories can affect the look and function of your space.
Some home offices reflect what their owners do, and when you look at Julie Fountain’s home office/studio with its colorful walls and containers overflowing with supplies, it’s clear she runs a creative, artistic business. As a lampworker and the owner of Lush Lampwork, Julie melts glass to make stunning beads and buttons. Checking out the designs on her Web site is like being a kid in a glass bead candy store.
For three years she worked in her covered porch but after she outgrew it, she hired a builder to convert her garage into a studio. Her 9′ x 13′ studio has a partition wall almost 5′ back from the overhead door, which leaves her with room for a general storage area.
Julie encourages visitors — students and past students come back to rent the equipment and work on their own projects — to bypass her house and come through the side gate, wh
ich brings them into a little graveled yard area. The studio door and window also open into the yard.
Across from her desk is a long work counter with a wavy mirror above it, and plenty of room below it to store equipment. The chrome stools with adjustable seats tuck out of the way when not being used.
Along with making jewelry and teaching lampworking to beginner and intermediate students, Julie travels to other studios to teach larger groups. That’s a longer commute than the few steps from her back door to her studio.
Two years ago, Steve Reilly, a home-based architect and the founder of SLR Architecture, traded his home office for a nursery when his second child was born. He needed a new place to work. Faced with a choice between commuting to an office and paying $1,500 to $2,000 per month, or creating his own place to work, he chose the latter.
While Steve created his new home office — a small building in his backyard — he considered a few factors including how much space he truly needed, how he would build it and what materials he would use. Budget was also an important part of the equation. [Read more...]
I’ve made a career out of helping people organize their home offices, make better use of time and avoid the pitfalls of working from home. Some home office professionals I meet are very organized, while others are so frustrated about the way their home office looks, they work in their kitchen or family room instead.
Last week, I gave a seminar to an incredible group of business owners and after the session I spoke to a few of the attendees.
One woman stood out.
She waited until everyone had left the room and then sheepishly admitted to me that her home office was a disaster. She was ashamed, upset and convinced she was a failure. [Read more...]
I wish there were more hours in the day.
If I can work on something a little longer, I know it will be perfect.
As soon as I finish this project, I’ll have more time for family, friends, and even more projects.
Does that sound familiar? I thought that way for years until I realized that I can’t do everything and that actually, I shouldn’t. I was focusing more on how much I could accomplish instead of what I should accomplish. [Read more...]
You know that deer in the headlights look that people get when they’re scared? Sometimes my clients get the same look when they think about making changes to their home office. They feel overwhelmed and they don’t know where to start. It’s definitely normal and understandable.
Transforming the look and function of your home office can be a challenge and definitely intimidating. While you can’t change everything about your home office in one day, there are a few simple things you can do now to make your home office more productive. [Read more...]
Some people spend New Year’s weekend relaxing, thinking about what’s ahead and maybe even nursing a hangover from the best New Year’s party ever. Not business and marketing coach, Debbie LaChusa.
Over the New Year’s weekend, she “seriously decluttered, repainted and redecorated” her home office.
The medals she earned from two marathons, the Minnie Mouse drawing by her daughter and the SUCCESS magazine [Read more...]
I have a “when I feel like it” list. It includes a few things I need to do like order books, check out a few new iPhone apps and figure out how to use InDesign.
It’s sort of a dumping ground for all of the little tasks I want to do but haven’t had the time to do. Nothing on the list is ever as time sensitive as the things on my daily To Do list, so I list them separately and figure I’ll get to the tasks eventually.
You may not realize that you have a “when I feel like it list.” Take a close look at your To Do list and pull out the tasks you’ve been moving forward for months. Then create a new list of things [Read more...]
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