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Do’s and Don’ts of Conquering Home Office Chaos

December 5, 2011 By 10 Comments

Source: Betsssssy

Someone who works in a cubicle or a corporate office can leave his or her mess at work. Yet when your business and personal life are under the same roof, it’s more difficult to keep home office chaos to a minimum. By following a few do’s and avoiding the don’ts, you can keep your home office under control.

Do

Set a schedule

When you work for yourself, it’s important to make every minute count.  Each day set a schedule, but make it flexible. If you wait for the right time to work on something, you may never get started.  Your schedule may change based on the appointments you’ve scheduled or the tasks you need to complete, so focus on the top five tasks you need to accomplish each day. Otherwise it’s easy to get sidetracked.

To read the rest of my guest post on Startup Nation, click here.

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home Tagged With: , ,

To Do or Not To Do…It’s All in the List

October 4, 2011 By 10 Comments

A good friend of mine used to use a paper-based planner to write her to-do lists.

As her business grew, she quit using her planner and switched to sticky notes that she plastered all over her monitor. Her system broke down when she started covering older notes with newer ones. She tried to improve her sticky note system by using different colored notes, but that didn’t help.

Now, instead of using her new smartphone to record tasks, she writes her top to-do’s on her hand. She admits that her “organic” way of tracking tasks is a little unreliable, especially by the middle of the day when she’s washed her hands a few times, but she’s out of ideas.

Whether you’re like my friend and you’ve exhausted all of your options, or you’ve used the same planning system for years, take a close look at how you’re planning your days. There are a few ways you can make your system more effective. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office organizing, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home Tagged With: ,

Finding the Right Time to Work When You’re Working From Home

May 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When you work from home, your family’s schedule or your clients’ time zone may affect when you work, but other than that, you can set your own hours.

Lately, though, I’ve talked with some home-based business owners who think that if they’re not working 9-5, the way they did in their corporate job, they’re probably not as productive as they should be. They say that they’re working late at night, as early at 5 a.m. or whenever they can “get into the flow.”

Last week I asked a few business owners about their work schedules. They told me that their traditional and not-so-traditional work hours work for them for a few reasons. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office organizing, Making money from home, Time mgmt./Productivity Tagged With: , ,

4 Ways to Stop Running in Place

April 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Have you ever noticed that on some days you’re incredibly productive and have something to show for all the time you’ve spent in front of your computer, while on other days not so much?

When you work for yourself, it’s easy to feel that you’re always playing catch-up or running in place. We all have days like that…some more often than others.

One of my clients described it as feeling like a hamster on a wheel. She was on the go constantly, but never accomplished anything.

There are a few ways to get off the hamster wheel.

#1. Determine what your time is worth. Are you spending time entering e-mail addresses into your contact management program, updating your Web site, or handling tasks that someone else could take care of? If so, hire someone to help you. You could hire a virtual assistant or a freelancer to take care of routine tasks that are taking you away from handling moneymaking tasks. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office organizing, Time mgmt./Productivity Tagged With: , ,

No Need to Call in Sick When You Work From Home

January 21, 2011 By 5 Comments

When my alarm went off this morning I got out of bed, took a few steps and then fell back into bed.

I feel crappy.

When you own your own business you can’t call in sick (who would you call anyway?), but in-between naps you can still handle a few tasks from your comfy bed or sofa.

That’s what I’m doing today, but first I’m going to have another cup of tea from the new mug Carrie Wilkerson, The Barefoot Executive, just sent me. (Thanks, Carrie!)

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Making money from home, Working at home Tagged With: , , ,

Your Brain May Affect Productivity More Than You Think

July 29, 2010 By

Some people think that left-brain thinkers are analytical, sequential and sometimes obsessive (I’ve been accused of all three), while right-brain thinkers are creative types who make sure nothing stifles their creativity, including organization. The saying, “If a disorganized desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what does an empty desk mean?” makes it hard to justify a clean desk. But if you’re a right-brain thinker, you can get organized.

  • Focus on one area of your life that’s organized. Think hard. There has to be something in your life that’s organized. Maybe you’re an impeccable dresser, or you keep your favorite supplies in one place. Consider everything you’re doing now to get organized, no matter how small it may be, and pat yourself on the back. Who cares if no one notices the changes you’re making? It’s your life, not theirs.
  • Consider your priorities. If something is important to you, you’ll change it.  If not, you won’t— and in some cases you shouldn’t. If you make only a few changes in the way you work, you could be more productive and maintain your creativity
  • Ask yourself why you’re having trouble getting organized. Instead of beating yourself up over missed appointments or postponed decisions about paper, face it: you may be someone who thrives in a disorganized environment.  Work around your need for a bit of disorganization and designate one place to put your keys every time you come home or figure out one place to keep track of appointments and enter them as you make them

Before you throw in the organizing towel, realize that being right-brained doesn’t doom you to a life of chaos. If you change the way you think, you’ll reduce your stress level and leave yourself open to accomplish more.

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office organizing, Home office setup, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home Tagged With: , ,

Perfect Doesn’t Mean Productive

July 23, 2010 By

Yesterday I watched a new show on the Food Network called “24 hour Restaurant Battle.” (Watching the Food Network doesn’t make me a good cook, but it inspires me to be a good cook.)  On the show, two teams have 24 hours to create and open a restaurant. The winning team earns $10,000.

In the episode I watched, the chefs on opposing teams were equally talented.  The difference was that one chef was a perfectionist.  The other had his eye on the end result: to serve good food in a timely manner.  The perfectionist spent more time on the presentation of the food — her customers wouldn’t have noticed if the lettuce wasn’t centered on the plate — and less time watching the clock.  The perfectionist lost the competition.

When you focus on making sure the slightest tasks turns out perfectly, you risk missing deadlines, annoying your clients and getting in your own way of success.  Your business can’t move forward when your need for perfection turns into an anchor that drags your business down.

The next time you can’t let something go because it’s not perfect, take the pressure off yourself and keep your eye on the big picture.

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Making money from home, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home Tagged With: , , ,
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