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Balancing work with home life can be difficult, especially in this age of technological advancements that have led us to being able to work from home with relative ease. If you make money while you sit around in your pajamas, however, how do you balance home time with work time? It can be a difficult art, which is why I have put together a rough guide to balancing work with life, specifically meant for small business owners or college students who study often and study hard.
Know your limits
To begin with, know how much work you are capable of doing before you will go insane. This could be expressed in hours, to-do list items, or numbers of units processed, but either way, know how much you want to do. This is a basic rule for any work, but it becomes especially important while working from home. Know how much you want to do before retiring for the day.
Know your schedule
Do you work better late at night when the kids are asleep and the parties have died off, or do you prefer to do everything first thing in the morning, before the Sun is up? Perhaps you would rather work in between, during the afternoon when it is warm and you can easily go outside to stretch your legs. Regardless, know when you do your best work and plan around that time.
No interruptions
When doing work, make sure the children are away, the phone is off, the television is muted or powered down, the Internet is unplugged (unless, of course, you work online like I do), and there will be no drop-in visits. Just like working out of the home, anything unrelated needs to be gone and out of mind, or you will be distracted and your productivity will decrease.
Have a space
Similar to dismissing the interruptions mentioned above, it is also distracting to be in the same place for all activities. If you do not have a home office, try working at the dining room table, at a desk, or on a different computer which is separate from your personal usage. If you cannot afford any of these, try a different profile on your operating system and only install useful things for that profile. Remove everything else.
Clean it up
Not only is it important to have an official work space, but it is also necessary to have a clean one. Keep pictures of family and other personal items limited as if your boss will be coming over to check it out. Act like you are in a cubicle (albeit a much more cozy one) and you will work as if you are in one. On the other hand, however, some people do not work well when they feel their surroundings are cold and lifeless. If this is the case, and that is why you are working from home, especially, you should break this rule. Just keep distractions at a minimum without hampering creativity.
End the day
Have a ritual you perform at the beginning and end of your work time. Perhaps you switch on the radio, or turn on a fan, or open the blinds. Whatever you choose, perform it at the beginning and end of every period of work. When you do this, let your mind wander to the next phase (work or play) and do not return to either until your time is through. This is the most important part and also the hardest to perform. Many working from home either work all day or play all day. Neither is healthy. In order to be successful, this step must be fulfilled.
What are your tips for keeping yourself sane while you work from home? Do you work more efficiently at night or at other times? How about your ritual? What has worked for you?
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