Working from home can be very beneficial, but there are also downfalls that can hinder your success if you don’t know how to handle them. Use the following guide to help you keep on track and make working from home a complete success:

Do: Stay in the land of the living
What does this mean? This means getting dressed instead of staying in your pyjamas all day. You don’t have to dress up, but you need to change your clothes to switch out of bedtime and into the work day. Secondly, open the curtains. Let the natural light in. Don’t stay cooped up in the dark all day long. Natural light will help keep your mood up and keep you alert. If the weather permits let the fresh air in too. You’re a writer, this doesn’t mean you have to hide yourself away and become a complete slob.

Don’t: Take personal calls during work hours
Working from home often makes friends and family think that since you’re home you can take calls at leisure and catch up on your work later. They might call you during their lunch hour at work and expect you to adjust your schedule because this is their only time to talk. Maybe your mother is retired and likes to call you during the day and chat. If you’ve already explained to your loved ones that you can’t take phone calls during your work hours, but they still call, this might be a good time to invest in an answering machine. If you can afford it call display is even better since you might get calls from work that you need to take. Expect that some people will get offended that you don’t answer the phone when they know you’re home. Call them back when your work is done.

Do: Take a lunch hour
Working for 8 straight hours straight and alone might start to drive you a little nutty. Take a break for lunch each day. Get out for a short walk. Eat lunch in the park. Do some personal reading. Do anything but work. You deserve a break. If you can swing it, meet up with someone else who works from home so that you both get out and have human contact. You’ll feel better for it.

Don’t: Check your e-mail too often
E-mail can certainly be additive, fun even, but it can also become very time consuming. Stick to a plan when it comes to your e-mail. If you get a lot of e-mail for work you might want to check it every few hours. If you don’t usually get a lot of work related e-mail each day you can probably stick to checking your e-mail 3 times each day, once in the morning, the afternoon, and at the end of your work day. The important thing to remember is that anyone can wait 12 hours for a reply to an e-mail, so don’t rush yourself or feel anxious to reply right away to e-mail. Personal e-mails can wait longer than work related e-mail. Don’t feel guilty for replying to a friend two days after her e-mail to you. That’s nothing. Another rule of thumb for e-mail is to only open an e-mail when you have time to reply to it. Opening and reading all of your e-mail and then only replying to one is a waste of time.

Do: Have a proper workspace
Placing your workspace in the perfect place can make a lot of difference in how productive you are. If you are in or close to the living room or kitchen you may end up doing things such as dishes, vacuuming, watching a little TV, washing windows, laundry. It always seems to be during the work hours that we “remember” all the chores we need to do. Fight this urge by placing your workspace away from tempting areas. No matter where your workspace is though, remember to keep it your workspace. Do what you can to keep it free of unrelated items (I.e. clothes/toys). Get others into respecting your work area as well. You want this to be the place that you feel good going to every morning.

Don’t: Overwork
If you can manage to work efficiently during your work day, you won’t have to work after hours or on weekends. You can spend that time with family and friends. Getting out of the house during your off hours will also help you to work better at home, because you won’t feel as isolated when you are working inside for 8 hours. Staying home and working 24/7 is enough to make anyone crazy.

by April Aragam

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