This series of articles will focus on the reasons we work at home, the challenges we face, and things that enhance the work at home lifestyle. I've discovered so many things that help me work online and enjoy a professional office at home, and many of them are for pure enjoyment. That's why I work at home in the first place!
For example, I got up this morning, had coffe with my husband and chatted until about 9:00, then I washed the dishes, got dressed, threw a load of laundry in the wash... and settled down to check email about 10:00 am. That's what I call a great morning, and a perfect schedule for me. Your hours may be different - if you're a morning person, you'll probably get started hours ahead of me, and you'll be finished long before I start my "night shift."
I prefer a quick once-over in the morning, then a long, long break all afternoon. My kids homeschool, and that's when we do their lessons. They're not morning people, either! For a few hours after they finish, we play with our exotic parrots, the kids ride four-wheelers in the country around our campground, and I often spend the quiet time in the afternoon reading, researching, or watching a movie. At night... that's when I set the world on fire at my "home office."
Being able to schedule my work around my "peak times" and "bad mornings" is my favorite thing about working at home, but other parts of it are very important to me, too.
One of the best things is working with a laptop. I can take it anywhere - and I do. We're at our winter home right now, on beautiful Lake Bruin in Louisiana, and when the weather is nice, I just take the laptop outside, wi-fi button turned on, and I work on my creative ideas while I watch the clouds drift over the lake. The sound of wind chimes is soothing in the background, and those are the times when I think, "This is the life!"
Other times, the phone rings, it's someone with a big ad agency that I am dying to get together with, and the dog starts barking, the parrots begin to riot, and the kids come crashing into the room arguing... and those are times when I think, "I wish I were at the office!" But truth be told... I'll never go back. Even with the challenges of working from home, it's well worth it.
There are just a few things I would strongly recommend to anyone just getting started with a home office:
With just the most basic office set up, you can accomplish anything, but from the very beginning, you're going to have to draw some lines in the sand. If you want to work at home to enhance your life - don't forget to enhance your life! Here are a few guidelines below, to help you balance work and family life. You MUST separate the two, at least a little.
That's just the tip of the iceberg about HOW to work at home, and future articles will cover where to get office supplies, how to work from home in rural areas, great services available to small, small businesses, and much more.
For now, just create your own world wherever you can. Get started - that's the important thing. The rest is a matter of taste and lifestyle - and it's a work-at-home lifestyle that is uniquely yours!
Your Work at Home Coach, Anne Pierson