Day 2, Thursday: Educate us on something you know a lot about or are good at. Take any approach you'd like (serious and educational or funny and sarcastic)
I
am about to celebrate one year at my current job (longer than I’ve ever stayed
with one employer) and this also means that I have been working from home for a
year.
Let
me just say… it is much different than I ever expected it to be.
I
have learned a lot and have a few tips for anyone who may ever spend time
working from their home office, whether for a few hours or long-term, follow
these tips and I guarantee you will be more successful. 
Tip 1: Isolate yourself.
While
it’s not the most fun tip out there, it is one of the most important. If you
have an extra room in your house, USE IT! Close the door, don’t let your
husband, kids and yes, even your adorable pups into the room. Arrange care for
your children, make sure your friends and neighbors know not to bother you. Leave
your cell-phone accessible for emergencies but away from your immediate view.
This is your work-space. You wouldn’t bring your entire household to your
office job, would you?
Tip 2: Make your “office”
exactly that and only that, as well as a space where you want to spend time.
If
this means decking the room out in your favorite colors, special supplies or
organization: make sure your “office” space is somewhere you are happy to lock
yourself away for a few hours. Put up pictures of your kids or pups or
whomever. Just make sure you are in
love with your space. Trust me this will really help you want to work.
Tip 3: Focus on one
task at a time.
Keep
your work-space organized, and most importantly focused. If you have 1000
different things on your desk you are more likely to get distracted. Few will
admit it but everyone knows that if you try to divide your focus you are way
less likely to get things done, especially not in a timely manner. And yes,
this does mean keeping facebook and twitter closed while you are working.
Tip 4: Set designated
hours for work.
If
you are like me this might be non-negotiable so it’s easy; my shifts are
scheduled for me. Otherwise, if you know you have all day to get a few hours of
work done, set yourself aside a specific time frame (this should be the same
every day if it’s a repeating scenario) so you can make sure you get your work
accomplished in a timely manner.
Tip 5: Check your
technology before you are set to start working.
I
can’t tell you how many times I have gone to log on for work and my phone-line
has been dead or my wireless internet hasn’t been working. Make sure that you have
your provider’s number handy as well as your account information so you can get
answers as quickly as possible as to when you will be back up and running. And
this brings me to tip 6…
Tip 6: Have a reliable
back-up plan
This
one might be the most obvious but also the most important. If your services are
going to be down indefinitely, or if your computer crashes, your power is out,
whatever the situation… You NEED to have an alternate plan. If this means going
into your work-place or having an alternative computer accessible, make sure
that there wouldn’t be any surprises if you actually needed to us these
services. Most employers that allow you to work from home will already have a
contingency plan set up like for this, but definitely make sure you have one as
well. This might also mean access to transportation or an arrangement for
emergency child-care if that applies to your situation.
So there you have it! 6 tips to help you be more successful when you have the privelege to work from home!Head over to Story Of My Life to linkup for the Blog Every Day in May Challenge to share your post for day 2!
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