Is Your Home Office Working For You?

10 replies
Many entrepreneurs believe that planning and researching are vital to starting a home business. A lot of people forget that fact that it is just as important to apply that particular concept to your home work area.
You may have seen some TV show talking about the little things such as the way your desk is facing or having a plant in your office. If you take some time and apply a dash of effort to your work area you can absolutely maximize your daily productivity.
WHERE?
You have to have an office that is free of distraction. The living room or the bedroom is not the best choice unless you are temporarily limited to those areas. Some folks live in studios so they may have to be really creative. Placing your desk under your window is not a bad idea unless your backyard needs some work and the pool filled with leaves is asking you to come outside and clean it.
COMFY YET?
You have to be comfortable. Sure you can get that unique vintage chair that you saw at Pier 1 Imports but maybe your back and your butt goes numb in less than 12 minutes demanding you invest in something with a little more cushion for your cushion. My recommendations are desk chairs from IKEA, Target, and the really nice ones from Wal-Mart.
Make sure that your phone and computer are in their right positions. If you are on the computer mostly then have your monitor directly in front of you on the desk. If you use the phone a lot for work then have it within arms reach at alll times. It is highly recommended that you invest in a headset. I did and so should you. I will let your borrow my old one if you need it.
ORGANIZED?
How about those bulletin boards? Do you use those or do you prefer having your things to do list on your computer?
Some are old fashion and prefer to simply write their tasks on their notepad. How about your filing system? We all agree less is more so make sure that you get rid of the hard copies you do not need. Things tend to pile up so a conducting this task on a weekly basis is not a bad idea. Waiting to do it once a month will have at least half your day shot since you will spend a couple of hours telling your shredder to hurry up. Take the time to preserve your time, OK?
MOTIVATED YET?
Last but not least is the motivation factor. Many established leaders post imaged or photos of their dream vacation or dream lifestyle to add a pep in their step. It does not have to be a giant poster of a ferarri or a fancy multi billion dollar yacht. Use tact and professionalism just in case you do business in person at your office. Many parents have pictures of their kids on their desk to remind them of their purpose to get to the next level in business. You can even have " $15,000,000 on a yellow sticky. Having these types of motivational images in your office will help you stay on the right track!
To your success my friend, and remember...You are good enough. You are smart enough. And doggonit, people like you!
#7. figure #home #networker #office #working
  • Profile picture of the author Rich Struck
    I have a home office and I hate it, there are too many distractions. I want to rent an office but we are in a rural area and there isn't much close by.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kenster
      Originally Posted by Rich Struck View Post

      I have a home office and I hate it, there are too many distractions. I want to rent an office but we are in a rural area and there isn't much close by.

      I have a home office and it takes dicipline, but I'm able to get my stuff done. This is my trick...no tv, got rid of that a while ago. No games or anything on my work computer. My work computer is my work computer. If I want to check personal email, I literally walk out to my regular computer and do it there, just because I promised myself not to do anything personal in my home office.

      White board is critical, use this daily

      Have a plant, does it help, who knows...def doesnt provide oxygen cuz its fake

      have couches...its comfy, this helps when I am doing creative thinking



      In sum, it works for me. Took a lot of discipline but now its literally just an office that happens to be in my home
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  • Profile picture of the author Heidi White
    My office is portable. I was out in the living room all day, but my roomates back watching TV - so I've retreated to the bedroom. All I need is my laptop, an outlet, and a place to put my diet coke.
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  • Profile picture of the author ppbiz
    The home office works for me.

    I tried office space for a while- mainly because my home was too cramped in order for me to feel comfortable. Then we moved and our place had the perfect area for me to spread out and set up camp. I found I was going into the office less and less so eventually gave it up.

    I do have a discipline problem- but it is that i find it difficult to STOP working and focus on real life (Dave and my son Max) at the end of the day if I have a project that I am working on. When i had the office it was kind of easier to "leave it at work".

    It is much more comfortable at home and does allow more flexibility... so 1 vote for the home office from me :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author ksburgess
    I like my home office a lot and I have absolutely no desire to be outside of my home. However, I will be hiring a "mother's helper" to keep my little ones happy for a couple of hours on weekday afternoons soon, I think. That will let me work and they will really enjoy it. Otherwise, I work before they wake up and after they go to bed and that goes really well.

    My home office works very well for my lifestyle other than the couple of hours I want to work in the afternoon - for some reason spending all morning long with mom's attention is never enough (but in reality, this is only an issue right now... as soon as the weather warms up my kids will spend all afternoon outside)
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  • yea the home office thing is not working for me to many distractions
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    • Profile picture of the author dljmktg1
      Works great for me.

      But my wife teaches and is gone all day, and my daughter is off at college. So, I have the house to myself all day.


      Dan
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    Works somewhat well for me. I live alone, so I don't have roommates around to distract me from my work. I first worked out of my bedroom, but that didn't work out so well as that's where my TV is located. Furthermore, I didn't have appropriate seating in my bedroom, and I was seated on my bed with my laptop on a little movable computer desk on the edge of it. It wasn't the best in terms of ergonomics and the seating would cause me to have back and neck aches.

    I then moved to the living room, and used a regular chair and desk, and that seems to be working out quite well. There is a clearer delineation between work and leisure now, and I think I'll get the hang of this arrangement soon. Eventually I plan to have a coworking space that will help even more with the separation between work and leisure, but I'm quite happy with what I have at the moment.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tron2k
    works for me! if i get to distracted i go sit out by the pool.
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    • Profile picture of the author RellieLorenzo
      Thanks for sharing your personal "home officie" sitatuations. I really do enjoy hearing about how others stay productive.
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