Working at Home is Not for Everyone

One of the most difficult aspects of working at home is to really focus on what needs to be done for the business. There are so many other things that need to get done, like yard work, laundry, and child care that some days you realize the day is gone and you did not get anything done for your business.

How can you work at home and focus on your business when there are interesting things to watch on television, or snow to shovel off the driveway, or the phone is constantly ringing?

Some people are not able to work at home, and the only choice for them is to get a small office somewhere away from home as soon as they can afford it. But for those who could get work done, there are some things they can do to minimize distractions.

First, set a certain time each day when you will focus on your business. Let the family know that this is your time to work and that you must not be disturbed.

That can be hard for children to understand, especially young children. One woman was able to make a game of it.

She told her children that if they let her focus on making sales calls from her home office, that every time she made a sale she would put a quarter in a jar. When there were enough quarters in the jar, the entire family would go out for pizza or to a movie.

That idea worked great for her. It was a reward for the entire family. It got to the point where the children could hardly wait for their mom to go into her office and make some calls.

But what do you do with a phone that hardly stops ringing. You don't want to miss a call that might be your child trying to get a hold of you for an emergency.

The simple solution is to get an answering machine or voice mail. That will take care of 99% of the calls.

For family emergencies make sure your children and spouse know your cell phone number, and then keep your cell phone with you. Also, let them know that during your work hours they should only call for emergencies, the same as they would do if you had an office job.

What About the Neighbors?

Neighbors and friends can pose problems, too. They often think that because you are home you must be free to be involved in all sorts of activities or to chat.

This can be one of the hardest things to deal with, but you must somehow make them understand that you are working at home and that you are not retired. Most people can understand that, especially today when more and more people are working at home.

Are You the Type to Work at Home?

Basically, it takes a certain kind of person to be able to work at home. Not everyone can do it. You have to be able to view it as if you were going to an office job and be able to diligently guard your work time.

You have to be able to forget all the other things that need to be done around the house and focus strictly on what needs to be done to grow your business for a certain number of hours every work day. If you cannot do this, don't feel bad. As soon as you can afford it, go out and rent office space.