Balancing Work & Home While Working At Home From A Pro

By Eileen Kent

So you've set up your office in a spare bedroom and you're balancing your job responsibilities with your home responsibilities and all the interruptions that go along with working at home.

Many executives struggle with the "pull" of family members while trying to get work done and these family members come in all shapes and sizes.

But don't lose heart - it is possible to create a space that all will work in harmony but it will take a little bit of training and establishing boundaries....and the training starts with you.

#1. Keep to a routine. Get up when you usually get up to go to work and face traffic. You will follow your normal morning routine to get you into your game. Put on the same type of clothes you wear to work and eat exactly the same way you eat in the morning on your way to work.

#2. If you take the train and this is typically your best "alone time" - then take 20-40 minutes to sit and read - the news or a favorite book - just like you would on the train. Don't deny yourself this luxury.

#3. Find a separate space in the house for your office. If you can spare a room - close the door behind you - and settle into work just as you would at your desk. Bring your favorite water or coffee as you would at work so you don't get interrupted to go to the kitchen and refill. The family water cooler conversations are going to be a lot longer and a lot more distracting than they would at work, so keep the trips out of your work space to a minimum. If you have a project due, find a hat or glasses or a lamp to set the tone in your office of focus and quiet. I like to wear a baseball cap when it's time to focus and finish a project because I played shortstop and can zero in on a target and hit it exactly center....even as a 56-year-old I can pretty much hit a spot when I'm in my "zone" so a baseball cap helps me to get in my highly focused "winning mode."

#4. Allow for mini breaks - to stretch, to open a window and listen to the ambient sound outside and breathe in the fresh air. Take a minute to visit with your pet or your child or play an instrument, but keep the time frame for these visits and the amount of playtime to be exactly the same amount of time each day - and around the same times each day. 10:30 and 3 are good 30 minute break times. Put these breaks into your schedule and set your alarm for them, so you don't leave someone waiting for you and they learn your routine. The alarm on your phone will be a most important tool when working at home.

#5. If you have an office pet, tell your co-workers on the phone that they may hear a "hello" from the office pet during calls, If it is a large dog, try to keep that dog out of earshot of the phone because barking can be very disruptive to a work meeting.

#6. If you have kids and they don't yet understand the boundaries of office/home - you need let your other workmates know you may get a quick interruption during the meeting for a question or demand, but if you have a meltdown situation, you'll need to reschedule the meeting with your workmates. Remember, they probably have kids and animals too so they're going to understand during these unique times.

#7. Take a walk either at Lunchtime or when the day is done during your commute time. This walk is a great time to decompress the activities of the day or to just let go of it all and you can walk in the door like you do every night at 5:30-6 - but after a walk instead of fighting traffic on the way home.

#8. The toughest part of working at home, and most entrepreneurs who do this will agree - is breaking away from the work. In fact, I'm writing this article at 7 pm while my family is awaiting my "arrival home" so we can sit down to eat. Make sure you let your family know when you plan to be "home" so they aren't sitting and waiting and frustrated.

#9. Before you "leave the office" write a list of your "to dos" for the next day and leave it on your desk with a thought or two of what you want to accomplish and even find an inspiring quote for yourself that will get you going and "clicked in" bright and early the next morning.

#10. Clear off all the empty water bottles and coffee mugs and put all your paperwork away so your office looks like it's a fresh and welcoming for you the next day. It takes only 5 minutes to do this, if you do it every day.

And remember, you've been good at what you do for years. You're just doing what you do in a different spot.

This will not be forever.....unless you love it and want it to be forever.

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Eileen Kent is known as the Federal Sales Sherpa and teaches contractors The Federal Sales Game-How to Play to WIN and she builds Federal Sales Action Plans around the agencies who buy what they sell. For more information on the Federal Sales Sherpa, call Eileen at 312-636-5381.