Are you Working From Home?

Working from home is like shirking work from home. That’s what people think. But there are plenty of studies, researcher works and case studies which prove otherwise. Have a read https://ideas.ted.com/why-working-from-home-should-be-standard-practice/. Today, when millennials are fishing out bigger ideas and better jobs, the top aspect they look for in a job, is Flexibility, after Learning and Development. Work from home is that perk which all the ventures are scared of providing and this is that practice which ought to be standard practice in businesses. High time we clear our doubts.

I started my career as a recruiter in 2008. Worked for 3 years till 2011 and then ventured into entrepreneurship. As a bootstrapped business, I worked from home for 4 years till 2015. In 2015, we took office space and started operating from there. The most crucial time of my business, the penetrating years, the growth years and the building years were actually work from home years. I built this firm by working from home. So whatever I am writing here today is based on my experience.

I know many such women who run small businesses from home, few do baking, few do design, few of them are freelancing writers, few are architects, few are traders, few are into HR, few are engineers, bloggers, digital marketers, writers, and what not. Few have chosen work from home out of choice and few had no other choice. But is your work from home really productive?

Having experienced both, full-time office and full-time work from home, I can say, work from home is not an easy option. It requires greater effort, greater input and results in greater productivity too if optimized well. So if you are working from home, or thinking of opting to work from home, these tried and tested, tips are going to be very helpful for you.

DISCIPLINE IS THE KEY

If you work from home, you are actually in a challenging situation of working in a non-office environment. Your home is your comfort zone, to excel in your comfort zone has never been easier. So even if you are at home, and are surrounded with several distractions like a Cozy bed, TV room, Bathtub, Kitchen, laundry, cooking or any other home-y arrangement, you need to beat that with a military-like discipline. Few tips:

• Start with a time schedule, which fits into your general home routine well like meal timings and ETA and TD of other family members.
• Always dress up for your workday. It may sound unnecessary but it is very important, start doing it and you will feel the difference. Working in pajamas is never as productive.
• Have working days and weekends. Even at home, you should have working days and weekend schedule. This keeps things in routine and you get that break, while at home only.
• Do not mix work with home chores. Taking client calls while doing laundry is not a good idea, so don’t mix chores with your work ever.
• Do exaggerated pre-planning. You need to take your work from home seriously, for that you need to do exaggerated pre-planning for the whole week in advance. Keeping the home engagements, family commitments in the loop, always pre-plan activities around your work and vice versa.

WORKSPACE IS IMPORTANT

Working from home doesn’t mean you work from your bed, also it doesn’t mean you that you can’t work from home if you don’t have an extra room for an office. You need to create a space for your work as per your convenience. That space can just be a corner in your bedroom and even a room if it’s manageable. But have a workspace. Doesn’t matter how big or small, but you should have a well-designated workspace for yourself where you reach every morning well on time. Make your workspace as interesting as possible, keep motivational quotes around, have a sticky board and stuff. You will notice the difference it makes while you have your own workspace.

COMMUNICATION WITH INMATES

Whether you are living with in-laws, friends, family, parents or kids, it’s really important that you convey your plan and schedule to them from time to time. If you have a client call early morning at 8 am, and at the same time your husband leaves for work, plan it in advance and convey so it can be managed amicably without any hassle or trouble. If you have a meeting at a coffee shop with a client and at the same time your kid is coming back home, communicate with other family members or inmates in advance and plan. Communication helps in planning things well. Since you are operating from home, and that home is occupied with other members too, it becomes necessary, that you have their cooperation and vice versa.

KEEP SHORT-TERM TARGETS

Whether you are a writer or a baker, assign yourself with short targets, stick to daily targets or weekly targets only. Keep a record of your performance on daily basis or weekly basis. Keeping short targets is always advised because work from home scenario is very volatile and unpredictable, so we must have the flexibility to change and redesign our targets accordingly. So give yourself short-term targets.

BREAK THE BOREDOM

Working from office gives you many opportunities to break the boredom. You get to meet several people, get to talk about different stuff and get to enjoy office lunches, parties, and many other activities. Work from home becomes boring at times. So, keep indulging yourself, keep networking with people on various platforms, through talks, tweet chats, blog meets, conferences, webinars, coffee meetings. Keep your self socially accessible. To work from home doesn’t mean you have to lock yourself up. Break the boredom in your own creative ways.

Lastly, be proud of working from home. Wear that badge with a beaming smile and next time you are in a public gathering or on any social media platform, share that you are working from home. Help other women grow through your inputs and experiences.

If you want to organize a workshop for work from home workforce or group, let us know. Drop us an email on [email protected]. To know more, follow me on twitter or subscribe to my blog.