Work-At-Home Discipline: Find Some

Posted by Tisha Tolar on February 4, 2009

I work at home without supervision. Of course, I am an adult and a business person and don’t need supervision but sometimes I think it might help me stay focused. Being disciplined about anything in life – exercise, quitting smoking – is never easy. However, it is a necessity when you want to work for yourself.

While many people actually do think we can watch soaps and eat ice cream all day, the reality is that I spend so many hours in front of my computer each day that I usually fall into bed at night braindead and tense. Admittedly, I would probably spend less time on the computer each day if I didn’t visit gossip sites, news sites, and social networking sites. I just made the dive into Facebook and it is really fun catching up with old friends but it REALLY takes away a lot of my focus when I should, in fact, be working.

Granted, when I have my mojo going I will work for hours straight and can be extremely productive. I can also play a lightning fast game of catch up when I am working on deadline and didn’t work hard enough in the beginning. But that is how I usually cycle.  I am either ahead of the game or too far behind. There is never any balance. As a business owner I need to find more consistency in my work life, which is not always easy to balance with family life. I need discipline. I know it.

Here is what I can do about it and you can do:

Have a Daily Plan – By creating a list of things you need to do the night before each new day, you will be ready to go as soon as your work times begins. This gives you less time to goof off while looking around for what you have to do. It might help to put your to-do list in order of priority and work from the top to the bottom, working hard to check off as many to-do’s as possible. This written list will help keep you focused on the tasks at hand.

Prevent Interruptions – Since many family and friends will know you work from home, they may not think twice about calling you up or stopping by just to hang out for a bit, completely ignoring the fact you are working. Set work hours if you must and don’t be shy about letting others know that you can’t be reached during that time, unless it’s an emergency. Some people may get snippy about it, but it is your career and source of income that is being tampered with.

Bring Tasks to Completion – Start working on a project and forget about all other things, like checking email every 5 minutes. The more tasks you complete to the end, the more likely you are to feel the positive effects of your work and continue practicing good work habits.

Schedule In Personal Time - Of course the beauty of working at home and for yourself is that you have the freedom to get done what needs to be done in your personal life. However, it would behoove you to schedule errands, appointments, and other situations at the optimum time that allows you to still get work accomplished.

Take A Day Off – I can not stress this enough! You are the one person who truly knows how you are feeling. If you are feeling burnt out because you never stop going (with business and family activities), set a day to take off. If the kids and spouse are at school, take the opportunity to truly relax. Watch a movie. Read a book. Do what you can to make the most of the few hours you have to yourself. Guaranteed you will feel refreshed and energized when you return to work.

Do Your Own Employee Evaluation – Just as you might have been subjected to at work, it is important you perform a work evaluation on yourself from time to time. Are you meeting deadlines? Are you keeping up with the different aspects of the business? Do you have enough work in the pipeline? If there are areas you could use some improvement, start incorporating small tasks into your daily routine to keep you on point. Consider what you can do to make you more effective at work.

Self-discipline is a must-have when you are working at home. There can be too many distractions and it can be all too easy to lose focus during each day. Enjoy the freedom you do have but work hard to remain on task.

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