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When working from home
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A home-based business has a lot of advantages
over the traditional 9-5 office system, and most web hosting businesses seem to
be run out of an home office. However, working from home could mean that you
might lose the structure and schedule of a normal office environment. We
collected a few tips and tricks to keep you on track.
Kick Start Your Day
How you start off will determine how you end up! Begin your day with
some positive thinking, do some workout (running, ride your bike) to get your
head cleared out, have a healthy breakfast of reasonable size (too much food
makes you tired again), take a shower, and then get started on your work
day.
Develop A Work Schedule
Working at home will come with it a
lot of flexibility and freedom. However, you need to be careful that you don't
misuse it. You are now your own boss, so act as if you ARE the boss! Work out
strict time schedules -and stick to it. Plan out all the all the tasks you would
like to get accomplished in your day, and make sure that you achieve your
target. If you are not disciplined enough it will come back and haunt
you.
Love Your Work
Make sure that the work you do is something
you really enjoy doing. To be successful in this business, you need to be really
passionate about your work. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that because
you have a background in web hosting and the experience in this field, that this
will be a breeze. Learn to recognize what will motivate you, what will excite
you - and build your business based on that spirit. If you are afraid to check
the status of your servers and email every morning and it is giving you a weird
feeling in your stomach you should eventually consider a different career. One
sure sign of knowing that you really love your work is to get that motivating
and relaxed feeling when you wake up every morning. Of course, you're going to
have your good days and your bad days at the office - but a strong enthusiasm
for your work ensures that you'll end up having more good days than bad days at
the office.
Have a Real Home Office
Running your business from
your bedroom is really not the best idea. You should have a separate area to
work from. This could be a second bedroom in your apartment or a finished
basement in your house. If that is not possible (e.g. you live in a one-bedroom
apartment, you will have to work around it - especially if you do not live
alone. A Spanish wall and a real desk will eventually give you a little 'room'.
Make sure you keep an office a priority when moving one day. If you already have
enough space and a separate office, furnish it accordingly. I personally use a
kitchen countertop board as my desk. It goes from wall to wall across the room.
It is deeper than a regular desk and I have plenty of space for everything.
Having space can be a key. It is easier to find tools, manuals, or
documentation. I can reach the printer and the cable router easily and the fax
is also just 'around the corner'.
Establish that "you are at
work"
Imagine you are at work in your home office and your wife or kids
come into the room every 5 minutes. As nice as it is to have them around - often
you need to make sure that they understand that you are working. You cannot just
run down to the grocery store to buy diapers or milk real quick. You are at
work. Or did your boss at your old place of employment did let you go to the
grocery store 'real quick'? Probably not.
Snacks
You might feel
like munching while you work, and that's one of the benefits of not working in a
conservative corporate environment, right? However, be sure that you do not have
to leave your office for everything. A journey through the house in search of
food might lead to a detour or two to check up on what the kids are doing. 5
minutes here and there can add up really fast. Remember - you want to be
productive.
Family Time Out
This one might seem a very difficult
initially - but keep your work time separate from your family time. Of course,
one of the prime reasons of you opening your home-based business was probably to
spend time with family. However, your business is serious business, and needs
some serious time too! The great thing is - you can often work around family
things. Seeing your son playing soccer in the afternoon can be rewarding and it
makes the work at night easier to handle. Most parents will miss a lot of their
kids activities because they have to work in an office downtown.
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