Manage Your Time - Save Your Business.
If you work from home, chances are you already know that you're really pulling "double duty". You probably work on your business while doing the laundry, corralling the kids, or fixing dinner... and let's not forget all the phone calls from family and friends expecting you to run errands or just "go out" for an afternoon of fun. One of the hardest parts of running a home business is separating your work from your family and social life. Here are six proven ways to keep your home life running smoothly while keeping your business on track. 1. First, create a work schedule and stick with it. It may be tempting to answer personal calls during the day or take business calls after-hours, but doing this actually shows that you're expendable ? not dependable ? and people will take for granted that you'll "always be there" for any little things that come up. Even though family comes first, stay true to your business hours and resist the urge to chat with friends or pick up groceries during working hours. 2. Your friends may consider "working from home" an invitation to chat during the day or just go out for coffee or shopping for an afternoon. Make it clear that your business hours are just that ? for business. Leave personal calls for after-hours, and you'll find that your friends will gradually accept your schedule without feeling slighted. 3. Just because you have to set up a work schedule, doesn't mean that you have to keep the same hours as everyone else. One of the benefits of working for yourself is setting your own hours to fit your most productive times. Whether you're an early bird or a night owl, you'll find that you'll get much more done when you're attuned to your body's own natural rhythms. Some people work in the morning, take a break in the afternoon when the kids are home from school, and work again in the evening. Schedule your work time when you feel the most productive and you'll find that things get done easier, faster and better than when you were dragging along during those same rigid work hours that everyone else has. 4. If getting after-hours business calls or work day personal calls is a problem, it helps to have a separate business phone line, or at least an answering machine or voice mail, to take the incoming calls. This also gives your business a more professional appearance to clients than if you and your family make and receive calls from the same phone line. 5. If at all possible, try to separate your "home office" from the rest of your home. If you don't have the luxury of a separate room, a room partition or screen can be just as helpful. This also serves as a visual cue to family that you're working and shouldn't be bothered. 6. Dress and act professionally while working. Some people find it helpful to dress in casual business attire during their working hours. This reinforces that just because you're working from home doesn't make you any less of a professional. Answer the phone with your name, or business name, and keep your children off the phone during business hours. Also, spend money investing in the tools you need to do your job right. A cell phone, fax machine or even a budget computer can help turn your home office into a true workspace. If you follow all of these tips and stick with them, chances are you'll find a routine that not only makes you feel productive and active in your business, but also projects the message that you mean business ? literally! Article written by Edward Charkow. Ed recommends that you take a look at http://www.biz-help.info for more business advice.
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Red Phone - Management Consulting in 30 Seconds or Less
Modern business faces complex problems; management often calls upon highly-specialized consultants to help them address these difficult problems. If you're ever called to help identify these most pressing issues, one of the easiest and quickest ways to start is to talk about the "Red Phone".
Once Upon a Conflict
Once upon a time there lived an innocent, hardworking manager. One day he dared to wander from the safety of his open-concept office to speak out at a team meeting. He was immediately challenged, nay attacked, by another team member and his senior manager, embarrassing him in front of his peers. Plagued by downsizing, this noble manager feared for his job. A senior human resource professional saved the day through mediation. From that day forward, the manager carried that scar and never trusted anyone enough to speak out again.
Internal Control - The Why and How
Many retailers do not have good internal controls in place and place little importance on them. They are concerned with the buying and selling of merchandise and do not place enough emphasis on making certain that the sales get recorded, the money gets in the bank, the invoices are paid only once and the inventory reports are correct.
25 Great Ways to Find the Right People and Not Break the Bank
Are you trying to hire dozens of hourly workers or a senior executive? Where do you look and how do you get the word out? There are many ways to find the right people besides placing want ads.
Towards Intercultural Understanding
An individual's ability to forge effective relationships across cultures is influenced by a very personal and highly complex mixture of emotional and cognitive processes. Anyone contemplating an overseas posting feels apprehensive about stepping into the unknown. The mere knowledge that we are leaving our own cultural comfort zone can trigger all sorts of subconscious defensive tactics that can make it difficult to operate effectively the new environment.
Employee Motivation: Make Everyone A Cheerleader For Your Company
Do you manage by walking around? What do you see? People excited about their job or people just going through the motions? Here are seven ways, that do not cost much if anything, to turn the "it's just a job" employee into one that is powered up and willing to give their best every day.
Instantly Uncover Your Corporate Culture
Best Definition of "Corporate Culture"
Uncommon Common Sense ? Know What is the Most Important Thing in Your Business
Over 3 of my meetings with 3 business owners last week, what really shocked me was how uncommon common sense was. 2 out of 3 I spoke to do not know what is the most important thing in their business. They keep on trying on other things that are not important. As we know, every business has ONE most important thing in their particular industry. You need to do well in your most important thing and the rest will take care of itself.
Does My Bum Look Big in This?
If a good manager asks his workforce for their opinion of him he will receive their expressions of approval and be satisfied that he is doing a good job.
Meetings: Don?t Just Show Up, Stand Out and Shine
Meetings, whether they're regularly scheduled routines in your company or now-and-then get-togethers, can be a place for you to gain positive visibility and to showcase your capabilities. Here are three strategies that will help you stand out and shine.
Which ITIL Process Should We Implement First?
The following question is usually debated a lot amongst IT managers. "With which process should we start when implementing ITIL?" Everybody has their own views, but here are my takes on it.
Measure for Measure
Can you imagine playing hockey without a goal? Basketball without hoops and nets? Football without a goal line? Golfing without holes or greens?
Innovation Management ? how does the user benefit?
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.
Innovation Management ? idea selection, development and commercialisation, what are the differences?
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.
Five Reasons Why Leaders Fail to Create Successful Change
A bold title, don't you think? I mean, change is a complex thing, so to define five reasons seems to oversimplify the issue.
The Three-Dimensional Communication System
Human communication is always three-dimensional. No spoken or written message is ever just words or rational thoughts. Every interchange between you and another person has and takes place at the following three intimately related levels, or dimensions, of being: emotional, physical, and rational. Any attempt to communicate will succeed if all of these dimensions are adhered to. Knowledge of this three-dimensional nature is the foundation of training. You can't get much closer to real understanding without these realizations.
Work Priorities: Where Can You Spend Your Time Most Effectively?
Understanding where you can spend time most effectively requires concentration in three areas:
Satisfied Employees, A Powerful Marketing Strategy
Even in today's still uncertain economic times, there are companies who are doing extraordinarily well. Why is it that some companies are thriving while others are barely making it? You can always blame the economy, but is that the only reason? The answer could be as simple as how respected and appreciated your staff feels.
Budgets!
Budgets! There I've said it. For some the most hated and feared word in business. But it doesn't have to be that way. As a matter of fact, a well thought out and constructed budget can be the small business owners best friend. After all, a budget is just a laid out plan to produce profits and profits is what we are all after.
People Literacy
Every Manager has experienced the frustration of not understanding why one management approach that works beautifully with one employee is ineffective with another. That's because what we think would be motivating isn't always motivating to someone else.
|
