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How to Work at Home
and Keep Your Sanity!
by Terri Seymour
Working at home can be a blessing
and/or a disaster depending on how you are able to handle it. A home
business or job is not for all of us. I know a lot of people who much
prefer to "get out in the world" to work.
I absolutely love working
at home. I did enjoy working outside the home as well, but I am a
homebody and much
prefer working at home. It does have disadvantages and problems though
as well.
* Isolation - This can be
a tough one to deal with for some people. Sitting in your lonely little
corner or home office hour after hour can get you down. When you start
feeling isolated and lonely contact an online friend and chat awhile.
If no one is available, take a break and get outside. Take a walk
to visit a friend or family member. Just getting out in the fresh
air can make you feel rejuvenated and alive again. Even a phone call
to an old friend or your spouse, if possible, can do wonders.
* Self-discipline - This one can be a tuffy. Having your own business
can tend to make us lazy once in awhile.
I know it does me. ;-) What I do is go over my goals and the reasons
I started my business in the first place. I also think about all my
readers/customers who are counting on me. This helps me get back into
focus and to get motivated to go back to work. You need to train yourself
to work when it is work time because you have no boss to do it for
you.
*Schedule Keeping - Making up a schedule is easy, sticking to it is
not. I try not to have too strict of a schedule because it probably
will need to be changed now and then. Try a daily schedule instead
of a hourly one. This will make it much easier to bend it when you
need to. Not being able to follow your schedule can be frustrating
to say the least, but preparing a flexible schedule makes it less
stressful on you and everyone else.
*Family Distractions - This is one of the main reasons it is so hard
to stick to our schedules! ;-) Make
time for your family and make sure they understand that work time
is for work and family time is for them. With me, my family comes
first and I arrange my schedule around them and it works out very
well.
*Lack of Respect - Although we know how important our business is,
our family or friends may not. They think we are playing around or
just doing a hobby. You need to sit them down and explain that this
is your job and it is very important to you and they need to respect
that. Be firm. They will get the message. ;-)
*Organization - Although we might be very organized, we just might
not have the space when working at home. Some people might have a
office, but some of us have work stations or corners. I have a corner.
Although, I don't have much room, I am able to stay fairly well organized.
I have a shelf, a desk and a drawer - with a file cabinet in another
room and this is all I need. Most of the organizing is on the computer
so I don't need a lot of outside room. I print out pertinent records
and file them accordingly. I have a 4-story paper tray which holds
all my "need now or soon" papers. The shelf holds my printer,
answering machine and phone. And I also have a junk drawer (we all
need one of those)! ;) This works out with very few or no problems.
Although working
at home does have some disadvantages, I would not want to give it
up for anything. I love
the freedom of it, the excitement of it, the pride of it, and all
the wonderful people I have met.
If you feel you are
a candidate for a home business or job, I say go for it, but I wish
you much success in whichever path you choose!
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Terri Seymour and her husband Terry offer
a no-cost, non-MLM home business opportunity.
They strive to help you build a successful home
business. Take advantage of the gifts, resources and
more provided for your home and business at
http://www.seymourproducts.com
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