I am working at home and if you asked me, I wouldn’t trade this perk with anything; I have a wonderful work-life balance, and I know I can have a better one via outsourcing and pursuing passive income business and work automation. I can also be better by managing my workspace well in such a way that there are minimal distractions during my work hours. I now work 2-3 hours a day, and a couple of hours more later on anytime I want – this is achieved via outsourcing, automation and setting up boundaries.
Why working from home might be worse than working away from home
Working from home does have great perks, especially to those who were working 9-to-5 in an office. The sense of being your own boss, freedom to set your own work hours, and/or being able to be with your loved ones is appealing, indeed. However, most don’t realise that having your work life mixed with your personal life the wrong way can cause you trouble. In this case, it’s probably better for you to work in an office away from home – even working in a coffee shop is better than working at home.
What gives?
Like many experts suggest, when you decide to run your business or work remotely from your home, you need to set a strict set of boundaries. Most of us don’t like boundaries, but these actually suggested so that you can have a great work-life balance. Again, mixing your work and personal life means disaster.
I understand that working in your pajamas is great; working whenever you want is wonderful; hanging around with your spouse and kids is fantastic. However, whether you realise it or not, working at home without set boundaries will reduce your productivity and lower your quality of life.
This is why I mentioned that working in an office away from home is better than working at home without proper management: When you work away from home, you focus on your work, then you go home to have quality time with your family (give you don’t bring your work home – I suggest you don’t!) When you work from home without proper setup, you will be distracted on regular basis, especially when you have kids.
Some real-life examples: Calling an important client is not nice when your kids are fighting over a toy nearby; working on an important project, it’s not nice having your kids jump to your lap asking to check out the latest episode of Dora the Explorer (I know because… I’ve been there!) All of a sudden, your 3 hours of work will become 10 hours of work due to all the distractions.
Set boundaries, separate work from life
You need to set boundaries. Boundaries are good because, given they are set right, they promote a great work-life-balance. Here are some boundaries I make working at home:
1. Set your own office hours
Despite working at home allows you to work anytime you want, with a family this is a real challenge. You need to set a particular time in a day during which you can’t be disturbed, unless if there was an emergency.
2. Don’t mix your office space with living space
Working in a living room, kitchen or bedroom is fantastic at first, but you will eventually realise that distractions start coming your way – simply because it’s only natural. Seeing you around the living space always attract your kids and spouse to converse with you. This is nice when you don’t have time-pressing projects, but not so nice when you have time-pressing and important projects on progress.
Here is one other thing: Working on living spaces will make it difficult for you to escape your work. I used to work for more than 12 hours a day – at home. With a spouse, this in not much to juggle; with two kids, 12 hours a day working at home is almost impossible to have a great family relationship and stay productive.
3. Work smart
Outsourcing and automation allow you to leverage your time, reducing your work hours while increasing your income. Pursuing passive income business opportunities is highly recommended, as they will give you great work-life balance.
If you have any other suggestions, please do so by commenting on this article.
Ivan Widjaya
Work-life balance
photo: joyschwartz.com