Unlike what many think, running a business at home is challenging at best. With all the perks that come with it, working at home requires you to be able to juggle between work and house chores. Not mentioning getting disturbed by your kids, pets, Mr. Postman, etc.
When you wear many hats, especially when you run your business as a one-man show, you need to manage your stress level. While living a stress-free life is not humanly possible these days, it’s possible to keep it on a manageable level.
Looking for the how-to? I can give you that simply because I am working at home running my online business – and I have to fit my work into my life with a spouse and 2 little children.
And yes, despite I don’t need to work many hours to work on my business, I spend 80 percent of my “work hours” to look for new online business ideas and opportunities, as well as to try things out – plus do the necessary evil… advertising management, scheduling work, etc.
The number one tip I can give you is this: You need to determine your working hours AND where will you work – and stick to them.
How to set your own work hours
Sure, working at home allows you to work around the clock – literally; but you don’t have to, for the sake of your sanity – work around the clock means less rest; less rest mean unhealthy mind and body, leading to health issues that include stress.
So, how to set work hours? It’s common sense, really. When is the least-distracted time of the day? Set that period of time as your work hours, and stick to them no matter what.
Classify your work hours – non-disturbed hours, less-disturbed-is-better hours, or you-can-disturbed-me-anytime hours. Obviously, you need to do your primary work on non-disturbed hours and non-urgent-but-important-nonetheless work on you-can-disturbed-me-anytime hours. Got it?
How to set your own workspace at home
Yeah, I know that I can work in the kitchen, in the living room, in the bedroom or even in the kids playroom… but that’s not really helping me to get the job done faster and better – and here’s the ultimate cause for a stress in working at home: You clearly won’t be able to escape from work, as wherever you go, that place can essentially be your workspace!
The bottom line, you need to set your workspace and only work when you are at your workspace – no exception. Some suggest separating workspace and living space at home, with different entrance door. However, if you can’t separate your workspace from your home for one reason or another, you can try dedicating a section of your house as your workplace – preferably a section that makes less distraction possible. And yes, avoid the living room, as it most probably the most “trafficked” room in your house, which means maximum distraction for you.
Some final words
So, there you go – some tips on how to work at home with less stress. Before you stop reading, here’s an ultimate, final tip for you: Get out of your house and get a life!
When you live and work from the same place, there are many perks, such as no commute time and expenses, no need to deal with traffic, etc. However, you do need fresh air and meet with other people.
Hang out with your family and friends; get out of town, do for-leisure travel; ask for help to get your kids to their grandparents and go on a date with your spouse; do bungee jumping; go fishing – anything you want to do, non-work related. You HAVE to do them, to keep your work-life balance at the right level.
Work hard, play hard and live a stress-free life – you deserve it!
Ivan Widjaya
Work at home tips