There are many benefits to working from home, but you only experience them if you are disciplined. Achieving your goals, and the success that follows, requires dedication and a healthy dose of self-motivation. The boss and co-workers you are happy to be rid of were not just demanding, they also helped keep you productive, and with nobody peering over your shoulder all the time, it is up to you to ensure you remain productive.
The following suggestions are just a few measures you should consider implementing in your new routine:
Define your Goals
All large organizations have goals and a vision, which in turn guide the staff. The same principle needs to be applied within a home based business, with you having clearly defined long terms and short term goals for yourself and your business. The short term goals should link up with the long term goals, so achieving the smaller goals should bring you closer to achieving the bigger goals. Write down all your goals and assign time frames and deadlines to each of them, and then start each day and each task knowing how your goals will be impacted.
Use a Daily To-Do List
Don’t allow your work ethic to slip simply because you work for yourself, and are home based. You need to not only have regular working hours, you also need to have a daily routine, a to-do list of tasks for each day. End each day by drawing up your to-do list for the next day, and if there were any tasks you never managed to complete on a certain day, they must be included in the next days list.
Develop a Positive Outlook
To be productive you also need to be motivated, and in a home-office you are solely responsible for keeping yourself motivated. Having goals and a daily task list help with some of this, but a lot of it depend purely on yourself and your mindset. Don’t allow yourself to be too discouraged by any setbacks; evaluate what went wrong, and what can be done differently in future to avoid it.
Stay Organized
None of the previous points is possible if you and your work space aren’t organized. Focus on one opportunity at a time, stick to deadlines and ensure that your daily routine includes tasks relating to keeping your workspace organized and the monitoring of approaching deadlines.
Remain Professional at all Times
Just because you are working from an office in your home does not mean your business should not present itself as professional, and the same applies to you. Your business website should be polished and contain all relevant information potential customers may need, you should always have business cards available with all your contact details including business URL, and all your emails should include a signature that also summarizes all your contact details and URL. Never ever leave home without a handful of business cards since you never know when you may come across business leads.
Don’t Forget to Have Fun
Trading in a regular job for a home based business usually sees people giving up something they don’t enjoy for something they are passionate about. Don’t forget about that passion, and never forget that this is probably something you really enjoy, so why not have fun doing it? The happier and more passionate you are, the more likely you are to succeed.
About Out of the Office Virtual Assistance:
At Out of the Office, we offer ideas and ways to increase your productivity, decrease your workload, and work more efficiently. We nurture a successful business relationship, while continuing to grow as your business partner. We are focused on streamlining your administration, social media planning and execution, and offering creative solutions for your business success.
Image credit: MySpace by Lisa Risager | CC BY-SA 2.0