One of the greatest advantages of working from home is being able to spend more time with your family. Without the hassle of a long commute you are able to have breakfast as a family in the mornings, and when you leave the office at the end of the day you’re already home. Unfortunately, without clear guidelines in place the distinction between work and home can become a little blurred.
What are simple rules you can implement to maintain peace and sanity, while still being productive?
-1- Have a clearly defined office
Ideally separate from the living areas, and announce to everyone in your household that it is off-limits during your office hours. If you have very young children you can work with them in creating a sign for your office door with the times on it. This is a fun way for them to learn about not disturbing you.
-2- Cancel the noise
It is unfair to expect the entire household to be completely silent during the day, unless you are seeing clients in your office. When creating your office look at cost-effective ways in which to cancel out noise in your office, or invest in a good pair of noise-canceling headphones. Inexpensive methods to block out excess noise include using acoustical caulk around your window frames, hanging heavy drapes over the windows (particularly if it faces a busy and noisy road), installing automatic door bottoms on your office door to close the gap between the door and floor, and if necessary, lining the interior walls of your office with drywall as extra insulation. Having a thick carpet in your office will also help reduce any noise that travels along the floor.
-3- Maintain regular office hours
Having, and sticking to, set office hours is essential for you and your family. They know exactly when you are working, and you know exactly when to stop working. Use the time you would normally be commuting wisely, play with your children, or help with household chores.
-4- “Shhh .. the phone is ringing”
If you have to occasionally take phone calls outside of your business hours, teach your children to be silent as soon as they hear your cellphone ring. Make sure the ringer is turned on, not vibration, so that everyone hears when the phone rings and knows how to react.
-5- Take a lunch break
You are working from home, so there is no need to pack a lunch, grab something unhealthy, or even skip lunch completely. Have a regular time scheduled for lunch breaks and try and spend this time with your family.
-6- Communicate with your spouse via instant messages and email
It can appear a little harsh, but in the same way you don’t want your children disturbing you during your work hours, so too should your spouse only communicate with you as if you weren’t even at home. By doing this you are able to temporarily ignore any messages that aren’t urgent, and only respond when you aren’t busy.
These are easy measures to implement in the beginning, and as you become accustomed to your new office so too will you find other measures that might have to be implemented. The key aspect of any rules is that they are fair and benefit everyone.
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Image credit: Tough day at the office by JON_CF | CC0 Public Domain