by Natalie M. Wolverson

Created on: May 16, 2010

Working from home can be great because you have a much more relaxed working environment and more flexible hours. You are your own boss and you can really take control of things which you may never have dreamt of, such as how much you charge per hour, when you work, which work you do and so on. There are many disadvantages to working from home and many people can become easily distracted by their environment or friends. So, what can you do to be more productive when working from home?

* Set aside a place to work – Ideally you should have an allocated work area which is away from any distractions that you may encounter. It can be very hard to focus on tasks at hand when you are sat in the living room or in the kitchen. You may find yourself becoming distracted or finding work which needs doing around the house so try to allocate a set room as an office or work area.

* Assign working hours – Decide when you are going to work and stick to the schedule. Don't become distracted or decide to do house work instead. Refrain from doing house work straight before or during your work hours and choose your work hours wisely. If you have children then you should consider waiting until your children are at school or day care to prevent any distraction. Know when you take your breaks and try to create a routine to follow so that it feels like a normal working day.

* Have lunch breaks – Don't eat at your desk whenever you feel like a snack. Try to wait until your dedicated lunch hour as this will prevent another distraction from your work. This will also keep your schedule in place and make you much more productive throughout the day.

* Limit the number of distractions – If you need a phone for your work you should ensure that none of your friends or family are given that number as you should have a private number as well as one for work. If you are easily distracted then you should remove any games that your working computer or laptop has installed. If the internet isn’t a necessity for your work then you should also consider removing or locking this to prevent you from browsing it whilst bored or unoccupied.

* Dress professionally – Treat your job as if you would treat an office job or any other job for an employer and wear attire which would match an office dress code. It can be all too easy to wear comfortable clothes such as jeans, however this puts you in a ‘lazy’ state of mind where you may not act as serious as you otherwise

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