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home work - top tips for a productive home office
By Elaine Nester

  office supplies, storage, letter tray, paper, diary, diaries, coffee, telephone  

There are pros and cons of working from home as any seasoned home worker will tell you. If you are about to begin working from home, or if you’ve been doing it for some time and find it’s not working too well, we’ve got some tips to help you. The obvious benefits include flexibility for those with family demands, not having to travel to and from the workplace and the ability to concentrate without interruption (apart from the telephone of course). The downside aspects include a feeling of isolation, nobody to bounce ideas off and the temptation to take more breaks than you would in an office environment.

If, having considered all of these issues and more, you believe that the home-working option is for you, have glance through our tips to make sure that your home office is as effective as you can make it.
 


Marmalade on proposals is never good news

It’s no good clearing a space on the kitchen table and allowing your work stuff to spread around you, tidying it up only when you have to sit down for the evening meal. Have plenty of storage so that everything can be kept in order and out of sight. Maintain In and Out trays if that’s the way you’d normally work. Whilst computers are so portable these days and we have so much less paper to deal with, it is vital that an area is set aside for work. This is for psychological reasons as much as to prevent marmalade getting on your proposals. You need to move away from the work area physically at the end of the work period and move into your home environment to relax. Otherwise, there will be a temptation to work on beyond normal hours and the division between home and leisure will blur.

Give the family the old Heave Ho

Having chosen your work area, make it clear to anyone else in the household, including animals, that you are not to be interrupted whilst you are working. Shut the door and have a “Do not Disturb” sign on the door if it helps. Partners, children and pets of home workers tend to believe that they are available to make snacks, help with jobs or join in games, simply because they are there in the house. Make it clear that you will be free at 1 o’clock and 5 o’clock and, apart from that, it’s emergencies only. Apart from anything else, it sounds very unprofessional if your customer or colleagues hear Fluffy yowling, Susie singing or your partner shouting in the background. Having said all that, remember that the main benefit of working from home is the ability to please yourself. Break your own rules occasionally. Take time out for coffee with a neighbour, use some of the time you’ve saved by not having to travel and enjoy a little freedom.

PJs don’t work for work

Dress as you normally would for the office. Not wishing to be a killjoy, I must tell you that it’s impossible to feel and act like a working boy or girl if you are not dressed for the part. Whilst video phones are not the norm as yet (thank goodness!) and you cannot be seen on the telephone, it is easier to be assertive and organised when you are in smart attire. It also helps you to relax if you change back into your home gear at the end of the day.

Don’t be a loner

One of the downsides of working from home can be the isolation. You feel out of the loop, your computer keeps playing up and you’ve no idea how Claire got on with her hot date. The answer is to create a network of contacts and fill your diary with times to catch up with them. If you work for yourself, find out who else living nearby is in the same situation and invite them round for a coffee. With any luck, you’ll find someone who is a computer whiz and you can swap some of their expertise for your own. If you work for a company, make an effort to pop into the office once a week or so, depending on distance. Email your colleagues, invite them to lunch and chat on the phone but be careful not to monopolise their time – you don’t want to be thought of as Jilly no-mates!