mere spectators instead of loving role models. The result is an undermining of their relationships, higher stress levels, a lack of balance and a generally unfulfilled life. However, this should not be the case. Working at home allows greater freedom and independence and should result in less time being wasted. Yet many of us
fail to successfully make this transition. Discipline is a key factor when running a business from home using a virtual office. Here ways you can successfully work from home and enjoy the benefits using a Virtual Office...
Establish a routine - Structure your day so that it is both purposeful and productive. Decide on a starting and finishing time for your day; allow for breaks so that you work smarter, not harder. Doing this will also allow you
to better differentiate between work and home, and will encourage you to be more professional. Focus on your strengths, outsource your weaknesses - Spend the maximum amount of time working on the parts of your business that you are best at. If your billable time is worth $200 an hour, then make sure you spend most of your time on the activities that will produce that for you. Investing in a virtual office is key (see Virtual Offices. Avoid filling up your day with non-productive activities. Invest your time and money into the right areas of your business; don't just keep yourself busy.
Organise your environment - Have the right tools and systems to work with - an appropriate chair, desk, computer, filing system. In addition, using a
Virtual Office, meeting clients in an executive boardroom in a sky rise office building, will show your professionalism and will inspire confidence in you.
Declutter the clutter - A messy working environment which forces you to be continuously spending valuable time searching for things, whether files and emails on the computer or documents in filing cabinets and cupboards,
cumulatively wastes hours a day. In fact The Wall Street Journal found that the average white collar worker spends 6 weeks a year looking for things around the office! Clutter is distracting and causes stress, and it is the primary enemy of productivity.
Learn to say 'no' - Inform your family and friends of your working hours and that because you're working from home doesn't mean you're 'available'. If you were in a corporate office, you would not allow your friends to drop by. Enforce these same rules at your office at home. Network to expand your business and your mind - Join local networking groups to meet other like-minded business people. Share knowledge and discover new
ways of doing things. Check out your local council and chamber of commerce. Enquire about active small business networks. Join your own trade association
and share ideas. An organised business referral group can also be of enormous benefit to the home based business owner.
Take time out for you - It can be easy to lose yourself in your work. Take time to 'smell the roses' and to make human contact. Go for a walk every day. Have a weekly or fortnightly massage. Visit the gym more often. It's generally the simple ideas when acted upon consistently that will make a dramatic impact overall in your business and your life. You'll feel happier
and more fulfilled. You'll also discover extra time in the day that you never had before.
Working from home couldn't be easier with the use of a Virtual Office. For more information see (Servcorp Virtual Offices) http://www.servcorp.com.au or http://www.servcorp.net
In the current world, it is not an uncommon sight to see many sales people working from home. At first this may seem like an easy opportunity, however, later it creates unique challenges, and one of the biggest obstacles is the number of distractions. These distractions can divert your from your work focus and thus prevent you from achieving your targets.
Generally, when you work from home you easily get distracted, especially if the work you are doing does not thrill you; particularly like cold calling or prospecting. Watering the plants or even doing laundry as well as running errands can be sometimes a welcome change from the boring daily drudgery of convincing customers. And then to top it all, if you have young children the number of distractions can increase dramatically.
Working from home has to deal with lot of challenges but there are few tips to keep all this at bay and increase your productivity.
Create an office space- Generally when you work from home, you work in the hall or your bedroom of even your dining table and this puts you in the middle of all the household action. These actions distract you from your work and hence it is difficult to focus only on work. So create an office space where you will be least disturbed and if you dont have enough space just identify a spot where there is less traffic and prospects for distractions.
Allot specific business hours- If you have young children then its really important to allot some specific hours for your work, as it can be very difficult for the children to understand, that they are not supposed to disturb you while working. It is too irritating when you are on important calls with your family members hovering over you. So by allotting time you can concentrate on your work.
Make a To Do list everyday- By having a detailed daily list for you to accomplish everyday, you can remain focused. If you know your target then you really get the zeal to work and accomplish it. Household chores are much more enjoyable than making cold calls or working on something really boring, so by making a list you can focus on your work much better and the desire to do something else also fades out.
Set your daily deadline for your projects- Although there is no one bossing over you while working at home and usually this approach distracts you and keeps you away from your track. Hence, set dead lines with others to help keep yourself focused especially if the accountability helps you.
Give yourself some breaks- It is really fine if you take some time out for yourself while working from home, as long as it is not a regular occurrence. You dont have to worry and stress out too much. However if your relaxation period overtakes the work schedule, then you need to reconsider. As long as it is under control it is quite an energy booster.
Share your goals with advisors- Accountability generally works well with most of the people because they know that they have to report their progress to someone and then this keeps them going.
Both Servcorp Virtual Offices & Kris Koonar are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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