If you work from home you invariably have multiple responsibilities.  You may be a work-at-home-woman or a work-at-home-man. Your reasons for working from home may differ, but ultimately the goal is the same: To earn an income from the business activities you engage in from home.  Note that I mentioned “from home.”  While home is the base for many of us, our actual work activities may take us away from home for chunks of time. On the other hand, some jobs may involve spending the majority of time working in your home office.

Set a Schedule and Learn to Say “No”

The challenge for many of us at the end of each day is answering the question,  “Where did the time go?” People who work from home usually fall into one of two camps: 1) Those who set a schedule and try their best to stick to it 2) Those who ‘go with the flow.’

If you have a schedule, do you stick to it or do you find yourself constantly engaged in non-business activities during designated business hours?  Do you find it hard to say “No” to various requests from friends and family?  An honest response to “Where did the time go?” may reveal that your fear or reluctance to say “No” to others could be contributing significantly to valuable loss of time that should be spent in your business.

It’s important to note that your fears of offending others may be  based on your perception.  It may not necessarily be based on the reality of how others will respond when you explain your priorities.   It may surprise you to know that many of your friends and relatives really have no understanding of what you do from home and therefore are unaware that you have designated specific times to work.

An example of this could be a close relative who asks you to do something at 4:00 p.m.  You’ve, however, scheduled 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. as laser focused time to work in your business before your family gets home.  Do you say Yes, with resentment, or do you explain that you’d be happy to help out at another time during the day, but this is time you’ve scheduled to work?

Our fear of saying “No” is closely tied in to our desire to please others and to keep them liking us.  The purpose of this post is not to encourage selfishness, but to remind those of us who work from home that it may necessary to say “No” to others when you have a schedule for your business.  Help others to respect your time and your schedule while you’re working from home.

Working from home is the ideal work environment for many; it’s a necessity for some; while others are unwilling work-from-home women or men, having been forced to create their own businesses because of a variety of factors.

Regardless of your reasons for working from home it’s important to recognize that there are elements that can rob you of your energy, cause mental and physical fatigue, and how to avoid them:

1.            Not enough sleep: Experts recommend at least 6-8 hours sleep every night for you to function at your peak performance each day.  Studies indicate that the average American gets only about 4 hours sleep.

2.            Lack of exercise: Exercise is an energy booster because it stimulates the free flow of blood and oxygen through the body while it also firms and tones the body so you look better and feel better about yourself.

3.            Eat healthy foods: Eating balanced meals and keeping healthy snacks on hand is a great way to keep you energized.  Avoid foods that may satisfy a ‘sweet tooth’ craving but leaves your body crashing down from a sugar high.

4.            Drink Plenty of Water:  Research indicates that failure to drink adequate amounts of water not only causes your body to become dehydrated, but it saps your energy.  You body needs water to function properly, and you should make it a habit to drink  enough water for your personal needs.

5.            Take Some Time for Yourself: This may be as simple as creating a spa-like atmosphere in your bathroom by running a bath and surrounding yourself with scented candles and soothing music, or it may entail getting a professional massage.  Being relaxed will help you to feel less stressed and create a positive flow of energy through your body.

How do you keep yourself energized as you work from home? Please share.

As a work-at-home professional it is important to have a housecleaning schedule.  You have options: you can hire someone to do the cleaning for you, you can schedule specific times during the week to do it, or you can select one day each week to do your housecleaning. The goal should be to make the most effective use of your time and if paying someone to do it while you use your time to work on strategies in your business, then that’s a great choice. Only you can make the final decision.

If your home office is well-organized, you have items that you use frequently placed together on your desk or within easy reach. Your cleaning supplies should be stored together for easy retrieval when you need them.

The kitchen is usually one of the areas of the home that is used most frequently. Keep utensils, dishes and the like that you use frequently together and work at cleaning up immediately after use. You do not need the feeling of guilt and stress knowing that it still needs to be cleaned every time you pass your messy kitchen to and from your home office. Just get it done immediately.

Multi-task when possible. If you’re heading to a section of your home to do one task, think of what you could take to the room at the same time, saving you time and steps.  Implementing strategies in your business includes networking with other work-at-home women.  A great organization for work-at-home women is the AWHW.org

Time-management expert Mark Sanborn said, “Some things are worth doing well, some things are worth doing very well, and some things are just worth doing.” You decide.

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Yvonne Jones is a home-based Entrepreneur and Direct Sales Consultant who works with small business owners and entrepreneurs to build and maintain relationships with their clients through regular communication.  To learn more about how this can be done easily and effectively, visit her website at http://cardsuccesscircle.com.

She also partners with women to develop a skin care program to meet their specific needs. To learn more, visit her blog.