Stone Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 I will be running our small business out of our home in April I have tried this before and got absolutley nothing done, because I felt I needed to spend time cleaning my house, doing Laundry, working, and never had any time to do any sales or get anything accomplished for that matter. Currently I am working for an accountant in his office untill tax season is over but I get alot more done here for my business in my free time than I ever at home how do you guys do it? without being distracted? Any advice helpful. Link to post Share on other sites
Arabess Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 I had the offer to expand a side typing job for the military into something I could do full time at home. This was due to my current job about killing me....literally. I have all these 'guidelines' which have been mailed to me and I've YET to put it into files where I can access it easily. (In the military the rank of an Officer even determines what FONT you use...is that just NUTS or what?????) I guess you ( ME TOO!!) just have to be serious enough to give it the same attention and time you do an outside job. Once you 'go to work'....you don't vacuum, do laundry, do personal errands....OR the ever popular POST ON LS all damn day!!!!! You have to take it as seriously as you would any other job. Link to post Share on other sites
EnigmaXOXO Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 ....OR the ever popular POST ON LS all damn day!!!!! Reminds me, Arabess, that I forgot to write myself a pink slip! It just takes a little self discipline. Some people like working from home, while others have tried it and don't like it. For me, the need of cash flow to pay my bills and buy my goodies is incentive enough to keep me focused. And my hours are sporadic…sometimes mornings, sometimes evenings. Whenever time allows. Which is why I actually prefer to work outside the confines of that ridged 9 to 5. But like Arabess, this is not my only source of income. I'd probably STARVE if it were. Rather, its a hobby turned profit, which actually makes it FUN! PS...to be honest, my house is an absolute MESS!! Link to post Share on other sites
Arabess Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 I'm still enjoying that great link you sent the other day Enigma. It's INVALUABLE for a home business! Link to post Share on other sites
EnigmaXOXO Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Did you know, also, that if you work from home you can actually deduct the cost of your business expenses from your annual income taxes? Like your electric and other utilities? It can get pretty complicated filling out the tax forms, which is why I don't claim them as deductions. Rather I file quarterly with the state, using an optional form, which just requires that I report my expenses vs. my sales for that 3-month period. It takes keeping careful records of every penny spent and earned, but I'm anal retentive by nature and do it by habit anyway. Link to post Share on other sites
brashgal Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 I work out of my home 75% of the time. It took some getting used to as I am easily distracted, kept wanting to clean house, work in garden, etc. I had to establish a workspace and a routine. It was tough in the summer when my older son was in and out (his work schedule was erratic). I had to establish rules for him too (no loud music when I'm working, no yelling, if the door to the room is closed and you hear me talking on the phone leave me alone unless the house is on fire). I am on the phone and/or the PC most of the day - people expect me to be available so I am. I guess when you see people routinely laid off in your company you realize you have to buckle down and get work done or the same will happen to you too. Some of my coworkers never go into the office. I try to go in once a week and schedule lunches and meetings, do a little networking. I've seen too many people laid off because they were "out of sight, out of mind". p.s. other than throw a load of laundry in or do the dishes on my lunch break, I had to break the habit of doing other cleaning during work hours - there is a finite amount of time and some work you have to just do heads down for a few hours without distraction Link to post Share on other sites
moimeme Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 I have worked from home - and loved it. It doesn't give me enough people contact, though. I always did work I was really interested in; so there was no problem with keeping motivated. Given a choice between doing dishes and doing my work, well, it's not a choice at all LOL. Link to post Share on other sites
ladyangel Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 I worked mostly in my home for years and there were definitely times when I was more distracted than others. What I finally learned to do was set goals, like get X amount of work done by X time, and then take a break for Y amount of time to do other things. It worked for me. I had a study which was my office and I shut the door and had a phone line just for work with caller ID and didn't answer it unless it was someone I needed to speak to. Otherwise, they could leave a message. I set aside time to return and make calls. I gave myself a certain amount of time a day as my "break" time to get up and walk around and throw in a load of laundry or whatever. If you think that you will just sit in that room and work all day, that's unreasonable and you'll fail every time. It takes discipline but you'll get the hang of it. Link to post Share on other sites
reasontosigh Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Like a "split shift", ladyangel? That does sound like an excellent idea. Link to post Share on other sites
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