Working from home has a lot going for it. What I love most is that I don’t have to join in the rush hour traffic any more. I found that my blood pressure and stress levels actually reduced significantly when I began working from home – even with all the uncertainties of running a small business!

However, there can also be challenges if you work from home, or spend most of the time on your own. The following are situations that you may have come across:

Be at work while you’re at work
If you have, or are just starting, a business that is to provide your main income then you will need some self-discipline. The freedom to do what you want, when you want is wonderful – but take care not to get carried away! You may find yourself tempted to ‘pop out’ to the supermarket, the gym, or even the golf course – because it’s quieter during the day. And those little jobs around the house start beckoning now that you see them all the time. Before you know it, big chunks of your day have disappeared in non-work activities and you’re struggling to get enough clients or sales to make your business viable.

Just as if you were working for someone else, you need to have regular working hours – but you can be a bit creative! You don’t have to be ‘at work’ from 9-5, if you work better early in the morning, you might choose 6am-2pm. Or, if you’re a night owl you might prefer 2pm-10pm. It doesn’t matter so much when you work, as long as you put the hours in and work while you’re ‘at work’.

Set a time for ‘going home’
Some people have the opposite problem and would work around the clock if they could! If this is you, then you will need to set yourself a time to stop work and ‘go home’. It can be very tempting to just do ‘one more thing’ – I know I’m guilty of researching on the internet and losing track of time. But all your efforts could be for nothing if you make yourself ill by pushing too hard.

Believe it or not, having a proper break at the end of the day will actually help you get more done. Have you ever had a problem that you spent ages trying to solve and then find that the answer comes to you the next day while you’re in the shower or brushing your teeth? That’s because your subconscious carries on working while you’re relaxing or asleep – and it actually needs you to stop thinking about the problem while it takes over! 

Set Boundaries for Family and Friends
This is a particularly sensitive and tricky area. When you work from home, friends and family will often phone for a chat or drop in for coffee – just because they can. They don’t understand that you’re trying to make a living or have deadlines to meet. So you have to tell them, and teach them about your hours of business. 

If you don’t set boundaries, you’ll end up feeling resentful and not enjoy their company so much when you are ‘off duty’. They may be a bit surprised at first but will soon get the message if you continue to stand firm. If you feel uncomfortable doing this, practise what you want to say beforehand so you’re prepared when they call. It’s OK to say that you’re busy right now and can you call them back later (at a time to suit you). 

Schedule meetings in your diary
A lot of business owners don’t like the isolation of working on their own. They miss having people around them. So, while it’s important to use your working day productively, you also need to schedule in meetings with a fellow business owner. Have coffee or lunch and bat some ideas around. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice. Be mutually supportive. Celebrate your wins. Commiserate and pick up the pieces if necessary. You can’t usually do this with friends and family because they don’t understand what it’s like to be in business. 

Do choose carefully who you trust with details about your business – and make sure it doesn’t turn into a mutual moaning session! The aim is to feel less isolated, not become totally depressed.

Make Room to Work
If you’re cramped in a tiny space under the stairs, or perched on the end of the dining table, you will struggle to make headway with your business. It’s important that you have enough room to work, room to keep your papers tidily and room to make and take phone calls in a business-like way. 

Turning up to client meetings with coffee rings or jam on a proposal is not professional. Keep telling your little ones to ‘be careful’ around your papers or laptop, and the result will be nervous dispositions all round. Just as you need to be able to separate work time from home time, so you need to have somewhere that is just for your business and that won’t interfere with family life. 

© Louise Barnes-Johnston, 2008 - Used with permission

Louise Barnes-Johnston is “The Business Accelerator”. She provides business coaching and mentoring for entrepreneurs and owners of small businesses. Get a copy of her FREE report “10 Ways to Boost Your Business” at http://www.frontline-results.com (http://www NULL.frontline-results NULL.com/)