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To quote a famous movie line “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”

If we take a moment to examine the normal daily rituals of the in traditional working style, you will find that most people do not actually work all day long. So to be expected to do so when working from home is unrealistic.

During the traditional work day we find ourselves arriving at the office, getting a cup of coffee, talking with coworkers, getting lunch and general moving around. Perhaps you read a magazine at your desk when you first get in, go on the internet and look at the news.

Everyone’s work day is slightly different, some people sit at a desk on the phone all day, and some people do data entry. Others walk around as part of their daily ritual.

We cannot make a blanket statement that this is the way you should work, but here are some guidelines.

Set up a separate working area

It is important that you separate your work life and your home life, if you do not separate them, you will find out are always working. Your home office does not have to be a completely separate room. It can simply be a corner of the kitchen or alcove. The key though is to make that the “working” space. This helps put you in the frame of mind for work, when you are in that area.

Avoid distractions 

Many people have said this and I will reiterate, telecommuting is not day care. Young children, televisions, pets and spouses can all interfere with you getting your work done. More and more, companies are accepting haring the background noise of the home worker, but to be constantly interrupted during the work day creates a stressful situation.

Get dressed

When you go to work, you get dressed. The same thing applies when you are working from home. Getting dressed puts you in the correct frame of mind and gears you up for the work day. If you don’t get dressed for work, it can be difficult to tell when the work day starts and ends for you and your family.

Set a schedule

When you go to work, you probably have a start time. For many of us it is 9:00 am.
You might have the option with a flexible work schedule to work at different times of the day or you might be required to start at the same time daily. In either case you should create a schedule that is the same each day and stick to it. If you are supposed to get up at 6 every morning, you should continue to do so.

Get organized

At your office you had all of the resources you needed right there. Simple things like pens and paper become essentials at the home office. Keep your area neat and organized and have all of the supplies available for your daily routine.

Do not eat at your desk

Besides the obvious issues of cleanliness, health and safety, you need to separate yourself from work at some points during the day. This is a good tip for traditional workers as well.

Take breaks

You might not realize it but during the day you take many small breaks from working. Sometimes this is just pushing back from your chair and stretching before resuming operations. You might get up and go see a coworker, manager or employees. These small breaks allow you to refocus back on the task at hand. When you are working from home you need to do the same things to keep your mind sharp.

Make phone calls

Isolation is one of the biggest detractors for employees that have been moved into the telework arena. The interaction you have with people at your worksite might have been essential to your work. With the video conferencing and voice over IP telephony solutions available today, there is no reason that you have to feel like your not part of the team.

Go out to eat

You used to go out to eat once a week and you should continue doing so. Other workers from your company or friends that are now telecommuting can get together outside of the home and home office environment to socialize and remind ourselves that we are still part of a community of workers.

Schedule meetings

If your job allows for it, schedule meetings at client sites. This allows you to get out of the office, see people and interact the way you used to when you were in the office. If your position is not client facing, schedule some time at least once a month to come into the office and see people.

Be heard

Out of site is out of mind. Make sure that your efforts at home are viewed the same as anyone still working at the office. Report regularly on your progress, provide status reports as requested and always be available for in person meetings. If there is a company bulletin board make sure you have some posts on it. If there isn’t one, start one. We will help you do it.