Stay Focused, Get Results

When you first bring your profession home and begin your stay at home business, you may yearn for that tiny little cubicle that you had when you were at an office
working for someone else. At least when you were in your own
cubicle, you were able to turn your back on impositions
and get your work done. However, in an at home atmosphere, this does not always happen. You have also realized when working for an employer, your productivity did not have that much influence on your paycheck at the end of the week. This is not so with your own business. Your salary is DIRECTLY proportional to your productivity. With these differences and many others, you will need to learn early on in your business how to combat these interruptions, stay focused and on task or you will not be in business for yourself for very long.

By following a few simple steps, you will have no challenge winning against the time wasters.

Create a To Do List: Every night or at the end of your work day, create a to do list of the projects and tasks that need to be done the next day. When creating your list, do not just write down a general idea of the project. Give your task a name and break it into milestones. This will eliminate procrastination and make the task easier to
manage. This is especially important for long-term
projects. Each time you cross off an item on your to
do list, it will give you a feeling of accomplishment.

Quiet Time: It is not necessary to step into your office and become involved in the first task on hand immediately. Take a moment to sit and look at your computer and look out the window. Better yet, step outside for a moment in the morning sun and clear your mind of the daily family activities. Take ten minutes in the morning to begin the transition from family/house life to work life. Begin to think about the projects that are a priority for the day.

Have a Set Schedule for Tasks: Have a set time that you will begin work and close up shop at a certain time. Since you own the business, you can choose if you want to work ten hours straight through or break your day into two work periods of five hours each. Also, set a fixed time to answer your email and other daily tasks.

Shut the Door! With smaller children, you will need
to address each issue as the need arises. That is not so with older children. They will understand when you tell them you need to work from x to y. Most of all, do not permit family and friends to distract them. Be firm with them and let them know that you are at work and cannot be disturbed for x amount of time. Focused you energy and attention the same way when you are with them and they will be on board with it 100%. You will be glad you did this for all aspects of your life.