apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

on "laying down the law" with family and friends: wear earphones or headphones while you work. regardless of whether you're actually listening to anything, it communicates that you are unavailable to chat/watch the baby/cook/get an extra roll of TP because you're WORKING (contrary to what they may think).

i work from home and all your points ring true.

it's sometimes hard because people don't take me seriously - when i'm stressed they scoff because how can i be stressed if i work at home? riiiight.

i'm currently in the middle of a huge project coming to completion and i found that i've barely left the house for more than small errands around the 'hood. it's 5:30pm and work's done, i'm stressed out, and all i want to do is go eat and watch a movie and pass out. it ain't healthy!

it can be really hard...and for four years i've tried to get a schedule down, but if you're not a naturally self-motivated person, well...then you're like me and are constantly on the brink of utterly failing heheh.

I often work at home and I am often far more productive at home than at work. I live alone with two pets and I have a dedicated home office. Whe I am at work, I find that I am frequently distracted by unexpected visits by cowrokers or students (I am in academia) and by numerous, but distracting, small activities that eat up my time. I often find myself trying to sneak into my office when I need to get something important done right away. To be fair, the informal and impromptu 'discussions' that I have at work are meaningful and to some extent are part of the job, but if I didn't have the option of working from home, I would have a much harder time getting anything accomplished.

I have far greater control over the working conditions of my home than I do of my workplace.

I agree with the 'clear your space' hint. My husband has projects allow him to work from home but I always appreciate it when he clears the kitchen table and our office at the end of his day. It lets me come home to an actual home, no work stress in sight!

If you can - have a dedicated work space. Doesn't have to be an office or a separate room - just a place solely for work. This keeps you from flipping on the TV if you're already lounging on the couch.

It also keeps things in one place. Currently our home office is where the moving boxes are - so the living room is a rats nest of wires, cables, fans papers etc. It's driving me nuts.

Also - If I'm working from home for extended periods I make sure to take a walk in the morning before I start - to the coffee shop at the very least. Gets me out of the house and makes me feel like home is a destination.

When I work from home, I always make sure I "get dressed" in the morning (shower, brush my teeth, have breakfast) like I was going into an office. I usually wear sweats but at least I'm out of my pajamas.

I love the idea about clearing your space. But I disagree on the "changing before dinner." I find that dressing first thing in the morning sets the tone for the day. I dress as if I was going to work outside the home. It helps with the professional mindset.

I find a change of venue does wonders when I'm in a rut - even to dining room table or couch, from my home office, makes a difference. And I get the most done when I give myself the treat of a day working out of a coffee shop.

Starting with a clean room helps, although there is the slippery slope problem there - a little tidying turns into a morning of cleaning and no work done!

I work from home but my hours don't start until 1:00. It took me quite a while to set up a routine, but it makes things so much better; get up, shower, get dressed, and get outside before work.

One of my biggest struggles was getting it through my family's head that if they called me during work hours, I was WORKING and couldn't talk. I found answering the phone with a professional greeting helped drive the point home.

i worked from home for almost 10 years, and i know the drill. setting a schedule is KEY. setting expectations of yourself helps maintain balance all around.

some things i learned:
- be fair to your life balance - if you need to take your "lunch break" at 10AM because you cant concentrate, do so. or take that time to finish the laundry and make the time up after dinner.

- have a morning routine that invigorates before you start work. (i.e. - walk around the block, play with the dog, surf your fav website while drinking your morning coffee ... ). get your brain and body active before trying to tackle projects.

- make a daily/weekly to-do list for client projects.

- dont be afraid to tell friends/family that you're working and you will give them your full attention when you return their calls later! OR, that they can email you and you will return their email later on your break.

- take your lunch and breaks as opportunities to step away from your desk, eat something (HEALTHY), and breath deeply.

- clock your hours and productivity and review with a realistic outlook. are you REALLY working that hard and being productive? think of the "free time" you would have during each day if you managed to focus during your office hours.

- reward yourself by taking a work-related field trip once a week. or, work from a remote location (bookstore, coffee shop, library).

- dont nap! :)

Two things make WFH difficult for me: the temptation to do home-related stuff during work hours (laundry, pay bills, etc.) and the internet. The latter, I assume, is also a problem for people in offices-- but probably there is less temptation to surf because coworkers can see you.... Does anyone have any tips for how they stop themselves from surfing away precious periods of time? I sometimes turn the wireless off, but I usually need it on for work-related research.

Well I work from home 40 hrs a week. I have a separate room for my office, so I don't watch tv and such during work hours. My office is upstairs, which keeps me from wanting to go up and down the stairs all day doing other things.

My problem? Well it is working hours right now and look where I am, on the Apartment Therapy web site. This is my weakness, I seem to find it too easy to just browse the web instead of spending this time working. I work for myself, so it isn't like I have anyone that I have to answer to. So how do I stop surfing the net during the day and get some work done?
Maybe I should buy another computer. One strictly for work and one just for personal. Don't know if this would work, any other ideas?

nice photo!

The web thing is tricky. I trimmed my bookmarks down to almost nothing and this helps. I set up one little set of bookmarks labeled "break" and it has a link to the latimes, salon, apartment therapy and one blog that I don't read that often. If I feel like surfing the web, I look at these. But eventually these links get exhausted. Basically I am not allowed to look at anything else, or if I do then I KNOW I am procrastinating. I also have an RSS reader, but I keep that pretty trim and focused as well.

We both work at home. In our last house, we shared an office. In this house, we each have an office at separate levels. Increases productivity and interpresonal relationships tremendously.