apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Working at home is the best as long as you're motivated. For me the best part is I can just roll out of bed and get right to work. I don't have to go out to eat, I can eat at home which is usually healthier. Also I never have the t.v. on so I can just focus on what I need to get done.

This is probably a personal thing, but I learned early on that working on the sofa was not for me. Even with the TV off, I sink too far in and end up reading blogs instead of working. Plus, I need a flat surface to spread out.

When I first started working from home (5 years ago) I really needed dedicated work space - just psychologically. Now, I have a desk and I can work there, or I can work at my kitchen island, but unless I'm working on something pretty mindless, the sofa is out.

I relate to this thread.. But Impossible for me to clean off my desk everyday and impossible to do one project at a time my work is full on multi tasking with lots of materials, samples, and phone calls in between. I try to clean up at the end of the week by doing my filing, putting away my things.

I have my own business and before that I worked from home. Luckily, I do go out on appointments and see people for the most part. But the days that I am home I try to keep order by not to taking personal calls during the day. Sometimes it can't be avoided and sometimes it gives me some inspiration to talk with certain friends. I give myself small rewards when I have worked straight through 3-4 hours (thats about all my attention span will allow) rewards like some web crawling, take a walk, do some organizing, walk my dog.
I recently started a new routine by going to the gym or yoga in the morning, taking a shower and eating a small breakfast at my desk..I have to say I feel better and I am more productive.

I use just roll out of bed go right into my office work for a while then make coffee, go back and work, totally starving by 11:00 AM make some food, then get distracted, then it was not until 2:00 I started working again, then looking at myself and realizing it was 5:00 and still in PJs, so I jump into shower then do other things. I call these my black out hours where I have no idea where the hours went and no sense of accomplishment.

Getting up early and working out is such a great way to set up the day.

My best advice is an afternoon nap. I indulge every day I work at home (and often in my office at work as well). You'll more than make up the lost time in greater alertness and productivity. Just don't go longer than 20-30 minutes or you'll be groggy when you get up. For those not in the habit, a good resource on how to nap is:

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/naps/

six years ago, i thought i was the luckiest person in the world when i got a project that allowed me to work from home. and i certainly took advantage of the freedom it afforded...

soon, however, i found my world quickly shrunk to the size of the screen of my macbook,if you know what i mean...

as soon as i was done with that project, i put the macbook away and got a field job that required out of town trips and put me outside with people all day...and now i appreciate being home a lot more and can't imagine home as a place to work and to live rolled into one...

best advice a friend gave me if you want to be productive working from home and you situation allows it: hire an assistant. keeps you responsible and on schedule....

Is that a screen saver (the digital clock) on the computers? If so where can I get one, I love it !!!

gallupgirrl: the screen saver (or one v similar) is featured at the bottom of this unplggd post:

http://www.unplggd.com/unplggd/roundup/roundup-ten-best-looking-free-screen-savers-060458

I'm a newbie to working from home, so to help me transition from running off to the cafe I managed and seeing a ton of people, to the isolation of the big computer screen I now have made it a habit to make an appointment with one person a day.

It forces me to get up, shower and get out of the house (or straighten up if the appointment is here) and stopped me from trolling social networks to visit other on-line friends so I didn't feel so lonely.

Thanks for the above tips, I can use all the help I can get!

working from home is so lonely. i sort of forget how to talk aloud some days.

its definitely nice to be able to stay in my own comfortable home and take care of my dog and such... but it'd be nice if some how i could also infuse some social aspect to my work on a daily basis.

Digital clock screensaver download.
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/24859

I actually have a problem STOPPING doing work, and end up eye-glazed and back sore at 7pm. And that's only because I want to make dinner. My husband glares at me if I go back to the desk after dinner (unless there's a project that absolutely has to get done). I am trying to learn how to stop at a reasonable time, having lunch either in the dining room or outside of the house and NOT at my desk, and getting up at least once an hour to stretch and rest my eyes. Oh the painful painful eyes.

It’s nice to see my pictures used like this, even though it is a picture of my desk at our office :) (Sometimes it feels like home, especially when coming back from a long consulting gig)