HOW TO
STAY SANE WORKING AT HOME
It’s great working at home, being your own boss, but for some people
it’s not what they expected.
I’ve
heard several people say they get lonely and miss being around work
associates; others find it hard to stay disciplined, or they just find
working
at home boring. I personally don’t find it to be any of those things
myself and love working at home doing medical transcription, but
everybody’s different.
Some
people are almost forced to work at home, such as disabled people,
single moms that can’t afford daycare, or don’t want to put their
children in daycare. For these people that didn’t necessarily choose
a home career it can be quite depressing.
For those
that chose to work at home, and don’t want to change that part of it,
often times another problem arises. It can be called, “wearing all
the hats syndrome”. Not only do you run a business and play manager,
employee, billing clerk, sales person, inventory manager, etc., with a
home business, you might find yourself cleaning the house, taking care
of the kids, cooking meals,folding clothes, running errands, and
paying bills, all during working hours. This problem tends to arise
when there is no set work routine. It leaves one feeling overwhelmed
on a daily basis.
To
really enjoy a home business and keep yourself sane, it’s necessary to
establish business hours and a routine. It’s best to get dressed
every day at a
reasonable hour, otherwise you find the whole day’s gone and you’re
still in your night clothes. It’s great to be able to do that, it’s
just not good to do it. You can bet the doorbell will ring on the
days you slack off on this one!
Give
yourself a lunch break and try to eat healthy. It’s so easy working
from home to walk by the fridge every thirty minutes and get a snack.
Soon your body expects to be fed every couple of hours,
just like a newborn. Not a good thing, especially when you start
packing on the pounds.
Try to
get some fresh air every single day. It’s not good to get out of
the house only once or twice a week. When you feel mentally happy and
healthy, you will be able to stay sane with a home business.
Remember,
working at home can be harder than
working outside the home. It’s all up to you how your business turns
out; it’s a lot of responsibility. So, try not to stress yourself
unnecessarily.
Use phone time wisely. Enough said…
As far as
housework goes, and all that other stuff that messes up your work day,
I found something that works and may work for you. I get up and
get showered and dressed and then I spend about an hour cleaning the
house. I’m usually ready to sit down and start work around nine,
but if it’s ten o’clock that’s fine too.
Routine,
routine, routine, is the key to being successful and staying sane
while working at home.
(c) 2004 - Michele Miller
