My Top 5 Tips for Working from Home (#2 will surprise you!)

In our current gig economy, more and more of us are leaving the typical 9-5, dress in a business suit and work in a cubicle careers.  In fact, a study from Intuit shows predicts that by 2020 over 40% of Americans will be independent contractors. I’m not well versed in other companies, but I know that this fall over 15,000 women joined Thirty-One Gifts to start out on a new path or add a little more flexibility to their lives.  That’s a LOT of women shifting from the typical cubicle lifestyle!

Are you one of the almost 40% of the population or do you work remotely for your career?  Or do you just WISH you could work from home? Read on, girlfriend! Let me share with you some of my top tips for effectively working from home.  

5. Set business hours.  If you’ve got an employer, then you’ve probably got some business hours set already.  However, for us entrepreneurs, setting business hours is critical. In my business, I get to work my schedule around my family’s schedule.  I am a HUGE fan of calendar blocking and a HUGE fan of planners. Whether you use a paper planner or a digital one, calendar blocking can be done!

First, put all of your family events into the weekly and monthly spread of your planner.  Kids’ birthdays, days where there’s no school, school events, etc. Also, be sure to put in any recurring meetings and obligations, and pre-scheduled appointments like dentist and doctor appointments.  Then, in the weekly spread, make sure to include when the kids are dropped off and picked up at school or their bus times so that you can account for that time. Then, this is where the magic happens… you can see WHEN you can work!

Andrew is in first grade, so he’s in school all day which is awesome, but we do not have busses in our district so I have to account for drop off and pickup.  Sean’s still in pre-school only four days a week, for just a couple of hours a day. This means that as soon as I get home from dropping him off, I head right to my office and work until it’s time to pick him up again.  During this time, I plan all of the highest value tasks that need to be done and I protect it like crazy. I only get two hours a day four days a week kid-free to work… that’s 8 hours, what most people get in a work day.

Before my kiddos were in any sort of school I worked during nap-time.  Paying babysitter or a nanny or sending my kids to daycare didn’t fit within our budget and our family plan, so it was out of the question.  Is this where you’re at in your journey? I can totally relate as it wasn’t that long ago that I was there too! My only option for work in this stage was during nap-time.  When Andrew was little this was perfect – that kid was an awesome napper and I could usually get a solid 90-minute nap from him in the morning and a 2-hour nap from him in the afternoon.  No wonder my business took off, I had so much time to work! And then Sean was born. That kid never slept. No seriously, I was the crazy woman who called the doctor’s office asking for an appointment when he was 11 months old because I hadn’t slept in almost a year.  

If you have a non-sleeper like Sean, some of the things you can try that worked for me are: work while the baby’s playing or in the swing, plan an hour here and there when you can work when your partner gets home from work or kid swap with a friend.  When Sean was two years-old, a friend of mine and I tried this where we would go to the library and one would watch the kids for a couple of hours while the other had time to herself. And the kids loved it because they had a playmate!

4. Find a workspace in your home that inspires you.  When I first started my Thirty-One business, I worked at the kitchen table amidst the chaos.   That worked for a bit, but as my business grew, I needed a dedicated space where I could keep my paperwork,  computer and focus.

We live in a small raised ranch, so my options were limited.  Our main living space is upstairs; however, we have a living room in our downstairs that we hardly used because the kids were so little.  So, I made myself a little corner in that living room that made me feel inspired and gradually took over the whole room. I hung diploma and some of my favorite Penn State photos, I displayed my favorite awards and made it flow with the nautical decor that was already in the room.  Jeff still asks me how I ended up with a quarter of the house as my office, and I gently remind him that he’s welcome to visit me in my office during non-business hours.

What inspires you?  Do you have that diploma in a closet somewhere?  Get it out and display it! You worked hard for that, girlfriend!  Have you earned any awards? Display those as well so that you can be reminded of what you can accomplish.  What dreams are you chasing? Put that vision board up where you can see it to remind yourself of those! What’s your favorite style?  Incorporate that decor into your office so that it makes you feel excited to walk in and get to work. Lastly, find a system to organize everything so that it stays clean and  you’re not distracted by the mess.

3. Get dressed, put on makeup and do your hair, girlfriend!  At this one, you’re probably like, “what the heck?!? Isn’t that the whole point, so I can work in my pajamas?”  And I will tell you that I am truly more productive on the days when I get up, put on makeup, do my hair and wear real clothing.  

My business involves video conferences, making videos, taking photos and going live on Facebook.  I found that when I don’t have on makeup or have my hair done, I am more reluctant to do these. And, on days when I have video conferences and I don’t have my hair and makeup done, my confidence isn’t as high.  When was the last time you took five to ten minutes for yourself? I DARE you to try and see how it makes you feel the rest of your day!

I am my brand.  If I’m at school drop off looking like a hot mess, do you think people are going to want to buy my bags?  Heck no! But, if I’m at school drop off looking put together with a bag that coordinates with my outfit, it speaks volumes for my brand and I am likely to have a business conversation.  You can be a walking billboard by being open for business everywhere when you’re put together!

I usually wear jeans and a sweater or comfortable top that make me feel put together.  What I’m wearing does have to be comfortable. And, I’ll admit, on those rare days that I don’t have to leave the house and don’t have any video conferences or live presentations…. Then you can find me in sweats with no make-up.  But that also means that my kids are probably home too, so I am probably not getting a ton of work done anyway!

What’s your favorite outfit?  Wear that on the day that you need to feel inspired the most!  Enjoy the fact that you don’t need to wear a business suit and let your own personal style shine through!  You’ll feel so good!

2. Ignore the dishes and the laundry and don’t you dare clean a thing! That’s right, you heard me!  Stay away from those chores, girlfriend! If it’s your work time, don’t you touch a bit of housework.  

As I shared before, my kid-free work time is super limited.  I bet there are so many of you out there who are in a similar situation.   If this is the case, you can’t afford to waste a minute of it on dishes or laundry or cleaning.  On days when my husband works from home this drives him crazy. This is when it’s a good idea to have a conversation with your spouse so that you’re on the same page.  So, if you usually get the dishes done after the kids get home from school, but before your husband gets home, let him know that. Be upfront about your expectations for and routines if he’s working from home too.   

If I can’t finish the breakfast dishes before school drop-off, they don’t get done until after I pick up Sean.  If I tossed in a load of laundry before school, I don’t touch it until then also. Protecting that work time is more important than getting chores done.  Trust me, the chores will be there later. This is another reason why it’s so important to find a work space that inspires you, so that you can get away from the distractions of all of the things that need to be done.  

1.Enjoy the flexibility that working from home provides!  You get to work from home! Isn’t that amazing? Cherish the fact that you have the flexibility to pick up a sick kid from school and snuggle him if he needs it.  Relish in the fact that you don’t need to commute to the office but get to work in a space that inspires you. Appreciate the ability to have lunch with friends or playdates after school.  

What are some of the tips you’ve picked up while working from home?  I’d love to hear them and I’m sure that our tribe would too!