6 Easy Steps to Separating Your Personal Life from Your Business

If you work from home, chances are you already know that youíre really pulling ìdouble dutyî. You probably work on your business while doing the laundry, corralling the kids, or fixing dinner… and letís not forget all the phone calls from family and friends expecting you to run errands or just “go out” for an afternoon of fun.

One of the hardest parts of running a home business is separating your work from your family and social life. Here are six proven ways to keep your home life running smoothly while keeping your business on track.

1. First, create a work schedule and stick with it. It may be tempting to answer personal calls during the day or take business calls after-hours, but doing this actually shows that youíre expendable ñ not dependable ñ and people will take for granted that youíll ìalways be thereî for any little things that come up. Even though family comes first, stay true to your business hours and resist the urge to chat with friends or pick up groceries during working hours.

2. Your friends may consider ìworking from homeî an invitation to chat during the day or just go out for coffee or shopping for an afternoon. Make it clear that your business hours are just that ñ for business. Leave personal calls for after-hours, and youíll find that your friends will gradually accept your schedule without feeling slighted.

3. Just because you have to set up a work schedule, doesnít mean that you have to keep the same hours as everyone else. One of the benefits of working for yourself is setting your own hours to fit your most productive times. Whether youíre an early bird or a night owl, youíll find that youíll get much more done when youíre attuned to your bodyís own natural rhythms. Some people work in the morning, take a break in the afternoon when the kids are home from school, and work again in the evening. Schedule your work time when you feel the most productive and youíll find that things get done easier, faster and better than when you were dragging along during those same rigid work hours that everyone else has.

4. If getting after-hours business calls or work day personal calls is a problem, it helps to have a separate business phone line, or at least an answering machine or voice mail, to take the incoming calls. This also gives your business a more professional appearance to clients than if you and your family make and receive calls from the same phone line.

5. If at all possible, try to separate your ìhome officeî from the rest of your home. If you donít have the luxury of a separate room, a room partition or screen can be just as helpful. This also serves as a visual cue to family that youíre working and shouldnít be bothered.

6. Dress and act professionally while working. Some people find it helpful to dress in casual business attire during their working hours. This reinforces that just because youíre working from home doesnít make you any less of a professional. Answer the phone with your name, or business name, and keep your children off the phone during business hours. Also, spend money investing in the tools you need to do your job right. A cell phone, fax machine or even a budget computer can help turn your home office into a true workspace.

If you follow all of these tips and stick with them, chances are youíll find a routine that not only makes you feel productive and active in your business, but also projects the message that you mean business ñ literally!

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Originally published at https://press.kokoshungsan.net on August 4, 2020.