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Home Office Efficiency Tips That Will Lead to Success

I have found the best way to stay productive and efficient at home with a home office is to schedule your days hour by hour with a time map. Here is what I am talking about.

You need to set office hours. This would mean that at 8:00 am sharp, the day begins. If you want to eat a big breakfast, read the paper, or exercise before you start work, get up earlier. But, make sure you start at the same time each day.

This same line of thinking goes for the end of the day. That time needs to be a set time, like 4:00 pm. Once you reach that time, then work is done. Close up shop and do the things you need to do after work. This is where people will let their home office schedule take over their personal lives.

Next, you need to divide your day up into three parts:

Servicing Existing Clients
Marketing for New Clients
Taking Care of Administrative Tasks

Use the first part of the morning for servicing existing clients. You can make this schedule something like 8:00 - 11:00 am. Then, from 11:00 - 12:00, you can take lunch. From 12:00 - 3:00 pm, you can do some of your marketing for new clients. Use the last hour of the day, from 3:00 - 4:00 pm for any administrative tasks you may have. This will also include setting up your To-Do list for the next day.

I would also recommend you try to plan 3 days ahead. Initially this will be more difficult, as it requires you to actually make commitments to certain areas of the day and of the business. But, with time, it will get much easier. You will also notice after a while you will become more efficient with your time. Once this happens, you can start to add a few more things into each of the sections of the day.

A set schedule is what is required to make working from home successful. I have seen too many people become stressed out when working from home. Plus, I have seen them not be able to separate the home office from their personal lives. If you can follow the advice above, you will be well on your way to being successful with a home office or a home business.

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Five Steps to Managing Your Day As a Work at Home Mom

Here are five simple rules to follow when you are work at home.

#1: Give Yourself Attention FIRST. Take just 10 minutes to have some tea, quiet time, or meditation. This will really helps to clear your mind and help you focus for the day.

Step 2: Get DRESSED. I made the mistake early on to work in my pajamas. I found that my attitude changed once I actually showered and put on "non-ratty" clothing.

Step 3: Stay on a schedule. This most difficult. It is so easy to get up from your desk to throw in laundry or clean up the kitchen, etc. The key for me is to pretend that my office is miles away from home. Then, I can disassociate myself from a stay at home mom / work at home mom. I have time for lunch on my calendar, time for my son when he comes home from school, and time to shut down. By the way, I even schedule time for laundry!

Step 4: Quit when it is quitting time. The easiest way to lose the balance in your work/home life is to ignore the structure you set for yourself. If you are scheduled to end your day at 5:00 PM, then end your day at 5:00 PM. Walk away and close the office door. Turn the ringer off of your office phone and don't look back! The you biggest mistake you can make is being "open" all the time. Address it early on.

Step 5: Detox each day. Give yourself, your family ALL of you at the end of each day. Stop being a working mom and be a mom/wife. Be fully present when you are done with work.

Follow these easy rules/steps to set yourself up for success!

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Five-Steps-to-Managing-Your-Day-As-a-Work-at-Home-Mom&id=3693502] Five Steps to Managing Your Day As a Work at Home Mom

Tips to Avoid Frustration

- At night I write a list of the things I need to do the following day. I divide a sheet of paper in columns (I prefer to use paper and pen, but you can write on your computer if this is better for you), each with a different heading: work, shopping, kid's agenda, etc.

- In the morning, I go through my list, prioritize the items and enter them in my agenda. I cross out items as I complete each task. I developed a trick to avoid frustration whenever I realize that the day is over and I have not completed all the listed items: in the agenda for that specific day, I only enter those items that I am sure I can accomplish that day. Those tasks I am sure I will not be able to complete are entered in a generic "to do" list and will be dealt with on another day.

- I check my email at specific times: 9:00 am-1:00 pm-5:00 pm and definitely avoid any attempt at having a peep at it outside my scheduled "email check times".

- I check my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn accounts only from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The same rule I strongly abide to for my email also applies in this case: no peeping at social networks outside allowed times.

- I work only until 3:00 pm: this is the time my eldest child comes back home from school. When my first child was born I decided that I would never consider or treat her as something secondary in my life and that all the time I would spend with her would always be just for her and for nothing else. So the rule still applies: from 3:00 pm I'm just for my children. Everything else can be put off until tomorrow. If I have a very tight deadline, I may work at night, once my children are asleep or, alternatively, I wake up very early in the morning. And I am very happy I made this choice: my relationship with my children is very special!

- One last tip: I only answer my business phone and I check who is calling. All private calls are returned during my breaks or after dinner time. They can be a very dangerous distraction. Working from home is a privilege, but it requires discipline. And discipline requires practice.

Paola Devescovi

Artist, entrepreneur, linguist, ecommerce enthusiast and blogger. http://www.italianartanddesign.com [http://italianartanddesign.blogspot.com/]http://italianartanddesign.blogspot.com

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Tips-to-Avoid-Frustration&id=3542632] Tips to Avoid Frustration