How To Work From Home

Where you start really depends on what you are doing.

How to work from home - find the perfect location

The type of furniture you will need depends on what it is you will be doing for your home business. Ideally you will want a comfortable area, one that is well lit (unless you are into photograph processing the old-timey way!). If you plan to be at a desk, make sure you have plenty of work space. Computers and phones and writing tablets and such need plenty of work area.

Ensure that your desk and chair are at the right height for safe and comfortable use of your computer - poor posture at the computer can lead to all sorts of discomforts that us moms can do without!

If you sew or make crafts, you will want a craft table and sewing machine. Places for all your "supplies". Plastic boxes and drawers are fairly cheap and easy to find at your favorite discount store (like Wal Mart). These make for excellent storage and even work surfaces.

Whatever it is that you do, make your home office a place that is strictly just for your "work". Try not to share the space with other things. Even if your desk is in the corner of the dining room, try to keep that corner just for your work and keep the rest of the house for "home life."

It's difficult for those of us who work from home to separate our jobs and job spaces from our family and home life...

I find that my children love to look at what I'm doing - and I've had to rescue some of my work from my younger kids and their markers! One good tip I've discovered in learning how to work from home successfully is setting aside one drawer in my desk for my children - they like to fill it with their own 'supplies' and pretend they're working from home too!

You may also like to think about protecting your computer from your youngest children - you really don't want to find that they've deleted all your hard work! When I leave my computer during the day, I put on a program called 'Baby Smash' which locks the keys and prevents my one year old from spoiling my work... plus it's fun for him too! Baby Smash is free to download and you can find it here.

Once you've learned how to work from home efficiently by planning out your "office" area, you'll find that it can be very easy and pleasant. Try to keep your office neat and try to keep it separate as possible from the rest of the house. This helps you to get into "work" mode when you do "work" your job, and when you step outside of the designated area, you can feel as if you are leaving work and going home!

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