By: Ana Margarita Olar| Executivechronicles.com
TAKE A BATH AND GET DRESSED
One common misconception about people who work from home is that they get to work comfortably in their pajamas. Yes, it may be true for some, but not applicable to all.
When you have kids, or other relatives living with you, it is hard for them to understand that you are working with your pajamas on. Also, it’s hard to put your body in a work mode if you are still wearing your bedtime clothes.
So take a bath, eat a hearty breakfast and wear decent clothing before you set for work. This is one way of telling your house buddies that you are working.
HAVE A DESIGNATED WORKSPACE
As much as possible, de-clutter your things and assign a working space. Even if you work from home, you need to establish and maintain an office space. This is where you keep your things such as a laptop, mobile phones, storage devices, printers and other things related to your work.
This way, you train your family to acknowledge this area as your private space. Also, you can avoid losing things and wasting time looking for these things because they are neatly stored in one place. And if you have kids, you can train them not to play with your “work things”.
HAVE A DESIGNATED GADGET FOR WORK AND FOR PLAY
Kids are curious in nature. When you say don’t touch this, they will definitely touch it. One way to create a boundary is to explain to older kids that you are using this gadget for work. You can show how you use that gadget and the importance that they don’t play with that gadget. You can also buy a separate gadget for them to use.
BE STRICT WITH THE SCHEDULE
There is a saying that goes like this: Come to work on time, but also, come home on time. Train your kids to respect your time for working. But, after one task, make sure you spend quality time with them.
Don’t try to mix playing with them while working. You’ll just be stressed and you will not do anything. So start your work on time. But also play with your kids on time. And just like work, make sure that if its family time, it is family time. No checking of phones, peeping into social media or checking of e-mails.
TAKE SOME TIME OFF
Even when it is tempting to work straight to earn every cent, you have to take some time off. Our brain and body get exhausted after several hours of working. You need to rest after work.
It is challenging to set that boundary between life and work if you work from home. But it is a task that you must do, and once you succeed at it, you’ll enjoy earning money without having to go away from home.
