Another problem that many home-based business owners face when they start working for the first time from home is to get adjusted to the idea that they are working from home. It takes many, a while before they are able to make the mental switch once they step into their home office and to be able to function productively.
If you are having trouble settling down in your new home office, perhaps the following tips will help make the transition smoother for you.
Instead of trying to start afresh in you home office, maybe you need to know what about the previous office conditions did you like best?
- What made you work the best and where did you do the majority of your thinking?
- Was everything kept in one place or did you like to spread things out a bit?
- How did you jot things down – did you use post-its on your monitor or bulletin boards?
- How about keeping track of appointments – did you use your computer organizer or your personal digital assistant or did you follow the simple route and note down everything in your diary?
Think carefully about all the places and the things you did, which made it comfortable for you to work in the office.
Some tips for your new home office
Try and see how much of it you can replicate in your new home office. You will not find the surroundings so strange now and you can get back to focusing on your business.
- A well-lit office is not only more pleasant to work in but also helps your eyes. See if you can maximize the sunlight by opening up windows. Let in the fresh air and light. Instead of investing in the standard fluorescent tubes you could try investing in CFC bulbs.
- Usually our tables and at times, even our chairs tend to get cluttered with files, papers and supplies. We very often forget to make efficient use of our walls, especially the ones around the desks. Try to put up some storage racks so that papers and folders can be placed there.
- If you are going to be working for a long time on the computer, you need to be very careful of the way you sit, the position of your monitor and the way you use your keyboard.
Try to keep your wrists up as you type or else get a foam pad that is at level with the keyboard. Rest your palms on them as you type and you will notice how much rest that provides your wrists. Also, try to get an adjustable chair- one in which you can adjust not just the height but also the tilt and which has good lumbar support.
- Always keep your papers, folder and supplies in the place meant for them. You may have all the office supplies you need but if at the last minute, you do not find a pair of scissors and need to rush to the kitchen to get one, it means that you have to use your supplies carefully and once they have been used, they must be put back in their places.
- If you are going to be using the computer system for any duration of time - and there is every reason for you to shift to computers - then you need to make sure that you regularly take backups of all important, relevant data.
In fact, you should keep business critical data somewhere safe like a friend’s house or you could subscribe to one of the online backup options. If you are going to be working from home on a part-time basis, you need to ask the employer for how long should be protecting the data and with what degree of security.
- You can also consider changing the existing wires and replace it with a new hybrid telephone cable. Though of course, it is entirely possible that in the very near future, the telephone, television and computer will all go wireless.
- Working from home is not just a major lifestyle decision. It is also a serious business proposition. Approach all requests and all customers with utmost professionalism.
Ask questions just like you would to a customer in the previous job. Understand how problems will be handled and what kind of costs do you have to bear?
Can you include the payment for taking care of computer crashes and virus infections?
What kind of disaster backup do they have planned?
Can anyone pay you for your at-home support for the computer system?
Request the client to sign up to an initial understanding.
You can review and revise this every six months.
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Two very important aspects were discussed – how to find funding and what to do to start feeling comfortable in the new settings.
We now come to the last section of our resource, growing the business.
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