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Working from home has a lot of benefits.   However, sometimes the luxury and familiarity of working out of your house can actually cause you to be less productive.  Let’s face it, there are a lot of distractions.  What I find is the best way to stay disciplined and avoid those distractions is to have a routine that you can stick to.

Since I work out of the house, I set up a home office in my basement.  It’s very important to have your own secluded work space that is away from your living/family space. My basement has a separate entrance, a bathroom, kitchen etc.  This allows me to have a work environment that is truly a work environment, with minimal distractions.  I also set up a separate phone line so I’m not sharing my phone with the rest of my family.  People know that this phone is my work number, so when it rings I know it’s work related.

The other thing I do that I find effective is to discover a commute.  Get out of your house in the morning for a walk, a drive for coffee, whatever it may be.  If you are in your house all day working, it can start to get lonely.  Especially when you are just starting a home based business, and may not be very busy with customers.   Getting out of the house for a morning “commute” will refresh your body and mind, and get you ready for the day.  Try and treat your working from home like any other workplace and you’ll find yourself being more productive.

The other thing to do to stay productive is don’t beat yourself up if you end up doing some home based activities when you should be working from home.  Think of it this way, if you were in an office job you would be spending some time chatting with co-workers and doing some things that aren’t necessarily work related.   The same holds true for working at home.  You don’t have to be heads down working all day.  Treat it like an office job, only now your the boss.  Be realistic and set goals for each day and you’ll find your days will go quickly, and that you get a lot done during the day.