July 24, 2008

Separating Work From Home

by Rachel Rae

There is a simple code that I abide by to help ensure peace and balance in life, and that is what happens at work stays at work there, and what happens at home stays at home. Mixing the two worlds often can have troubling effects on both areas of your life. This can be especially difficult for people that work from their homes and be even more difficult to manage.

Many jobs takes at least eight hours of your day sometimes more, and that being able to share time with your family is important. Talking about it is one thing, coming home and taking it out on your family is something else.

One: Use the drive home to transition from the work issues to prepare for the family needs. Try to consciously let go of the work day happening and refuse to dwell on those issues. They will be there tomorrow.

Granted this is sometimes easier said than done, but you can use your commute time profitably, and is more geared toward those working outside the home. Begin to actively let go of the work day's problems knowing they'll be there tomorrow, and look forward to time with your family and what may be next.

Tip Two: Make a Schedule

You might need to think outside of the box when you work from home. There's a tendency to put in more work hours when you work from home, simply because there's not clear boundaries of work hours. Maybe you can work after the kids have gone to bed, or early in the morning. But look at the schedule of your family and see if you can find times in their day when their needs are less and use that for work hours.

Tip Three: Separate Your Phone lines

If you are finding that you are getting business phone calls at all hours, having a separate number for them to call can be a wonderful option. You also have the choice to making your cell phone your business phone and the home phone personal. This way when business hours are over, you can walk away and leave those calls to be picked up by an answering device. You can also separate the rings for people you know personally and business so you don't have so much cross over. Make boundaries.

Strategy Four: Have an Office that is separate from the rest of the house.

I know this isn't always possible. What you can do is create a work space. There are really beautiful little room partitions that you can get to help create a separate workspace. It's important for you to be able to get up and walk away from work.

About the Author:

Filed under Home & Family by Rachel Rae

Spread the Word!

del.icio.us Digg StumbleUpon blogmarks Facebook Google MisterWong Newsvine Propeller Reddit Spurl Twitter Help

Leave a Comment

Permalink Print Comment