5 Ways to Keep Your Sanity When Working From Home

By Myriam Callegarin • February 25th, 2010

Home Office Stress Running a home-based business has great advantages, you are your own boss and you can decide when and how to work. But this is exactly what makes running a home-office so challenging, and drives many solo-preneurs nuts (and their relationships as well)!

Here is how you can keep your sanity while building a thriving home-based business.

1. Set clear business hours – and stick to them!

Decide on what days you want to work, when you start, when you take your lunch break, and when you stop working. Communicate your working hours to your team, to your customers, and don’t forget your family and friends. Educate them to respect your schedule – and be the first one to respect it! No laundry washing during business hours. And when your working day is over, shut your computer down, turn the answering machine on and close the office door behind you.

2. Dress for success

Even when you don’t have meetings with staff members or clients, wear professional looking clothes. It doesn’t have to be a suit, but it should be clothes you would wear to go out. If you wear make-up when you go out, wear it also when you are at home all day. It gives you the feeling of being professional, and it reflects in all the things you do for your work.

3. Meet people and have fun

The more you stay at home, the less you feel like going out. Alarm! Make sure you schedule enough time during the week to go out and interact with people: attend networking events, join an interesting class, etc. The important thing is that you really enjoy it: you work so hard, you deserve having fun – and believe me, the energy you gain from it will be a great contribution to your success and fulfilment.

4. Take care of your body

Working from home often means sitting at the desk for hours. Stand up, stretch, go and drink a glass of water at regular intervals. Let your blood circulate in your body! Open the window and let fresh air in. Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, best if organic. Sign up for a sports class, and make sure you attend it at least one time a week.

5. Create supporting structures

When you run a business from home, you tend to do it all by yourself. You’re the consultant, you’re the strategist, you’re the book-keeper, you’re the secretary, you’re the web-master, you’re the cleaning lady. Can you really cover all of these roles? Sure you can, if you’ve got nothing else to think about besides working 16 hours a day. But even then, it’s all monologues! Do you discuss all of your ideas and decisions with yourself? That’s what many “close-to-burnout”-entrepreneurs do. If you have a different goal than burnout though, look for people who can support you: find one or more assistants (there are lots of excellent virtual assistants who can work with you for just x-hours a month), hire a coach, join a mastermind group. There are many ways to lift the weight from your shoulders, and the new energy and motivation that comes from it will greatly benefit your business – guaranteed!

Conclusion

Running a business from home can indeed be fantastic! It’s just a matter of getting organized – mentally and practically. Wishing you success and happiness!

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About the author

Myriam Callegarin helps action-oriented managers, professionals and business owners communicate value to their employer, clients and teams, in order to earn what they are worth in a work they enjoy. If you want to find out how you could benefit from her expertise, simply request an initial consultation.

Or simply use our free Business Start Up Program, that is helpful also for “seasoned” small businesses.