# Staying Motivated while Working from Home



## MN Gardener (Jan 23, 2008)

How does everybody stay motivated while working from home??? I have a good income working from home, but sometimes it is hard to kick myself in the butt! What are your routines? How do you make yourself do the bookkeepping and tax related stuff? How do you keep on task when the are tons of dishes and dirty clothes "calling" for you? Please help motivate me!


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

I sometimes struggle with that, but for different reasons. Okay, what works for me may or may not help, but here goes:

I use Microsoft Calendar (there are different calendars/planners out there)

Each morning, I drink my first cup of coffee at my computer, and go straight to my Microsoft Calendar. The first thing I have down is to enjoy my coffee, read my Devotional, and then refer to the Daily Notes (those can be on paper OR sent to myself via email OR typed in the earlier hours on the Calendar). I put my priorities in order based on time, but in a looser format. If I play music, it is classical. 

For health reasons, I am normally up by 8am, but occasionally earlier or a bit later. So, my "day" starts the same no matter when I awake. I do what is on my daily list, but don't over-list as that leads to failure of completion. There are reminders to eat/snack/gather eggs/feed chickens/rabbits, call back clients, etc... I put in reminders to prepare my quarterly taxes, etc... If I am checking this Calendar each day, I miss NOTHING. What I don't complete that day, I can move to the next. 

What I do is assign myself to ONE task at a time this way. So, when I go in to make breakfast for myself (DH makes his own much earlier), I do dishes then, go right back into my office and get back to work. Now, each task that takes me out of the office gets completed, and I go back to do the next one. I will always interject "have a cup of tea" or "call a friend..." The key is to stay on task. Now, the dirty clothing? That can be an after lunch thing...make lunch, eat it, then start a load (that could be an anytime chore associated with a meal). I like to put a few chores together, like what I have to do outside all at once, then get back to take a block of time to get what needs done inside completed. At times, you may assign blocks of time for housework and blocks of time for your home business.

DH & I both work from home. He has a Welding/Machine Shop, and I am in Real Estate/Mtg's, also sell plants etc... I field most of the calls and deal with all the issues, speak with his customers and my clients. Follow up is my job, also (so is marketing, advertising, etc...etc...). I am not a website designer, but did do our website in February. Just recently, I designed new business cards for DH and then printed them on photo paper (just another one of my ideas...). Most people like photos, right? So, instead of the boring cards with all text, the background is a photo of DH welding on a steel ladder. Anyway, it made for a fun business card that has less chance of being thrown out or lost. That has been proven. Too bad they don't make photo paper super thick. I am making two-sided cards. Anybody have a recommendation for pasting them together? There was no thick two-sided photo paper... I could use a glue stick & trim afterwards. 

Okay, well slightly off track, but I reward myself, MN Gardener! That really helps keep me motivated. 

Now, I get to make a Kefir Smoothie, deliver one to DH, drink mine, then move some raised bed frames to where I want them, check the water for chickens/rabbits, go gather eggs, shut the nestboxes, and then start dinner. 

This evening, I have time set aside to read (we don't watch tv anymore) and also do some cleaning up in my office. Before it gets late, I will update my calendar for tomorrow.

Speaking of that, my time is up- a few outdoor chores beckon!


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

I forgot to add that it is easier to work in your designated area if it is comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, warm & inviting. My office is decorated better than the rest of my home, LOL. It is my favorite room, too. I look to my right, through a large window facing our orchard, out front through another big window and it faces forest, behind me, through the slider, I can see our backyard & garden. If the sun is shining, I walk out that back slider onto our deck & take in our forest view, chickens, garden cabin, and garden. Each day, I look at everything to remain constantly thankful for what we do have and never take it for granted. That is a good motivator for me.


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## clovis (May 13, 2002)

MN Gardener said:


> How does everybody stay motivated while working from home???


For me, motivation is called a "house payment". The rest of my motivation comes from the papers that are in the envelopes that the mailman brings each day. Too bad these envelopes have the words "Duke Electric", "Vectran Gas" and "Green-Owens Insurance" printed on them.

I know I am trying to be witty with my reply, but it is true. Those things do motivate me. It has never been an issue for me in the past 16 years of working from home and owning a business. 

In fact, in the past, I have had a very difficult time pulling myself away from work since the office was right there at home. This isn't so much the case these days, but it used to be nothing to work from 8:00 am til 6:00 pm, grab something to eat, and then work until midnight. While I never got rich, I did make some good money working those hours. It allowed me to write quotes, get organized, place orders, and more.

I know it sounds really bad...I am not a work-aholic, but this post makes me sound like one.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

I use a timer. I set it for 15 minutes, then switch tasks from setting to up moving around. When the timer goes off, then it's back to what I was doing before. It keeps things moving and helps me accomplish much more than I did when I was trying to "stay on task" until it was complete.


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## PonderosaQ (Jan 12, 2004)

My kids both work from home. They keep a normal work routine as much as possible being in their home office the same hours as they would a workplace that allows flexi time. They only leave their home office for something that would require an hour or more as they found when they tried a few mins here and there that they ended up wasting time and not getting in the work hours they needed. Bills of course are the motivator along with a desire to be financially secure in their future.

PQ


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

I believe the type of work you do dictates your work method. Spinner, I would get NOTHING done if I set a timer, LOL, as most of my work takes focus for longer set periods of time. We are all doing different types of work. Now, if I was working at a sewing machine or doing something that was a task I could easily walk away from, that would be fine. The task completion method works for me, due to each task requiring a different amount of time to complete. I have a 2,500 sq foot garden to maintain (DH is out in his shop, so this is my responsibility). Right now, each task takes at least an hour to complete. It is wet out most of the time now, so I know I am going to get wet/dirty out there... I like the timer idea and will see how I can use it to keep me on track if when I find myself veering off... If you can get up at the same time each morning, I think normal work routines work rather well. In my case, they don't, so my routine starts with my first cup of coffee. Our business takes calls after 9am, so not a problem there. My DH works in our home shop as a Welder/Machinist. He doesn't walk away from any job until it is at a completion point. This means, he will work on the same project for hours, if it is at a certain stage (a large railing section, for example). If he is putting together steel sections, nothing drags him away, so he stays on task to keep his focus. He told me that mistakes are too easily made with his work if he stops midstream at most points. My daughter is a singer/songwriter/musician and she has to block big-time. When she is writing a song, 3 or 4 hours is devoted. She won't take calls and shuts out everyone during that time. It stands to reason when there is a band practice, none of them answer their cell phones. Now, when she is making clay ornaments, for her charity project, she CAN walk away from them as often as she wants.


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## lharvey (Jul 1, 2003)

I have worked form home for over 12 years.

The problem I was having was not being motivated enough but for being overly tied to the office.

My first office was set up in the spare bedroom. I was in it from 0700 to after midnight every single day.

I then moved my office to a separate space outside the actual house and vowed to keep actual office hours. Well sounded good on paper.

But I now go out there at 0700 and usually back to the house around 1900 and rarely go out there after that.

I do NOT skip out every hour on the hour to check my e-mail and get myself tied up with "just one more thing"

My days are scheduled with customer calls pretty much all week long so I'm in and out of the office for those.

Weekends, I have a set routine I do on weekends.

Saturday: Visit 3 offices in town to do their computer tasks. Back to my office to complete the invoices and usually by noonish I am done for the day.

Sunday: Do all my in house and server back-ups and then off to visit 4 more customer locations and do theirs. I am definitely done for the day by noon.

There are some days, today being one of them, where I have no customer calls scheduled and have stuff to do in my office but just don't get into the spirit of it. "Never do today what you can put off 'till tomorrow"

For these days I drink lots of coffee in the office, watch the news, tinker and eventually it strikes me to get moving again. You got to have some down time. Being self employed is not the easiest thing going but you have to have ME time too. 

L


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## MariaAZ (Jun 5, 2007)

clovis said:


> For me, motivation is called a "house payment". The rest of my motivation comes from the papers that are in the envelopes that the mailman brings each day. Too bad these envelopes have the words "Duke Electric", "Vectran Gas" and "Green-Owens Insurance" printed on them.


Ditto!

Like Clovis, the daily mail is REAL motivating for me. My VA business exists solely on my laptop computer and I learned awhile ago that I don't do well with one assigned work area. Having a laptop and wireless Internet lets me work whereever I can get a signal, and I find that moving locations can change my mindset. So, if it's a lovely day outside I'll sit in the front yard with my laptop and enjoy the weather. Or, if I'm having problems rousting myself from bed I'll bring it there.


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## byexample (Aug 28, 2009)

You could always establish "office hours" and honor them. If you think about your business like you would a job... your job would require a certain number of hours to get paid. Some people really need routine in order to stay focused. 

I personally prefer a more organic approach. I've been working from home for 15+ years now and I move back and forth between home duties and work duties routinely. As long as you are meeting your work goals / commitments who cares what hours you work, right?

Best of luck!


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

byexample, you bet! With multiple home businesses, great assessment! My DH is out in the shop working on steel railings (at 6:44pm). Dinner will be served when he comes in, whenever that is. Flexibility is necessary around here! DH normally closes up the chickens. I do that whenever he can't leave his work. We have set "work days," not work hours. That isn't possible around here. The only tasks that are at regular times- feeding the rabbits, chickens, gathering eggs, closing up the chickens, and plugging in their electric mesh fence. I go out to our garden daily and do whatever I have time to do. I have down-time each day and it is all at different times. Each day, I have to be prepared to handle everything but DH's work, in addition to my own work (two home business lines soon to be 3).


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## wintrrwolf (Sep 29, 2009)

I haven't had the pleasure yet of working from home. But my mother was able to find one she was a systems analyst so would fix company programs. First thing she figured out move the computer out of the bedroom, and do not wear your pajamas to work! After that she would work semi normal "office" hours 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon. She had more time to paint which is what she loves to do. I think it does make it easier if you keep a solid base structure but leave time in there for variables and YOU time.


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## MN Gardener (Jan 23, 2008)

I do try to have set hours. It seems to work OK, there are time I do take calls after those hours, but they are far and few between. I usually wake up at 6:30 and get DS off to school at 7:30 am. Once he is off to school I shower and am in the office no later then 8:30am and usually work until 4:30pm. If I don't have a lot of work to do I will take a lunch break / walk, depending on the weather. My office is in the basement which is fine in the summer when I get quite a bit of light in, but in the winter I seem to go into a funk. I really don't get out much, so that makes it worse. I can go for 2 - 3 weeks with only seeing my husband and the kids! Winter is also harder because DH gets worried about money because we are much slower (I am in real estate) and the money doesn't seem to come in fast enough for him. He is constantly on me to get new business. But I am afraid if I get too many new clients I will not be able to keep up with my work and my current clients will drop me. I really like what I do, but with the new laws and regulations it has been very nerve racking and I would love to find something different.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Sorry to hear about the pressure you are under, MN Gardener. I am licensed in both Real Estate and Mortgages. In addition, I sell plants, barter, and handle my husband's business calls, etc... All the care of the critters is currently my job, too. We have an empty nest here, so that takes some pressure off. I usually am home a week at a time, but need to replenish fliers, do what shopping needs to be done for necessary food/items. A basement office would certainly challenge me. My home office is a separate 16 X 16 building, attached (code) to our home and can be completely closed off. Right now, there is a front porch being built. My idea was to remove a 5' X 6' window, use that on the South wall, and was given a huge exterior door (just 3 inches shy of 8 feet tall, and mostly glass). Where the window was removed, the wall beneath will be removed, and it will simply be a doorway onto the porch. The reason I am mentioning the large window/door. LIGHT- I don't care what time of year, that would be a problem for me. I have a large 5' X 6' window to the right of my desk overlooking our orchard. There is a sliding glass door behind me, as I sit at my desk. In front of me, I can see that other large window (soon to be a doorway). By sitting at my desk and determining placement of the porch (offset for light). I didn't realize that until I read your post, how much better I feel just having windows to see out of and all this light. That is definitely a motivator for me, also the way I furnished my office. 

MN- Do you have cheery stuff in your office? Large neat pictures on the walls, scenes, plants (fake or real)... 

Here, the new laws/licensing? I am considering letting my mtg license go, but not my RE one. Yep, can relate to that, no question. It isn't easy for others to understand how difficult being in RE can be, especially in a market like this. I am sorry also that your DH is putting that pressure on you. Right now, my DH is busy with his work, and my income has radically declined. While I am trying to change that, I am marketing him at the same time to get him more work. If things don't pick up a bit, I'll cross that bridge. Until then, DH has had to accept that his income is more consistent than mine. 

Back to work, time is up


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## MN Gardener (Jan 23, 2008)

I am actually in the process of changing offices and will try to decorate it cheery. I never really thought about that. The changes in the laws / licensing here have been a pain. It has really reduced my workload and now instead of having 4 - 5 really good clients I have to sign up with some third party appraisal companies that have no clue what my rural area is like. I actually think the new regulations is what getting me down....feel like Big Brother is going to come in and stomp me for doing nothing wrong. There have been so many appraisers that have gotten smacked with fines and license revocation because of the new laws. I have to upgrade my licenses and am not looking forward to it!
I was a loan processor for 11 years before I started appraising, so I can understand why you would drop your mtg license. You'd swear it was a crime to have a mtg license and RE license. Hmmmmmmm....wonder if a post from a LO to a appraiser is legal???? LOL


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Hi MN- Good for you on making positive office environment changes. What works for me doesn't work for DH. Since I had an office in town a few years ago, it was very well furnished. At the time, I elected to go with a large L-desk, cherry finish, with matching lateral file & tall shelf unit. Since my office in town was a large room, I also added a 1/2 circular little table, two very pretty chairs (either side of it), and picked up a few pieces as I saw them. I was given some beautiful art pieces by a few clients. When we bought this place, I moved my office home and was so thankful that everything fit! Since then, I was given more decor and art pieces. There is a little wood stove in the corner  This is a separate 16 X 16 building that adjoins our home, but will soon have it's separate entrance. The enclosed porch will be sided this week, the window installed, and then the electrical done. There were some changes to my original plan that were thought up by the guys (cool). I am moving my largest plant (touching the ceiling) out there along with a few others. There are more plants in my office than in the rest of my home combined. 

DH's office? He has a narrow one, solid wood desk, with a comfortable chair I bought for him (he would sit on a crummy one prior...). He does his drafting and figuring on this desk. It is a well lit space, he has drawers for his manuals, a metal file cabinet for his business files... His "office" is located in his Shop. 

When I got licensed in both RE & MTG's? I did it at the same time, right after I got my BA in Org Mgmnt/MCSE. When I listed properties, I would only offer financing to my Seller's (if they were buying another home), not the buyer's. I was asked to provide financing in that situation regularly. When I represented Buyers, I wouldn't offer financing to the Sellers (yes, asked to do that, too). I earned a good reputation as an RE Agent & LO because I am ethical, honest, and was offering Par Rates long before the changes in our WA Laws prohibiting rebate income. I would do Refi's, too. The reason I am letting my LO license expire in Dec? The requirements have increased, costs have increased, the work on each has increased, the income has decreased, and as a RE Agent, I cannot offer FHA (yet I can offer VA and all other loan products). Go figure. By year's end, I would have to take both (paying for them, of course) Fed'l and State Tests, pay for more classes, and pay for renewing my license. Thanks, I am DONE... I will keep my RE License. Nope, never felt there was a conflict.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I have a real office although I am self employed and 'work from home.' I purchased a small run down house across the street, remodeled it, and the former front bedroom is my office. It has a living room for people who drop by, a kitchen, bathroom, small bedroom for overflow from the house when all the relatives show up for Christmas, and my quilting studio is the large room across the back.

Having a separate building to go to REALLY helps me. I go to work by 9:00 AM at the latest, after milking the goats. Sometimes, I'm done with paperwork by noon, and I can work in the garden, etc. Today, I spent all day in the office.

Setting up on a small table in our home or on the dining table did NOT work for me at all.


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## miboje (Sep 22, 2009)

_For me, motivation is called a "house payment". The rest of my motivation comes from the papers that are in the envelopes that the mailman brings each day._

This. Plus, I have designated days to do certain things. For example, my fiance's pants are in the wash now. That is an every Thursday event while Friday a.m is reserved for lights and darks. Every other Wednesday is whites. Everyone has plenty of socks and undies for me to get away with that. 

My business is online sales, so my packing gets done before kiddos are awake when I am really busy. Workouts are done 3 days a week at a designated a.m. time. I don't get a chance to eat til almost 1 p.m. after my kindergartner gets on the bus. Then cleaning gets tackled on an as needed basis with dishes waiting til afternoon as well. I have dishwasher, so that helps save time. I cook almost every day. I just finished up all my canning this year, so that will free up some time. 

I never have enough time in a day though, cause I like to spend time with family in the eves.


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