Last Updated on Apr 3, 2020 by James W
Making more money should be easy, especially if you’re a freelancer. It means getting serious about your routine, your clients and the agencies that feed you work.
But what about your office? Is it up to much? The problem with most home offices is that they are too much “home??? and too little “offices.???
There are a bunch of benefits to working from home, of course, like decreased travel time and cost, more flexibility and the fact that you save a bunch of money on gas and food. And the evidence from Workopolis suggests that 90 percent of people who work from home are actually more productive than those that work in regular offices.
But there are distractions. The kids want you to play Jenga with them, the dog is barking and wants you to take it for a walk, all the household chores need doing: you see the problem.
Here’s some tips to make your home office more productive and make yourself more money in the process.
Get Tough With The Kids (And Anyone Else Who Distracts You)
There will be people in your life who won’t understand the concept of working from home at a fundamental level – particularly your kids. The idea that you can be just as wealthy and just as productive from home seems alien to certain people, including neighbors who’ve been trundling off to the office for the last 35 years.
It’s a good idea, therefore, to get tough with these people. Make “work??? just as much a priority when it’s from home as it would be if you were traveling to the office. No, you can’t just “go out for a quick coffee??? – you’re working. No, you can’t take your kids to the park – you’re working. Be firm with people when you do and don’t work – otherwise, you’ll cannibalize the rest of the day, spending your evenings and weekends grafting when you could be spending time with the family.
Set Up Your Office For Maximum Productivity
It would be great, wouldn’t it, to have a massive thick oak door that blocks out all the noise of the outside world and a huge aquarium in the corner that you could stare at endlessly, thinking up new ideas? But the reality is that that sort of setup just isn’t an option.
What you don’t want, however, is to be stuck working on your laptop on the kitchen table. It’s hardly the most productive environment. People who want to maximize their productivity, and therefore their income, need to go to specialist suppliers, like Arnold’s Office Furniture, to find furniture that is actually suitable for the workplace – just like in a regular office. Get desks with drawers where you can keep your USB sticks, portfolios, and computer towers. And make sure that you have a laser printer nearby that will rattle out print copies quickly.
Set Up A Daily To-Do List
Finally, when working from home, it’s a good idea to have a ruthless to-do list. Every day you should have a mission to complete a particular set of projects or tasks. Cross the items off the list as you go.
