It used to be really ‘glamorized’ to have such a simple, easy lifestyle that you can just stay at home and work in your pajamas. In Internet marketing you saw many ads to that effect. However if you try it you will find it gets old real fast. Depressing even, especially if you had formerly enjoyed ‘dressing for success’ in your career.
It will make you feel more business-like and it is easier to focus when you are in a business frame of mind, when you get up and get dressed to begin your day. Unless you use a web cam it is true nobody will know the difference – but you will.
There are many things you can do to stay ‘psyched’ to get to work and focus on the tasks at hand. Taking a nice shower is stimulating and while you certainly don’t need a suit and tie to work from home, just some clean clothes will make you feel like you are ready to go!
The same thing can be said for your work area. No matter how repugnant organization may seem to you, it will help you to focus and think more clearly if your work space is clear, clean and organized as possible. At the very least get a box where you can push things off so that at least at eye level your immediate space, is conducive to ‘clear sailing’.
The most important things to keep organized are your login credentials and links so that you can always find them, (even if you save them online, you should have a paper trail in case you need to recover from a computer disaster); your tax records, including both your receipts for business deductions and your income or payment information.
Staying organized throughout the year will make it much simpler when it comes time to put your taxes together. This way it is less likely that you will miss anything that you will regret later, such as a deduction you could have taken; or income you missed reporting that may come back to haunt you if you are ever audited (a real possibility).
There are many things you can do to help yourself stay focused, such as making lists of what needs to be done and including any dependencies such as things that need to be done before you can do something else. It works best to have a few different lists, at least one for the short term and one for the long term goals. It is fairly important to keep your list neat and organized as you can so that it helps you rather than hinders you.
Working at home you can still ‘get away with’ working your own hours (as long as you do the work the needs to be done); putting your feet up on your desk, watching TV out of the corner of your eye, listening to music, taking naps, breaks, etc., so no need to wear PJ’s or bag lady outfits. Start styling at home!
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