A few years ago I packed up my corner executive office and moved home. Since I had been working 18 hour days 5 days a week for several years away from home, my wife was glad to have me set up shop in our master bedroom (and it did have its advantages), for the first few months.

However, as our business grew so did my phone time, and before you know it she was telling me “we need some space between us.” As a romance writer, my constant deal making was interfering with her creative juices, so off I went to find a new space for my home office.

Here are the five principles to creating a home office.

1. Set up a completely separate place in your home for your office.

As the father of six kids running an international marketing and consulting organization from home can be quite the adventure. I quickly found that by moving my office to the front corner of the house, our of the daily rush of things, I was able to get more done in less time.

2. Decide your working hours.

When I separated my office form the master bedroom I quickly found I was not taking as many breaks, getting interrupted by the kids,or answering the house line because it was ringing.

This move gave me the ability to set the ground rules for what my daily office hours would be. Today I invest my morning with my family eating breakfast at the beach, driving through the state forest or just walking along the beach listening to Paige tell me about her next book.

My work day starts around noon and goes until around 6pm. I should also state that after reading 4-Hour Work Week, I also changed my work habits in the area of answering emails and the phone. By controlling when and how I answer the phone and email, I was able to carve out three extra hours of productive time. (and my top leaders and clients are still able to get a hold of my via my cell phone.)

3. Dress For Success:

Now this is a very subjective statement. Depending on what industry or profession you are in dressing for success will mean different things. For over 15 years I wore only Christian Dior, suits, pants, shirts and socks. However, over the last few years dressing for success means I wear Tommy Bahama shirts, shorts and flip flops (even to church.)

If you are like the majority of entrepreneurs who work from home, you have a full-time 9 to 5 job. By the time you get home the last thing you want to do is get all dressed for success. So in cases like that, dress the way you would if you were enjoying yourself on a tour of a tropical island. Business causal is how I dress 95% of the time.

4. Design your own pick-me-ups.

I bet we all have gone through times where working in our office by ourselves we get a little stressed out, feel rejected after you hear the big fat “NO” from that prospect you just knew was ready to say “yes.” And, when we work by ourselves from home, it can sometimes feel like we are the only one hearing NO from everyone.

It is during these times you need to create a “pattern interrupt” so you can get out of that funky mood. In my case I will go for a walk around the block, listening to 80’s music or a John Maxwell training. Sometimes I will go for a swim in the pool, or call a close business associate and tell them what I just went through so they can give me advice. Find what works for you and do it. If you want more information on learning how to create pattern interrupts click here.

5. Know when to call it a day.

To many times I see people driving themselves pass the point-of-no-return. Instead of realizing they are off their mark, tired or completely focused on something else, they just keep on calling prospects, talking to clients, and trying to work their business.

Here is my personal suggestion. If you are a full-time home based entrepreneur then get out of the corporate mindset that you have to work at least 8 hours per day. Instead remember that your main goal is to grow your business, not act busy for 8 hours. At the beginning of the week list at a minimum 5 outcomes you need to complete (one a day) and a maximum of 10 (two a day.) When you have accomplished the one of two projects you have scheduled for the day, then call it a day and reward yourself with some well deserved time off.

If you are a part-time home based entrepreneur then do the same as above but limit your maximum outcomes per week to three. When you have accomplished these three outcomes. Reward yourself and call it a week.

Never Give Up,

Troy
MLM Helpdesk

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1. 
   distress sales said...
   3:33 pm - November 29th, 2008

   I really like what you had to say here! It\’s about time! Would you mind if I placed a link back from my blog?