 The one thing that no-one really mentions about the home office is that it's, well, an office in your home. The advantages really outweigh the disadvantages but to be fair there are some disadvantages. In order to stay sane and cope with these difficulties here are a few things to look out for.....
Work is work
Once you are in your home office you are at work. Mentally prepare yourself for this and treat it as such. Don't see your office as a part of your home, see it as a separate building, one where the rest of your colleagues have just popped out for a while.
Timing is the key
You don't have to stick to regular hours, after all that's one of the advantages, but you must keep a record of the hours you spend at work. This is easy of you work for clients who pay you at an hourly rate but even without this it is vital to know how much or how little you have worked.
Train your family
It's great to have your family around you but they probably won't have your discipline about the demarcation between work and home. Train your kids and your partner and life will be a lot easier. It's actually a great way to instill in your children the notion of doing homework.
Get out more
Make sure that you create some time to get out of the office and talk to people. It's easy to fall into the trap of becoming insular and office bound. Arrange meetings, collect your own paper, annoy the postman, whatever it takes to maintain social contact.
Know when to stop
There are two significant and opposite problems when working from home. The first is not working enough and is clearly recognised by a general lack of money in 6 months time the second is far more insidious, working too much. It becomes very easy to work, work, work and work. Whilst this will help your business and/or reputation with your boss it isn't the best way to preserve your sanity, marriage, relationship with your kids and so on. Take some time out once in a while if you can, you'll feel much better for it.
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