Some Solutions

Setting up an office in the home requires self-discipline, as well as support and cooperation from others living with you:

• Keep a schedule— Arrange to speak with a staff member or fellow manager at the start and the end of the work day to help you get up early and put in a full day of work. Likewise, arrange for reports to be transmitted via e-mail early or late in the workday.

• Dress for work— At the very minimum, dress in casual wear, but leave the pajamas in the bedroom.

• Avoid distractions— Keep television as far away as possible from the home office. If someone else is home watching TV, shut your office door. Also, unless you are self-disciplined, take the game software off your computer. It can be too much of a distraction.

• Be disciplined— Don't put off today's work for tonight. Prioritize!

• Get organized— Internet companies can provide fax and voicemail at no charge to you. You can have the faxes and voicemail forwarded to you via your e-mail software. (See Lesson 15, "Streamlining Business-Specific Processes," for more details.)

• Keep separate phones— Do not allow anyone other than you to answer the business phone. Otherwise, let the answering machine do its job. Likewise, keep all personal phone lines and answering machines out of your office area.

• Learn to balance business and personal time— If you have a family, let them know the limits of work and personal time. Don't take advantage of the home office to get ahead of the workload, either—you risk alienating your family. Besides, if you didn't have that home office, the report would have likely waited until the next morning to be completed.

• Don't be a stranger— For those who split time between the company and the home office, it is wise to visit the company facilities one to three times a week, depending on the nature of your work. You cannot possibly know everything happening at the office unless you are there or are having someone fill you in on those activities on a regular basis. In that case, you may spend more time "talking shop" than working.