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The Editor's Desk - From Beneath the Clutter
Feature Article - Organizing Your Home Office
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Halloween was great! I hope you had a good day too. I posted pictures of the kids in their costumes at http://www.homewiththekids.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3902 if you want to see them. Ariel had a blast trick or treating - it was her second year doing so, but last year she only went to six or so houses. This year? Two and a half blocks, both sides of the street!
Today starts an interesting time for me. My brother-in-law goes in for surgery tomorrow, but starting today I'm taking care of the kids. He and my sister are going to Los Angeles for the pre-op appointment, and there's just no point in driving back home only to turn around to head back up a few hours later, since he has to be there early in the morning for the surgery. My mother will have the kids a lot of the time while my brother-in-law recovers (2 weeks in the hospital, probably!), but for the surgery date itself, we think playing with Ariel will be the least stressful thing they can do. I'll be helping mom a lot, though, and spending a lot of time at her place so the kids are kept very busy.
My sister and I have talked a bit about how this feels; after all, it wasn't that long ago Gage went through surgery at only 3 months of age. We've agreed the feelings are probably pretty similar. It's more stressful having a child go through surgery, but we knew his was relatively safe. My sister's husband's surgery has more risk to it than Gage's did, and it is extremely important that he have it to keep up his quality of life, at the very least! There's no easy way to compare stress, but we figure mine was more stressful in one way, less in another, so it probably balances pretty well.
We also keep swearing life has to quiet down on the medical front sometime soon!
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It can be a real challenge as a work at home parent to maintain an organized home office. Many times, the office or desktop is the last of our worries as we strive to raise our children, support our spouses and run our home-based business. However, keeping up with the clutter and chaos of your office may be just what you need to get you in a working mindset and help you to be more efficient while working.
There a few simple things that you can do on a regular basis that will help to de-stress organizing process:
* Address your home office/desktop chaos in blocks of time. You may need to set aside just a few hours, or you may need an entire day. Decide what will work for you and stick to it. If it’s not possible for you to set aside a block of time, consider using a headset while you are on the phone and be de-cluttering, too!
* Have the necessities on hand: a trash can, pen, file folders, mail baskets and other organization items that will enable you to sort, throw out and find a place for each item. Envision your goal and purchase the supplies necessary to create that environment.
* Clear the space you want to organize (the desk surface, one of the drawers, etc.). Then make a pile of all the paper. Begin to evaluate each piece of paper, sorting it by importance. Throw out as much as possible and find a place for each of the other items.
* If you start to feel stressed, take a break. Make a goal of how far you’d like to get during the time you have available and set an incentive for yourself if you reach your goal. It’s always easier to complete a task when you know you’ll be rewarded.
Once you’ve organized your office, it’s important to take small steps everyday to keep the room clean and tidy. It’s very easy to fall back into the routine of piling things on your desktop and around the room. There are five simple tasks that you can do daily to help maintain your organized space:
1. Clean out your “Inbox”. In today’s world this can apply to postal mail or email. Create a special basket for postal mail that needs to be taken care of right away, and another for items that can wait a day or two. To keep your email inbox under control, create folders within your email program. Keep what needs to be done immediately in your inbox and distributed the rest into your folders. You can also use "rules" to help separate email and make it easier to manage.
2. Make sure all notes are transferred to your calendar, palm pilot or day planner. It is very easy to pile up a desktop full of paper by writing every note on a Post-it. You can also create an “Idea Book” to catalog all of your business ideas for future reference.
3. Remove all mail, catalogs & magazines from your desk. Put them in their proper place as you receive them. This will considerably cut down the amount of clutter on your desktop.
4. File as you go. This is the most basic and most important tip of all. If you file as you go your records will be in order, your desktop will be clear and you will feel like a professional.
5. Clean off your desktop each evening. There's nothing better than sitting down at a clean workspace each morning. It helps to keep your mind focused on your business and makes finding important documents a snap.
By following these easy guidelines you will have a clean and organized home office in no time. Having a clutter-free workspace is the first step in creating an organized and professional home-based business.
Jill Hart is the author of the e-book, 2 Weeks Devotional Journey for Christian Work at Home Moms, and the founder and editor of Christian Work at Home Moms, CWAHM.com. This site is dedicated to providing work at home moms with opportunities to promote their businesses while at the same time providing them spiritual encouragement and articles. E-mail Jill at jill@cwahm.com for additional information or stop by her site at CWAHM.com. This article is free to reprint if the Author's Bio remains in tact. For additional articles, please contact Jill Hart
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With the recent downturn in the economy, boomers taking early retirement, the plethora of "business opportunities”, or folks being fed up working for "corporate America," the entrepreneurial spirit, the urge to "work from home” is alive and well. For most home-based workers, the advantages generally outweigh the disadvantages — no commute, having more quality time with one’s family, being in control of one’s life and time, no boss to deal with — among others. This is the good news.
The not-so-good news is that many of these entrepreneurs and work-at-home stalwarts won’t make it. In fact, according to Labor Department statistics, more than 50% of home-based businesses fail within three years of start-up.
So, to help insure you’ll have a better than equal chance of surviving beyond three years and have staying power, consider following these five keys approaches and perspectives as you go to work, at home.
1. Remember, it’s a business, not a hobby
The IRS has strict financial criteria defining the difference between a "business” and a "hobby.” You can search for these on the Internet or contact your local IRS office. For example, if you're not showing a profit for "X" number of years, you're working a "hobby", not a "business."
However, over and above the IRS financial criteria, what will affect the success is the seriousness of purpose with which you approach operating your business. Going to work at home with a "business attitude" rather than a "hobbyist's interest" will largely determine whether you succeed or fail.
Another attitudinal factor is whether you are "moving toward" your business. If your energy and approach are one of "moving toward" something you truly desire with your mind, heart and soul, you'll have a better than average chance of survival. On the other hand, if you are determined to work at home because you are "moving away" from what you "don't want", (e.g., no more deadlines, no more bosses, no more pressure, no more "nine-to-five", no more "people issues", etc) then there's a good chance of failure. Why? Focusing on what you truly want, your heart's desire, and your purpose brings with it an energy of motivation, drive, enthusiasm, self-discipline, determination, resilience, courage, strength, stick-to-it-ive-ness, and consistency, especially in the face of challenge. A "moving away" energy is not sustainable, does not have staying power, and will not give you the energy, will or resiliency you'll need when the going gets tough. A "moving away" energy does not result in true joy and enthusiasm in the long term. So, it's critical that you be consciously conscious of the deeper motivations for your desire to work at home
In addition, if you approach your home-based business with a cavalier attitude (e.g., "by-the-way, I’ll work when I want to”), you most probably are doomed to failure.
In fact, if you’re not coming from a mature, serious, genuine and honest "going to work” perspective, at home, you’ll most likely be wasting precious time and energy you might better devote to volunteering in your local community.
Running a viable business from home, rather than working on a very expensive hobby, demands the same degree of time, effort, seriousness of purpose, dedication, discipline, motivation and focus, perhaps more, than does the common job in the corporate arena. One manifestation of your seriousness of purpose is dressing for work every day and "going to work" for normal business hours every day.
So, two questions to reflect on as you consider a home-based business are: "Am I working in a business or am I engaged in a hobby?" and "How do I know?" Your response will have a telling effect on the success of your efforts.
2. Remember, it’s about self-management, not time management
A seriousness-of-purpose attitude is reflected in the way you organize and schedule your life. Truth be told, there is no such thing as "time management.” Successful people are focused on "self-management." In other words, successful know their true values and their do-ings and be-ings reflect strict adherence to their values. Successful people "invest' their time and energy; they don't spend their time and energy wastefully. Their work is values-based. Successful people lead healthy, balanced and harmonious lives. Successful people focus on a healthy integration of mind, body, emotions and values as they lead their lives and conduct their business. They know that excess or deficiency in one area will affect the other areas of their lives and knock one off balance. Successful people bring their "whole” person to work every day. Successful home-based business people don't say: "By the way, I think I'll do some work today" interrupted by television, Internet surfing, sleeping, daydreaming, etc.
3. Remember, it’s more important to work "in” your business” than "on” your business
Successful home-based business folks consciously know the difference between "activity” and "action.”
Action means investing time and energy on purpose driven goals and objectives that point directly to the purpose, vision and mission of your business. Examples of action are prospecting for new clients and customers, making follow-up contacts, creating and disseminating marketing materials, networking, being visible, inputting sales data, updating accounts and the like. There is usually a return on this energy and time investment. That is, this time spent working "in” your business is known as "green time.”
Activity, on the other hand, means spending (not investing) time and energy doing "busy work.” Examples of activities are hanging out on the Internet in non-business-related efforts; reading non-essential papers and magazines, moving stacks of papers, socializing on the phone, reading and writing non-business related emails, watching television, shuffling paper clips and "re-organizing” your office over and over. There is no return on "activity” and it serves only to waste your precious time and energy. Activity has no goal and is not purpose driven. Activity is not "green time” and has no effect on the bottom line of your business. "Hobbyists” spend more of their time engaged in "activity.”
4. Remember, time is money
Successful home-based business folks are experts at planning, organizing, prioritizing and executing. They work a well-planned and well-organized yearly, monthly, weekly and daily schedule. They plan their week in advance, plan each day in the morning and review each day at night and make whatever changes are necessary. They track their day and time on an hour-by-hour basis.
Through regular and consistent daily and weekly time tracking, they know where they are spending time and investing time. They know how much of their time is devoted to "green" activities and how much isn't and honestly, sincerely and self-responsibly make whatever changes are necessary.
5. Remember, business education is a journey, not a destination
Successful home-based workers continually update their knowledge and skills (e.g., computer skills, knowledge and skills related to marketing, managing, accounting, promotion, etc.). They read and research trade journals, magazines and professional publications and non-fiction publications regularly. They are engaged in recognized on-line professional groups and meet regularly in learning settings with like-minded individuals in their communities. Lack of commitment to continuous learning leads to a slow death for home-based business folks.
Conclusion
Working at home and being an entrepreneur can be an exciting, adventurous, and rewarding experience. It can also be a disaster. Whether you eventually "run a business" or "play at a hobby" is your choice.
The eventual success of your business, short- and long-term, will depend on the discipline, planning, organization, structure, self-management and seriousness of purpose with which you "go to work, at home."
Though you're not commuting, I hope you enjoy the ride.
(c) 2005, Peter G. Vajda, Ph.D. All rights in all media reserved.
Peter G. Vajda, Ph.D, is co-founder of SpiritHeart, an Atlanta, GA firm specializing in coaching, counseling and facilitating. Peter's expertise focuses on personal, business and relationship coaching. He is a professional speaker and published author. For more information about his services, email Peter at pvajda@spiritheart.net.
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