Creating a Positive Work Environment at Home
Posted by Rhiannon Louise on May 29, 2007
Filed Under Working from Home
The desire to work from home, to cut out the commute and to achieve personally positive work related results from the comfort of your own abode are quite compelling…they are the desires that ultimately drove me to make dramatic changes to my life in terms of dumping one tried, tested, well paying but achingly boring career in favour of diving into the realms of the World Wide Web at a time when it certainly wasn’t as ‘fashionable’ as it is today…
And so if you’re seriously considering spending at least part of your time working from home I don’t blame you, in fact I support your goals and want to do all I can to help you succeed. One of the very first pieces of useful information that I can impart relates to creating a positive work environment at home.
Here’s what not to do: -
I used to work at home on the landing of my house – space was at a premium with bedrooms being used as places to sleep, study and work for various other members of my family and the only space left for me was in a corner of the landing along which everyone including the dog would mooch at regular intervals throughout the day.
Sitting out there in full public view of my entire family meant to them that I was ‘available’ – I was available to pass comment on attire, I was available to help with homework, I was available to scratch a belly or pull on a rope toy (usually only requests made by the family pet), I was available to make a coffee, entertain a passing neighbour and to acknowledge everyone who passed along the landing day in and night out (I even tried working nights to avoid being so ‘available’)…
The result of my personal ‘choice’ of work environment was that I never got anything done! What I did achieve was disjointed at best and slow to produce at worst, and what’s more I was so frustrated and angry at being restricted in my productivity that I wanted to cry and wondered why I’d given up my old job with its tranquil desk at which I could sit all day and dream of working from home.
So here’s what I did and here’s what I suggest you do: -
Find a private and quiet space in a room or a place with no through traffic where you can set up a desk and a comfortable chair, get some shelves on the walls for your books, your iPod, your magazines and inspirational research material, get natural light shining indirectly in so you know when darkness falls and it’s time to switch off your computer and keep your space clean, fresh, tidy and organised.
If you can achieve a comfortable and quiet work environment, no matter how small the space, you will be able to work from home successfully. You will be far less likely to be distracted by passing family members demanding your time, you will be far less likely to spot a pile of washing up or ironing out of the corner of your eye and you will be far more likely to take your new work at home venture seriously and begin achieving the results you have clearly set in your mind.
