{"id":16300,"date":"2015-02-13T09:38:20","date_gmt":"2015-02-13T14:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/02\/business-report-rules-for-home-office-peace-profits.html"},"modified":"2015-02-13T09:38:20","modified_gmt":"2015-02-13T14:38:20","slug":"business-report-rules-for-home-office-peace-profits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/02\/business-report-rules-for-home-office-peace-profits\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Report: Rules For Home Office Peace, Profits"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\"karin\n<\/div>\n
Karin Rozell, author, business consultant, and speaker on the solopreneur life\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY KARIN ROZELL<\/p>\n

My first office was in my bedroom. I used
\na Japanese Shoji screen to separate my personal
\nlife from my emerging business life. (It
\ndidn’t work so well. And it didn’t help that this
\nbedroom belonged to my parents).<\/p>\n

My second office was in my apartment
\nkitchen. That worked fine as long as I didn’t
\nhave a relationship with another human being
\n(that might want to eat or drink at some
\npoint).<\/p>\n

These days I have two: one in my home that
\nhas served as the foundation to my 15-year
\nconsulting practice. And one near my son’s
\nschool that saves my husband and I a trip
\neach day, which we take turns working from.
\nOver the years, I’ve realized that home office
\nlife is its own beast. How do you separate
\nthe personal and business? How do you deal
\nwith distractions? And how do organize it all?
\nHere are some rules to live by that will help
\nmake your solopreneur office feel peaceful,
\nproductive and set up for profit in your small
\nbusiness.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Never say “I have a home office.”
\nAlways say, “I have an office in my home.”
\nThe latter sounds like something a pro would
\nsay. The former sounds like you’re a working
\nin a dingy basement. Which you could be, but
\nlet’s not flaunt that.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 You need at least one door between you
\nand the rest of the household.
\nThis door needs a lock, or they will find you.
\nKids, cats, the lawn mower guy with a bill who
\nthinks you’re just hanging out, the cleaning lady, the mail carrier, your spouse who wants
\nto connect, your childcare.
\nOh yes, they will find a way to get into your
\nspace and lure you away from your focus.
\nThey’ll innocently walk by and talk to you in
\npassing. It’s all so cute. Until Friday comes
\nand you realize your progress was minimal.
\nYou. Need. A. Door.<\/p>\n

Having said that, you know where I started
\nwith my office, so don’t let it stop you if you
\nhave to use your bedroom (or some other
\nmulti-use room in your home) as your office during the day. Which leads me to my next
\nrule.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 You need boundaries around when you
\nwork and when you don’t.
\nWhen I first started my coaching practice,
\nI worked all the time. As a result, my hours
\nwere erratic, I felt always “on” and my relationships
\nsuffered. (I scoffed when two serious
\nboyfriends in a row complained that I worked
\ntoo much. “Come on. Don’t you know I’m working
\non the American Dream here”). I naively
\nassumed that’s how you get any business off
\nthe ground.<\/p>\n

This style of working seems to be fine for
\npeople with out obligations beyond the office.
\nNot so much for the rest of us who desire success
\nand a love life, energy beyond the office,
\nkids without an abandonment complex, and
\nto simply enjoy the journey of creating for a
\nliving.<\/p>\n

Of course all solopreneurs know the importance
\nof healthy work hours, but few do
\nanything about it. The secret to succeeding
\nwith this lies in your everyday habits, routines
\nand rituals. Because in business, as in life,
\nyour routines determine your results.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 You need opening and closing the shop
\nrituals.
\nImagine your business as if it were favorite
\nboutique or shop around the corner. They have
\nrecurring activities that allow them to open
\ntheir doors each day and welcome new business
\nand ones they repeat every evening before
\nthey close for the day. You need these too.
\nConsider creating a few daily routines and
\nrituals to bookend your day. This makes all
\nthe difference in your ability to honor when
\nyou work and when you don’t. For example,
\nat the end of my workday, I block off the last
\n20 minutes (set a reminder to do this) to tidy
\nup, put files away that I used, and generally
\nrestore order to my office environment.<\/p>\n

I admit, it can be challenging not to work
\nuntil “times up,” but this one strategy alone makes me feel so much more together and
\nready for what’s next. When I don’t do this,
\nI tend to experience a rough transition from
\nworker bee to mommy and wife. However
\nwhen I do, I find I’m less stressed, anxious and
\nall around much more pleasant to be around.<\/p>\n

I even go so far as to turn down the heat
\nin my office as it deters me from going back
\nto work after hours. I have a desktop in my
\noffice so I can’t carry my work into the living
\nroom; and I use a tablet in my living space
\nfor going online during my off hours, which
\ncreate a nice sense of separation between
\nwork and play.<\/p>\n

A client, also a mompreneur, has her office
\nin her Chicago bedroom while her kids are in
\nschool and her husband is at work. She realized
\nshe felt always “on” and it was zapping
\nher energy and motivation to continue taking
\nthe steps to grow her practice.<\/p>\n

She began with a few closing the shop
\nrituals like draping beautiful cloth fabrics
\nover her desk at the end of her day, giving
\nher a visual reminder that work was done.
\nShe then experimented with turning off email
\nnotifications on weekends and cut back her
\n“work on the biz” evening hours to twice per
\nweek versus every night.<\/p>\n

Now she’s back to feeling happy about her
\npractice, and is experiencing an influx of
\nfocus, energy and ability to see the hidden
\nopportunities that an over scheduled life
\nprevents you from seeing.<\/p>\n

These four rules are simple yet powerful.
\nAnd in my 15 years of coaching solopreneurs,
\nthey are rarely in place before we start coaching.
\nIf you desire a greater sense of peace, productivity
\nand profit in your practice, without
\nburning the candle at both ends, try these on
\nand see if they help you be your best, in and
\nout of the office. (Your spouse can thank me
\nlater for the new and improved you).<\/p>\n

Rozell, of Granville, is an author, mentor
\nand speaker on the solopreneur life.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photo Courtesy Karin Rozell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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