So far for Blogtober, I’ve been working off prompt lists from other sites. Part of the reason I’m so terrible at blogging is because I struggle to come up with anything I think anyone else will want to read. Today I didn’t like any of the prompts I could find so I’m going off-list with tips on working from home from someone who has been doing it for 2.5 years.

So you’re working from home?

Your alarm goes off. It’s 8:30 a.m. The sun is glittering brightly on your windowsill. The gentle spring breeze carries birdsong through your window. You smile as you stretch. You roll out of bed, pad downstairs, and make yourself a nice cup of coffee before taking a nice, relaxing shower. It’s now 9:15 as you slip into some comfy lounge clothes, settle onto the couch with your laptop and crack into pinterest for a few minutes before deciding what you should work on for the day.

This is what a lot of people think the experience of working from home will be like. And, if you can find a situation like this and make it productive, more power to you! But from my experience, in the vast majority of situations, this is far from reality.

1. Get a planner!

Unless you are telecommuting to a “regular” office job, one of the hardest aspects of working from home is keeping productive and staying on task. Whether it’s a to-do app on your phone, a fancy paper planner like an Erin Condren or Plum Paper planner, or a regular old coiled notebook, having a place to jot down appointments and to-do lists is invaluable!

My personal preference is a 6-ring A5 planner. It’s still small enough to fit in a decent purse, but you don’t need to master the art of micro-writing to fit everything in it. I have weekly inserts for tracking my appointments and daily to-dos. Then I also have goal-planning sheets that help me figure out what I need to achieve and the steps needed to accomplish it. I can also use it to take notes during meetings and keep everything in one place. I even have a few pages of sudoku in the back for when I’m sitting in a waiting room or the kids’ school parking lot.

2. Set business hours!

“I’ve been working for 7 hours. I’m just going to take off an hour early today.” NO. Just no. It’s so tempting when a friend calls for lunch to “just this once” take a 2 hour lunch break. Or you wake up feeling “ick” and just want to sleep for an extra hour before you start working. THIS WAY LIES DANGER. Those little half-hour-here and hour-there start to add up and pretty soon your productivity is in the toilet. With nobody else to hold you accountable, it’s extra important to treat your at-home job as what it is: A JOB.

It goes both ways, though. When your home is your office, you can never really leave your office. While you set your hours for when you must be on the clock, also set hours for when you must be off the clock. Work-life balance cannot be overstated. When that whistle blows, turn off the computer and walk away. The work will still be there tomorrow. It always is.

3. Put on some clothes, slacker!

OK, cards on the table. I’m 100% a hypocrite on this one. I work in pajamas most days. But I know it’s wrong and I want to save you from my mistakes. Get dressed in good, comfortable clothes (and shoes!) do your hair, and put on makeup and jewelry if that’s your thing. It will do wonders for your productivity! Through this, or the wider scope of a morning routine, you are telling your mind and body that it’s time to focus and get down to business. Plus, it feels so much nicer at the end of the day when you can take your work clothes back off and put your pajamas on.

4. Limit your distractions!

When you work from home, all of your recreational things are right there in your “office.” Your TV, your games, your books, your crafts. Even your business tools such as your computer and phone can be as much hinderance as help. For my work, I don’t need to make phone calls so I put my phone on do-not-disturb mode or leave it out of the office altogether. I also have a separate Windows profile for work that doesn’t have any of my games or bookmarks in it. All that’s there is the programs needed for my work.

If you are able to expand it even further and have a dedicated office space, all the better! The back bedroom in our house is my office. I can go in there, shut the door, turn up my music and just work.

5. Treat Yo’self!

Working from home has a myriad of positives and negatives. People who don’t understand will probably tell you how lucky you are that you don’t have to go to a “real job.” Dump those people from your life. You don’t need morons.

Seriously, though, as many benefits as there are to be had from working at home, take care of yourself! You WILL need it. It WILL take a toll on you. When you set your goals, set yourself a reward for achieving it and ACTUALLY REWARD YOURSELF. Reward yourself with something to make your work experience more pleasant, such as decorative items for your office. Or reward yourself with a treat just for you, such as celebrating the completion of a job with a day of your favourite activity. Only you know what you need.

Just remember, you are your own boss. If you treat your boss well, your boss will treat you well in return.