"9 Ways to Be More Productive Working From Home"

I love interacting with people but I also love to work alone, from my home office -- and pick and choose when I will go out for meetings or work with a team member on a particular project. No overhead, no employees, no stress right? Hm-mm....well, now that's true most of the time -- but it wasn't always that way.

The reality of most people working from home -- and women in particular -- is that they find it very difficult not to multi-task. I bet, that up until now, many of you have been proud of your multi-tasking ability. It's a proven fact that women are actually wired differently than men (no surprise there), which is why we are able to take a phone call, tend to the needs of a crying child and get dinner on the table, simultaneously. Generally, men are not good multi-taskers, but this "weakness" gives them the ability to compartmentalize and focus much more efficiently.

As a woman working from home, you may find that your business is being sabotaged by unforeseen distractions, lack of structure with your time -- and sometimes, may feel that because you work from home, that friends and family don't respect your time or what you do, in the same way they might with someone who goes out to work. Here are a few ideas to get you on the right track.

1. Stop Multi-Tasking.

Yes, you heard me right. It's easy to think that as you have to walk past the laundry room anyway, you might as well change the wash. Or you should get something started in the slow-cooker -- after all, that will save you valuable time in getting dinner ready tonight. Perhaps you noticed that one of your favorite plants was wilting from thirst and you thought you'd just give it (and then all the rest) a quick drink. How do I know these things? Because I've done them. I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't take a break to do household tasks -- after all, that's part of the luxury of working from home. Just don't mistake it for work time and be aware of how much time those few minutes here and there can cost you, in your business.

Ladies, listen to me...when it comes to business, multi-tasking is the biggest time robber and stress-inducer there is! No two thoughts or tasks can occupy your brain at one time and be executed effectively. I have never, ever, seen a winning jockey ride two horses across the finish line at the same time. You might think you are being efficient by multi-tasking but trust me -- this is where men have it over us -- with their ability to focus on just one thing at a time. Don't believe me? Donald Trump says he does not multi-task. That's how he achieves the focus that he has.

2. Have A Separate Space - Preferably With a Door That Closes.

It is imperative, if you are serious about what you do, that you get out of "kitchen table mode" and have, preferably a separate room as an office. That way, when you are working, your spouse and family respect that you are "at work" and short of the house catching on fire, they are not to disturb you. If that isn't possible, then get a room divider and try to make yourself a little niche that is yours and yours alone.

A funny little story I must share (I'll know if my husband read this article, by how he responds when he gets home today:>)

I do quite a bit of my work on the phone, conducting teleclasses and group or one-to-one coaching. I often record my calls (with my students' knowledge, to have them available to listen to at a later date). So, one day I thought I had better tape an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper on my door, that said Please Do Not Disturb - Recording. Shortly after I had closed the door and started recording, my husband walked into my office to get some printer paper! After some "discussion" he no longer does that and I'm ashamed to admit that sometimes I just tape the sign on and close the door -- even when I'm not recording, just to get some alone time.

3. Structure Your Time and "Cash Out" at the End of Each Day.

As it is so easy for your personal time to mesh with your business, you need to be using something that you can map your time out on a monthly, weekly and daily basis -- and then stick to it. Whether that is an appointment you've set for yourself to workout or go for a walk -- or its scheduling office and admin work in less productive hours -- it's imperative that you decide what time frame you're going to work on something and then don't spend any more or less time on that one activity, than you originally planned. When that allotted time is up, move on to the next task.

At the end of every day, "cash out" by really examining what you accomplished and take a few minutes to plan for the next day. Otherwise, you'll constantly be faced with that all too familiar cry, "where did my day (week) go?"

4. Delegate All You Can.

I can already hear you saying, "I'm just getting my business started; I can't afford to pay anyone for anything!" I know, because I've been there. My first tiny baby step in delegating was to hire a lady to clean for me -- just once every two weeks, as that's all I could afford. I don't like to do housework, but I like a clean house. Initially, what I paid her per hour, was half of what I charged for my services. Now it's a much smaller percentage because I charge a lot more, but do the math -- it doesn't make sense for you to be spending time doing things that take time away from income-producing activities. Likewise, for web design or other tasks related to your business -- hire, trade or delegate as much as possible.

5. Stop Running Out to Meet With People Face-to-Face.

Obviously, it depends on what business you're in, to what extent you can forgo in-person meetings, and choose to have a teleconference instead. If you're in sales, your highest payoff activities could be calling on people all day long. But for most of us, the time it takes to travel to and from a 30-60 minute appointment, is a real time waster. When someone does ask to meet with me, I (graciously) ask for an agenda. Some people just like to have coffee and someone to meet with and that is usually not very good use of your time. I will say something like, "I'd love to meet with you -- can you tell me a little bit about what you're doing? Do you have a website or something you can email me?" If they're time-wasters, I usually don't hear back from them.

If this sounds harsh or rude, here's the bottom line: most of us don't have enough hours in the day to spend time with friends and loved ones. If you find yourself stressed and always feeling too busy to devote to the people in your life that really matter, you are probably giving away too much of YOU by being unable to say no.

6. Beware of Errands Becoming Your Time Robber.

Yesterday, I took what I call my "mental health day" and I deliberately went out to spend an entire weekday on doing errands. It was wonderful and as a result, I am much more relaxed and productive today. However -- and I'm generalizing here -- as women, we tend to do more of the grocery shopping, picking stuff up at the cleaners, taking kids to appointments, whatever. Try to group your meetings and errands for one day a week. For example, I volunteer on Friday mornings, but I never know if they're going to need me until I call in that morning. So, I plan all my doctor, dentist, beauty appointments for Friday afternoon (not all at once:>), as I'm already in town for my volunteer work. If they don't need me then I can choose to use that unexpected time to get some work done, or get a little shopping and other errands in.

7. Use Technology to Screen Calls and Emails.

Gosh, now you'll know all my secrets! I (and every other successful person I know) screen phone calls. If I don't take your call immediately, does it mean you're not important to me? No -- in fact, it is just the opposite. If I'm writing my weekly ezine and I take a call, I am going to lose my focus, and -- I'm not giving you the undivided attention that you deserve. If you don't have caller ID, run -- don't walk - and order it from your telephone provider right now! If you are one of those people who picks up the phone every time it rings, you might as well give up on having a successful business from home, right now! The same goes for reading every email as it comes in. Either turn off the signal that tells you that you have mail or only open your emails twice a day.

Please, I beg you -- get voice mail with your telephone company, and not an answering machine! I can not tell you how many times I have been on the phone to someone (for business) and I can hear people leaving messages for them in the background. Tacky, tacky, tacky!

8. Go With YOUR Flow.

We've all heard things like: the early bird gets the worm, sit in an ergonomically designed chair, make sure you take plenty of breaks, etc. What works well for YOU? If you do your best work balancing your laptop on a lawn chair on your sundeck -- then do it. If you like to get up late and work later in the evening, that's what you should do. Once you get going on a project, perhaps you like to work in silence, uninterrupted by breaks. They key is finding the balance that works for you, which might be very different than for me.The beauty of working from home, is that YOU can decide how you want to work.

In my case, I do my best work the minute my feet hit the floor in the early morning, but I start to go downhill around 3pm and I shut business-related tasks down very early in the evening. Not only have I had to figure out what works best for me, but I also had to get over the guilty feeling I had when others in a similar business I was once in, worked late into the night. Working with your mind and body's natural ebb and flow, is a huge key to working efficiently and managing stress.

9. Banish Procrastination by Using the 72-hour Rule.

How many times have you heard a great idea, written it down and then never did anything about it? If you're like most people, it happens a lot. Next time you're at a seminar or learning something for personal or business development, I challenge you not to write it in your notes, UNLESS you are prepared to at least start to implement it within 72 hours.

The highly successful entrepreneur I learned this from, pretends that someone has a gun to his wife and baby's head, if he doesn't implement it. A tad extreme perhaps, but choose something that will have significant meaning to YOU. His attitude is that we all write down so many great ideas, but most of them never get implemented. Another person I know, keeps two notebooks when he goes to a learning evening -- one for his very select, 72-hour Rule ideas -- and the other, for everything else.


©2009 Karen Dodd International

Karen R. Dodd publishes the weekly e-zine 'In Focus: Success & Marketing Highlights' for solo-preneurs. If you are looking to jump-start your marketing, get true time leverage and have more fun in your business -- get your FREE tips now at www.KarenDodd.com