The home office - life balance - help needed

[poshgaffer]

Dear All,

I have recently launched my business from home & I am finding that I work 7 days - 14 hours per day.

I enjoy this, don`t get me wrong, but I`m not so sure that my lovely wife will put up with it for too long.

Any advice would be nice,

Best wishes,

poshgaffer

[Jayne]

Hi,

Make sure your computer is in a seperate room and put a lock on the door. Choose which hours you will work and pretend to go to work and lock up when you are done. Give your wife the key at closing time :lol:

Jayne

[Rob Holmes]

Well I think you'll find that the reality is thats normal for a new biz.

I haven't had a full day off for 3 years - although I've made it away occasionally I am still on call.

Rob

[Amber]

I work from home too, and have the same problem! Luckily my fiance is also my business partner, so we are technically spending time together, even although it's spent staring at computer screens!

Jayne is right: if you can, make sure that your work area is completely sepparate from the rest of your home, preferably with a door you can close. I think the trick is to try and pretend that it's just a "normal" job, with a start time and a finishing time. I haven't EVER managed to do this myself, mind you, so it's easier said than done!

[RedArc]

Getting the balance right is a challenge - especially when you are working for yourself. Be disciplined with your action plan for the day and set time aside for yourself and family. If you focus on priority jobs and work smart during your `working hours' then you will work more efficiently.

Our small-press magazine `Be Inspired' may help you get the balance right. We feature articles on all aspects of living a meaningful and happy life, no matter how busy you are.

We'll be providing a special sample issue offer to UKBF shortly.

Best wishes,

Carol & Mark

[poshgaffer]

Many thanks...

poshgaffer

[DuaneJackson]

Someone told me when I first started my business (and was also starting a new relationship with a baby due in 9 months) to make a rule to never ever EVER work on Sundays and make sure she knew this. That way, if she hardly sees you during the week she knows your'e all hers on a Sunday.

I've stuck to it and it does help.

Also, keep her informed with whats going on in the business, seek her advice (even if you have no intention of heeding it) so that she feels some involvement and ownership of the business.

[Anonymous]

I would like to reiterate the comments about having the office in a seperate room or building.

It is vital that you go through the "leaving for work" and "getting home from work" scenario. Without it you are basically living at work which can change what is a dream come true, to most people, to a nightmare bordering on depression.
I`m in a similar position to you; not sure how my partner feels having me around so long. Then again she moans if I`m away too long! Cuh! :roll:

I will watch this thread with interest as I currently have zero discipline when it comes to browsing around the internet whilst I should be working. Unfortuneately alot of my work involves use of the internet. Sadly its all to easy for me to pop onto one of my favourite websites, read a contentious issue and then end up wasting another hours/2 hours work :? (Football before you ask!)

I can`t seem to break the habit. :cry:

[MinuWeb]

Someone told me when I first started my business (and was also starting a new relationship with a baby due in 9 months) to make a rule to never ever EVER work on Sundays and make sure she knew this. That way, if she hardly sees you during the week she knows your'e all hers on a Sunday.

I've stuck to it and it does help.

I do something similar, after working all hours I can monday through saturday I always go to the pub on sunday to see my friends and this gives my better half time to clean up after me..........

(sits back and waits for the abuse :D )

[Rob Holmes]

I must add - I don't have a PC in my home - too tempting :)

Rob

[EclipceCreate]

I'm just starting up, and I'm in the process of leaving my old job (down to only a few days a week, thank goodness) to get my business off the ground. As a web designer the first thing I did was to get two PCs hooked up onto a LAN with broadband connectivity.

When my business partner's here we can work together on the same projects. When he's working from his home, Kelly (my fiance) is next to me browsing the web and having fun, and she's on hand for a second opinion whenever I need one.

There is the potential that I can get distracted, but in practice it doesn't seem to happen, which is lucky. :) I guess I'm just a big softie - I'd not be able to shut myself away from Kelly for hours a day when we're apart some 40 hours a week with our other jobs as it is!

Russ

[DuaneJackson]

I must add - I don't have a PC in my home - too tempting :)

Rob

What happens if there is a server problem when you're at home? OR some sort of urgent support request?

[Rob Holmes]

I must add - I don't have a PC in my home - too tempting :)

Rob

What happens if there is a server problem when you're at home? OR some sort of urgent support request?

Well it's not just me here but if I need to logon quickly I have a studio office at the bottom of my garden - generally emails last get checked at 11pm and then again at 5.30am

Clients of 'The Hosting Guy' rather than Matrixx Hosting have a 24/7/365 contact number and email address that sets a bleeper off :)

Rob

[DuaneJackson]

Fair enough. I'd not seen the hosting guy site before, very nicely written. I found myself reading through to the end!

[YEM]

Ever since we began working on YEM (recruitment started in late April/May) we have worked 7 days a week and about 12 hours a day. if we go away we take the laptop. I think the phrase 'NO PAIN, NO GAIN' woks here.

I know it will be worth it in the end and so I just look forward to getting home in the evenings (about 8 or 9pm) to do yet more work there - housework and work work!!!!!

Yes its hard, yes I'm constantly tired and yes I often think is this really worth it - but I wouldn't change it for anything - although a good 8 hour sleep once in a while would be nice, It's Christmas soon, maybe I'll give myself that as a present!

[bitsnstuff]

These hints and tips on separating work from home and planning your time efficiently etc. only work if you are not also a full time housewife and mother of a 2 year old with no childcare and no employees/business partners! :shock: :lol:

If there was a multi-tasking olympics, I would be signing up! I dream of being able to work uninterrupted with more than 10 mins of time in a block to think! :D

Any hints and tips for the likes of me!? :wink:

Kate

[Rob Holmes]

I've often pondered the idea of a sleep microwave - where I can lie down for 20 minutes and have the equivalent of a good 'straight eight' :)

Back to the real world...

Rob

[Cornish Steve]

I will watch this thread with interest as I currently have zero discipline when it comes to browsing around the internet whilst I should be working.

While I take breaks (such as now), I have to be quite disciplined to get all work done. The following rules are going to sound very strange (if you weren't convinced already that I'm whacko, this will do it), but they work for me:

1) I set specific time goals each day (rarely longer than that). Once I've committed myself to finishing something, I won't leave my office for the day until it's done.

2) If I find myself getting distracted, I actually talk to myself: "Steve, you're wasting time. If you really want your business to make it, you must quit wasting time and get on with it." It works.

3) If the timeline is tight, I allow myself to take a bathroom break only if I reach certain milestones. There's nothing like the call of nature to give you a sense of urgency.

4) Once I complete a major milestone (I recently completed an 80-page specification document, for example), I take a deep breath, force a sigh of relief, and congratulate myself. I take satisfaction from having achieved something so difficult.

I admit that these are rather strange habits, but maybe the ideas behind them will help someone.

[RedArc]

Dare I say it, I've been self-employed for 21 years, eking out a living from writing, publishing and creative projects. I love what I do but I will admit that it's difficult to switch off. Fortunately, my life & business partner Mark is a fellow creative so knows what it's like. We tend to divide our day up between income-generating projects and creative projects but no two days are the same. Yesterday, we were working on the magazine and for our night shift, we were up until 3am - Mark was working on a painting and I was working on my novel. A few hours sleep, then we're back to it. We take time out when my kids visit and we try to get out for a walk / tea shop visit whenever we need to escape the four walls, but we are pretty driven to create. Have we got a balance? Well, we're constantly striving to maintain that equilibrium but we love what we do and feel we have a meaningful life. Other people probably think we're crazy though.

I like Rob's idea of a sleep microwave - now there's a thought!

Carol

[Cornish Steve]

Any hints and tips for the likes of me!?

My business partner is a single mum with two small children and a full-time job. We have kept momentum going by adopting the following guidelines:

1) Priorities first. If she is sick, or her children are sick, or if there's an important family event, spend time with those matters first.

2) She often falls asleep as her children fall asleep. It's not unusual for me to see messages from her that were written when she awoke at 3:30 in the morning.

We are partners in this venture. I can't imagine getting things going without her participation, and I'm sure she feels the same way. You've probably heard of the "braces versus belt" principle: Two are better than one. If one runs into problems, the other can hold things together. I can't say enough about the importance of having someone to help you during the busy times.

[Rachhs]

As director of the Work Life Balance Enterprise, I see people daily who have exactly these issues.

I think that the real key to both personal and professional success is to ensure that every minute of every day is lived with purpose.

If you are loving your business (all 15 hours a day of it) then why should you feel that you need to put in less hours. If your partners or spouses are upset by this then it is important that you are both given the opportunity and space to air what is important to each of you - and that you both respond in accordance with your own values. If you value your business more highly than your personal time then honour that and work flat out, if, however, you honour your personal time more (or equally) then you need to develop a system that is true to that, you need to set boundaries and stick to them. Take responsibility for how you are living every second of your life and be sure that you are not wasting a second.

For more information on my company go to www.worklifebalanceenterprise.co.uk

Rachelx

[Anonymous]

I will watch this thread with interest as I currently have zero discipline when it comes to browsing around the internet whilst I should be working.

While I take breaks (such as now), I have to be quite disciplined to get all work done. The following rules are going to sound very strange (if you weren't convinced already that I'm whacko, this will do it), but they work for me:

1) I set specific time goals each day (rarely longer than that). Once I've committed myself to finishing something, I won't leave my office for the day until it's done.

2) If I find myself getting distracted, I actually talk to myself: "Steve, you're wasting time. If you really want your business to make it, you must quit wasting time and get on with it." It works.

3) If the timeline is tight, I allow myself to take a bathroom break only if I reach certain milestones. There's nothing like the call of nature to give you a sense of urgency.

4) Once I complete a major milestone (I recently completed an 80-page specification document, for example), I take a deep breath, force a sigh of relief, and congratulate myself. I take satisfaction from having achieved something so difficult.

I admit that these are rather strange habits, but maybe the ideas behind them will help someone.

steve,

I find nothing strange about your strategies which seem to be based on councelling, cajoling and rewarding. WHEN I indulge in these strategies all is well!!!!

The thing is I appreciate the benefit of, and how to acheive slick time management but I am still unable to actually DO it.

I need a more practical solution along the lines of restriction to parts of the internet. I`ve just spent an hour playing on a casino site :evil: and an hour reading this site(which sometimes ,arguably ,is time very well spent of course)

I think the solution maybe to set up some sort of intranet system? I think this is the correct term. Eitherway it would be a system which ONLY allows me to access sites which are pertinent to my day to day work duties, which can then be "opened" up at the end of a work day to allow me to browse leisurely. For it to work it would need to be difficult or inconvenient to reverse during the work day otherwise it wouldn`t work......I wonder....

sorry, just thinking as Im typing!

[Asteeleleith]

hi all

I have been reading these threads with great interest, and man can i emphasis.

I have been running a business from home for nearly a year now, and luckily for me my wife is a doctor, so i never really see her.
I tie my work schedule with when she is working so i am around when she is off.

I like the idea of setting a work schedule as well, so u know what your doing on the day and how ur going to do it.

I also try to allow myself weekends off, but i always find myself drifting towards the computer. I thought about it a while ago, i don;t think i have had a full day off in 8 -9 months!
I do try, but dossing in front of daytime TV was never really my thing.
once i get started, there is no stopping, unless its to cook dinner, or something else.
I try to avoid being househubby, and chauffer but this comes as part of the job.
I would not have it any other way though :-)

Al