How to work from home effectively

Working from home is not for everyone. And, the primary reason that people who could work from home but don't is, according to my anecdotal evidence, that they would get distracted by non-work activities.

That's a valid point. But, if you could avoid the distractions, why wouldn't you work from home for one or two days a week?

Home working is surprisingly productive when you get into the routine of how you organise your day and, more importantly, making your family understand that you are, in fact, working.

Your daily routine is something you might have to change from when you work in your office. I find that I start work earlier than when I go to the office purely because I am not spending that time driving or  travelling.

And most people's concern about being distracted by domestic chores or activities when working at home are, in fact, the very reason why working in your home office can be so productive. Working in an office environment has to be one of the most distracting places to work. There are no interruptions from colleagues or announcements on the 'PA system' about the sandwich van turning up.

At home, I tend to work in concentrated burst because there are fewer distractions. When I stop for lunch, I don't take my sandwich up to my office and eat it there. I stop and take a break. The, I do another burst until my kids come home from work. After this invariably noisy time, I stop and catch up with them before doing another couple of hours of work until about 7pm.

Of course, it's good to go into the office to meet colleagues or clients. That's vital. However, I tend to get more work where I need to concentrate when I am not in the office.

The other aspect that you have to get right is how your family responds to your home working. At first, my family did not understand that, although I was at home, I was not available, physically and mentally, for non-work related discussions and chores. The temptation is for your family to request you to run errands or to put the washing on. It is important that you set ground rules with your family about when you are available or not. My simple rule is that if my home office door is shut, I am not available.

Finally, I have recently bought a set of digital headphones (HP Premium Digital Headset) which are absolutely perfect for shutting out noisy distractions while working and listening to music while I work. They allow me to work in a quiet zone which works well.

Home working is very effective when you have rules and change your habits to adapt to the different non-work space of your house. It is more productive than office working if you need peace and quiet. You also need to be disciplined in your approach to make sure you make the most of your time.