Operating your small business while working from home: How to set yourself up success

Strategies to run your small business from home

How do you ensure success while running a small business from your home? Here are some suggestions.

While flexibility is beneficial however, it’s not always easy to answer those emails from home or at family time. This not only suffocates the attention of others, but it also creates expectations of being available. It’s also more difficult to relax and lessen stress.

So, how do you avoid all of this?

Be creative in your work space

A great tip for working at home is to clearly separate your home and office spaces.

A space solely for work is essential, since creating physical distance can result in mental separation making it easy to unwind at the end of the day. Finding a desk, the right office chair, and a storage system will set you up to be successful.

Also, we suggest taking the time to make your workplace feel comfortable. Research suggests that personalizing your workspace is an excellent way to boost productivity.

"I have a huge house and a kitchen that provides space for my kitchen products as well as other items. It’s my little sanctuary. It smells divine and I’ve got full rights to the tunes!"

Injecting a bit of imagination into your workspace is something that can make a huge difference.

"I’ve attempted to make my office an environment which I love being in. There’s a string of bright red roses on the computer’s desk. I hang all our big feather costumes in the open so that I can see them. I have a quilted blanket that my mom made for me to sit on my desk."

If you’re working from home when you’re in the middle of an epidemic, these amenities can be the difference.

Follow the same rules of your workplace as you do at home.

While some may allow work to spill over into their daily lives, it’s best to be certain that this doesn’t happen. This means that you should not have a laptop on the kitchen bench and no packing orders in the living room.

Having boundaries in place helps to get the most out of your day when working at home.

It is important to mimic the boundaries that we’d face in our normal workplace. For example, you wouldn’t answer emails that come up if you were in a live meeting with a colleague or client, so you shouldn’t do it in a Zoom meeting.

If you work at home, it may be tempting to respond to every ping of your phone or email alert immediately. However, getting into this habit will not help you in the long run.

Switch off notifications for your email to allow you to concentrate on the task at hand and not get distracted. You can then check your inbox every an hour or so.

Find a routine that you like and follow it

Making a schedule when working from home is very crucial.

An established start time with breaks to exercise throughout the working day and a regular time that the work day ends, are all vital. Following a schedule and putting structure around your daily tasks can make you more effective.

"If you have 3 massages scheduled I’ll stop each one one after the next, I will also keep an established schedule that includes time for coffee breaks, lunch as well as other tasks."

Every morning, she should take the time to ask yourself questions like "What are the goals or milestones I must accomplish today?" and "What’s in my head right now? ".

Some people prefer routine and find doing daily gratitude tasks to be beneficial.

Write down three things that you appreciate every day and make a list of your tasks list at night or first thing in the morning. It can help get you in a state of mind and make you feel at relaxed.

Be an advocate for your mental health

When you’re at home working it is possible to go all day without having to see anyone else. Therefore, you must learn to advocate for your own well-being by practicing self-care.

Be realistic about the work you are able to accomplish especially if in the home schooling process, and you should take the time to replenish your energy.

Research has shown that after the SARS quarantine period, some people showed signs of psychological stress, so taking the time to connect with your loved ones, family members and clients is vital.