10 Rules of Having a Home Business/Studio and Working from Home: 2014 Snowpocalypse inspired
Working from home. . . . the joys, the challanges, and the rules necessary to make it work for you.
As the guilt set in today that I hadn’t begun any work yet, the anxiety started to build. How can I begin to enjoy a snow day with all this work in the other room? I had to remind myself of why I do this everyday and THE RULES that I made for myself in order for the arrangement to work for my family. People all over the state are trapped in their homes, unable to make it to work. So, why do I feel guilt for not working?
Let’s face it, if you are a photographer you know that your job is difficult the way it is. Try doing everything we do daily from home? . . It may sound easy. It may seem like we have it made. You know otherwise don’t you? What are some struggles you are faced with? I know that for me, it was the kids being in my hair while I was working, the all night editing sessions, the distractions of the housework, and manly learning how to simply balance life, work, home, and kids. I am able to run my photography studio out of my home now because I have figured out how to make working from home work for me, after many many sleepless nights and stressful days. It takes trial and error. Most of all it takes dedication and discipline.
This was one of my favorite posts of the year. 100% TRUTH.
In 2013, my business grew substantially, and I was forced to reevaluate these rules, and enforce some of them more strictly. Others, I had to become more flexible on. However, all of them, I wished I had known or applied BEFORE I started working from home. I had many “Why didn’t anyone tell me?!!!!!!!” moments this year. We all know that although working from home looks glamorous, it is extremely challenging. I can only hope that this post will help other Home Studio or Business owners or even the general work-from-home mother in any field of work, make sense of it all. Any of you ever feel like this?
Disclaimer: If you follow me online or have been in my studio regularly you will immediately recognize which ones I struggle to follow. Feel free to call me out. No one is perfect . . . Plus, I try to consider them sometimes more as suggestions 😉
Rule #1: Set Work Hours
This is probably the one I struggle with the most, but it’s truly necessary for your sanity. I found that it was unreasonable for me to set an 8-5 schedule seeing as I am a night owl. So for me, I work 11-5pm and then break for dinner and kid time then go back to work between 9-Midnight. This also helps the children understand when it is okay to interrupt. My kids are older, so they are pretty self-sufficient. They know that until 5pm, they are on their own. Unless they are bleeding or the house is on fire, I am not there.
If you have clients who frequent your office, also make them aware of these hours. If I had a dollar for every time a client “stopped by” on a Sunday afternoon or evening, I would have enough extra to actually budget that additional offsite office space. Because my office hours vary season to season, I had to place an open/closed sign on my studio door. If we are closed, it doesn’t matter if my jeep in the driveway and you can hear me in the kitchen, or if I am on the porch sipping a tea. . . . closed is closed. My clients didn’t take long to grasp onto this concept for the most part. They respect my personal space, and if they need to stop for any reason now days outside of office hours, they will call or text first.
Rule #2: Get Dressed
I went out to lunch with my girlfriend last week, and she was asking how I did it. I told her, “I have to get dressed.” she busted up laughing. Like she expected me to say. . . “Well, I have a binder full of policies and procedules. . . . ” No, simply put. . . “I have to get dressed first.” We cracked up imagining me turning into a complete sloth. Images of myself working all day, all week in sweat pants and a sports bra with my hair in a messy bun came to mind. Which I will be the first to admit, there are days that I do.
So yeah, I have to get dressed. I’m a jeans and t-shirt kind of woman and so my general rule is that I need to just wear stuff that I can just leave the house in immediately. I always used to just throw my hair up for work, back in the day when I had a career outside the home. So, I’m already a bit of a hair slob, and now days I actually include doing my hair on my list. Brushing my teeth is also a big priority for when you first get up when you work from home. I may not plan on leaving all day. If I get up and do it first thing, there is no chance of forgetting as the day draws on. It would bad for a client to come in late afternoon only to catch a whiff of dragon breath from across the desk.
Rule #3: Get Outside
When you work at home its easy not to leave the house for days at a time. Some days I will move to the deck for a couple or hours with my laptop or simply walk up to the gas station for my afternoon snack.
Rule #4: Exercise
I have the Total Gym, treadmill, and an elliptical. All this is great, but when you haven’t left your house for days at a time, a gym membership is worth it just to get in the car, go for a drive, walk into a gym, and even if you DON’T talk with anyone, just having other humans around can be a HUGE benefit. During busy season when I am working 16-20 hour days, I typically go in the afternoon prior to the kids coming home from school to breakup my day a bit.
Rule #5: Don’t Eat Lunch At Your Desk
This one is a HUGE struggle for me. Well. . . eating in general is a struggle. So, I have to set a timer on my phone and take a break and walk away even if it’s a snack. Sometimes a lunch out with a friend is necessary, not only for a change of scenery, but also for the opportunity to have interaction with another human. Even better being self employed because I get to make the call on whether or not a beer is necessary too. 😀
Rule #6: Work from Another Location Occasionally
There are many times throughout the year that you will find me at Starbucks from the time the kids go to school to the time they come home. I don’t go to socialize, in fact , I really don’t speak to anyone unless approached. The simple scenery change is enough to boost my productivity. I actually find that I get at least 5x the busy work done at Starbucks then I do at home. It could be the caffeine, or the fact there aren’t dirty dishes staring at me, but it works. During the summer, you can even find me working poolside at the local water park or my aunt and uncle’s pool. If you are able, even get out of town to work. This summer I was able to work out of state for 2-3 weeks total which is such a blessing. If you can work it out, I highly suggest it.
Rule #7: Block Off Your Workspace
A simple folding screen or for me, Ikea’s panel curtains is enough to create the separation necessary for me to forget about what’s on the other side. When I first started working from home, the thought of a cluttered living room, or dirty dishes drove me to the point of complete distraction. I couldn’t get anything done until I fixed it. Now as hard as it is, I close the curtain and go to work. I mean when people leave for work for an outside job they don’t have their sink staring at them saying “clean me” all day. Why should you? The only benefit to having your dirty house easily accessible, is when you are having an awful day at the office and need something to take your frustration out on.
Rule #8: Take Sick Days
Most of the time, I can make myself sick from working too much. So when I am not feeling well it is essential for me to shut work off, take over the couch and recharge. No exceptions. This goes for the children too. If they are sick, I am right there with them. Now, if it goes on for days, I will eventually move my computer to the living room and work next to them. This time is very important for my family and me. They grow up too fast and the “I need my mommy” phase doesn’t last long.
Rule #9: Separate Business Line
This was our biggest move is 2013 towards the separation from my family and business. Carrying a cell phone, which doubled as my business line, meant that as soon as business skyrocketed, so did the amount of phone calls and texts I was receiving at all hours of the night. After the 30th text between the times of 8pm and midnight on a Sunday night I found myself rolling my eyes and fighting the urge to throw my phone through my bedroom window. I had to have time away. Even if my office is in the other room. . . Eating dinner with my family, working out, taking a bath meant shutting off my phone if I wanted to be left alone. With kids, you know that you just cant do that. So biting the bullet and accepting that my phone bill was going to double was a reality I had to face if I didn’t want to end up in the psych ward. Now, I will say that for years my clients raved about my customer service because I was always accessible. It does pain me that this had to change and it was definitely an adjustment for my clients. However, they didn’t realize that although their 9pm text may have been innocent, there were 20 other clients sending that same one-time innocent quick text the same night. Now they sometimes will wait hours or a couple days before they hear anything back. I still have guilt for this and struggle daily, but I know it is necessary for me and my family.
Rule #10: Snow Days and Holidays
(The reason I was inspired to write this post)
It is very easy to work through these times with everything’s 20 feet from your relaxing space. However, remembering back to these days as a kid, the times I cherish the most are times with family doing projects, cuddling, watching movies, and laughing. These times should not be any different because we decided to keep our workspace in our home. Close the doors and turn work off. When you work from home, or run your own business in general, there is ALWAYS work that needs to be done. . . you are almost ALWAYS behind. Draw that line for you and your family. Make sure that you make your clients aware of these rules, so they respect them.
Today my struggle is. . . . we just came through the holidays into this Snowpocalypse. . . so, I haven’t done any recognizable amount of work since before Christmas. Talk about guilt. What I have to remind myself is that most everyone else who is trapped in his or her home, is in the same predicament. Their work is piled up on their desk miles from their home. There is nothing they can do about it but enjoy the time with their families. So just imagine your home office is surrounded my 10ft snow drifts. Ohhh well. . . time to enjoy family.
Stay warm everyone!
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