Creating a Home Office on MomsAllStop.com

In order to be productive and do a good job with your home business, you need to be organized. You also need to feel like this is a job. You need to separate it from the work you do for your family and the home you live in.

It is important to set up a place within your home that is designated as your "office". It doesn't actually have to be an office, or even have a desk, but it needs to be somewhere where you go to "feel" like this is now the time to work at your business. If you have an extra room to set up as an office, terrific. If you have a desk you can shove into the corner of a room to use exclusively as office space, wonderful. If you don't, it's not important. Just use the dining room table (or kitchen table) as your work space. Get some plastic bins that are of a size that are easy to manage to store your "office" supplies inside. When it is time to work, just grab your containers and go for it. Be sure to label your containers with their contents, and keep them organized. It is also easier if you use smaller containers that you can easily fit into a cabinet or closet while you are not using them so little hands don't go through your things.

If you have children at home, you will need to be a bit inventive. Some people put thier children in daycare while they work. For me, this defeats the point of me working at home - to be with my kids and raise them myself. For others, it is the perfect solution. Another solution could be to hire a pre-teen for a couple of hours a day to come to your home and play with your kids, spending time with them and watching them in your home as a mommy's helper. You will still be able to see them and be accessible to them, if necessary, but they have a "friend" over to show attention to while you are able to get some work done.

If your kids are of schoolage, then you can plan your working hours to be while they are in school for the day. It's important to remember not to take family time from your kids though. The most important time of the day for your kids is probably the time between them coming home to tell you all about thier day and dinner. Keep yourself available to your family during this time for listening to thier day and helping with homework. You can always do some more work after dinner while the kids are watching thier favorite TV program or even when they head off to bed.

If your kids are of preschool age, the challenge is a bit bigger. Try to give them thier own set of "office supplies" so they can work beside you (at an extra chair-away from mommy's important papers or in thier high chair). You may want to include an old, unhooked up phone with thier office stuff. Also, you can put some new toys away in a box that only comes out when you have to make an important phone call or meet that necessary deadline. Be sure to put them away afterwards to keep them special.

Mark a daily planner with "time zones". Each zone, of say 15-20 minutes, gets a label. Time zone 1 - used for important call backs. Time zone 2 - used for answering emails. Time zone 3 - used for planning parties and setting up home parties. You get the idea. If you have a definiate time in line for certain tasks, you will be less likely to waste your precious available time going in circles trying to remember what you need to do next. Another added benefit of time zones is that you can use them to break up your day. In between time zones, do some things that need done around the home or take a small block of time to play with your preschool child that is for them alone.

Don't worry about outfitting an entire home office either. Most people can do just fine with the basics. The idea of working at home is to earn income to improve your life, not to buy fun, but unnecessary, gadgets. Before making any purchase, ask yourself if you really need it or if there is something else you already own that can do the job just as well.

I wish you all the best of luck with your home businesses. Enjoy what you do and have fun with your family.