Your Work Space

Working in your home can blur the distinction between your work life and your personal life. One can easily take over the other without enough self-discipline and some thoughtful planning.

Your workspace should be set off from the rest of the house. A separate room with a door that can be closed is best. A space that is used for nothing but business is essential. You must mentally enter your workspace as if you are leaving your home. Do not let the TV or the refrigerator pull at you, even though you know they are close.

Set consistent work hours and stick to them. I work the same hours as most of my clients, which is 8:30 to 5, Monday through Friday. I do not answer the business line or reply to business email outside of those hours. If I am asked to work on the weekend, I charge an overtime fee. Sometimes I work late to get caught up, but that is for my convenience, not anyone else's. I do not lead anyone to believe I will work more than standard hours for them, without the extra fee. A lunch break, tea break, or gym break is included in most days. The best part of working at home is that when my work is done, I can leave without asking for permission.

I mentioned having a separate business phone line, which I added after I got a few business calls during my family time. The separate line made it easier to maintain my boundaries. This is especially important when you have children at home. Your job as mommy or daddy is the most important role of all.

You can take advantage of the home office deduction on your taxes when you have a clearly defined workspace. Read the IRS instructions or check with an accountant for all the details, because there are restrictions.

Your workspace should be neat and organized most of the time. Have bookshelves for your design magazines, Pantone swatch books, software manuals, and CDs. Have a file cabinet for storing documents and samples. You'll need a printer stand with space to store paper and toner. What else do you need to have in your office, and where will you store it? Keep your office neat by cleaning up once a week. If you let chaos rule, you will waste a lot of time looking for things.

Think about the workflow of your projects and make sure that you have a place for jobs that have been estimated, jobs that are in progress, jobs that are awaiting revisions, and jobs that are on hold indefinitely. Your project tracking forms are extremely helpful in maintaining workflow. You can clip the form to all the related papers and put it in the correct pile. I use a set of 5 trays, one for each day of the week, to help plan my schedule. Don't forget a place for jobs that are ready to bill.

Keeping your mental and physical spaces organized will decrease your stress and increase your profits.