Running a business from home may offer flexibility. However, those who actually try it learn that the work/life balance can quickly blur without intention. Here are some realistic adjustments to help keep things in balance.
Set real working hours, and tell people what they are
One of the biggest problems when working from home is the expectation and pressure to be available to either work or family at any given moment. You need to establish specific work hours so that your clients and family members know the hours during which they can expect you to be available. Once they know the designated work hours, it is much easier to defend a work hour from interruptions.
Plan for the inevitable disruptions rather than fighting them
Expect the unexpected. Of course, things will come up. There will be days when your child gets sick, the boiler breaks, or your child’s school closes unexpectedly. To help ease the stress of the day, avoid scheduling the entire work week. Allow some flexibility in the schedule to accommodate the unpredictable. It is much easier to quickly shift a work day to a work night if you have some kind of priority system in place that helps you determine how quickly a task must be completed.
Create a physical separation, even a small one
You don’t need a separate office to create boundaries. Something as simple as placing your laptop on your desk each day to close it at the end of the workday can help your brain switch between work mode and home mode. The act of moving away from a designated work area sends a stronger, clearer message to your brain about the end of the workday than simply deciding to stop working.
- Agree working hours with family and stick to them as closely as possible
- Use a dedicated space, even a small one, rather than working from the sofa
- Batch household interruptions to set check-in times where practical
- Build in proper breaks rather than working through them out of guilt
- Communicate your schedule to clients so expectations are realistic too
Involve rather than exclude, where it makes sense
For families with young children, the solution may not be complete separation, but rather more engagement. Depending on their age, young children may benefit from having a family member on a work-related phone call, or may simply need a calendar that shows a parent’s schedule. Families are less likely to get upset and interrupt the flow of work if engaged on the process.
Get comfortable saying no to both sides sometimes
To successfully run a business from home means often frustrating your clients and your family in the short term. To set a good example, a business owner should put reasonable limits on their availability. The best of both worlds occurs when clients and family understand the business owner’s limits, and there is less frustration.
Review and adjust as circumstances change
School term and holiday time schedules look different for family employment set-ups. What adjustments you make for your different family and work commitments today will change over the years, so don’t set and forget. Your family employment approach should change seasonally to fit the changing family commitments.
Protect your own downtime too
When designing your family employment arrangement, don’t forget to protect family time by setting boundaries to keep work out of the evenings and weekends. Balancing family and work commitments is a goal we all share, and protecting family time is just as important in a home business as it is if you’re working for someone else. It means square-pegging working time instead of letting work creep back into your family time. For practical tips and resources to help you with your home-based business, check out our website or contact us to see how we can offer you assistance.