Melissa Rich Author – Your Virtual Home Office Can Be a Reality!

A home office and working solo certainly provides a great deal of peace, free of typical office drama; however, that same sense of peace can also lead to a sense of monotony, repetition, and boredom.  There are days where the excitement of pursuing a new opportunity brings about the “thrill of the chase” invigoration; by more often than not, my home office operation is not full of excitement, but rather “ho-hum”.

Some days, I need a change of pace; so I seek out new tasks that will bring about a feeling of invigoration.  On those ho-hum days, I spend time looking towards the future and developing strategic plans to move towards that new goal.  That planning process allows me to get enthused, renewed, rejuvenated, and excited about the future.

Maybe you should spend some time reviewing your long range home office plans and get excited about the future!

Over the last few weeks, I have been deep cleaning my home and office.   In that process, I have discovered that I have a secret addiction……….yep, that is right.   I am addicted to office supplies and nifty organizational gadgets.

We all know that keeping organized is vital to our success, but I have gone overboard.  I have accumulated an excessive (perhaps lifetime) supply of office supplies and gadgets.  Moving forward, I promise to buy office supplies only when needed.   I promise to prepare a shopping list and to use that shopping list to control my addiction to home office items.  

In fact, I will print that shopping list on hot pink paper, attach that list to a clipboard, and keep that clipboard firmly attached to my bulletin board, so that I can easily access my list.

Wow!  This has been a tough week for me.  My daughter has been sick with Influenza B.   Her fever has been consistently above 101 and as of now, the flu has not shown any signs of letting up. 

Even though my daughter has been home all week, I have continued to work diligently from my home office and have remained focused on the tasks at hand.    I have worked from home for ten plus years, so I probably take my working arrangement for granted; but this week, I have given a lot of thought to parents that would be missing work due to a sick child. 

I only wish that I could help all parents find a position or business suitable to their background and skills.

Adhering to business hours from a home office

Lately, the office phone seems to ringing later and later into the evening.  While I am thankful that the phone is ringing and my home based business is growing, I have also found that those calls are steadily nibbling into family time. 

It appears I need to work on adhering better to my established business hours as stated on page 51 of Your Virtual Home Office Can Be A Reality! .  Even though I have had a home office for over ten years, I often find that I need to continually strive to place boundaries on my home life and work life to ensure the proper balance between the two.

Motivation is tough even working from my virtual home office. Ever have those days that you just can’t make yourself do what is needed to fulfill your work requirements. Something that helps me is to walk away from the office and get the blood pumping. Take a walk, go for a bike ride, or just get outside for some fresh air.

Drinking a glass of ice water while working helps keep my head clear and my mind focused. Turn on the tunes. If you are doing work that does not require a quiet area, turn up the music. Figure out what gets your juices flowing and put it into action before getting into a work rut.

One of the great things about working from home is that I never have to take off of work due to bad weather. My commute time is taking a left at the end of the hallway.

Working from home is truly a blessing and even though I have been doing so for 20 + years, I still count my blessings every time I don’t have to get out in the ice and snow.

Even though I don’t have to officially take off work due to weather conditions, I have the flexibility to do so if I want to go and play with the kids.  Working from my virtual home office is one of the best decisions for my career and my family.

Virtual employees or contractors can save a company many dollars in terms of reduced overhead expenses in comparison to onsite employees.   However, managing virtual employees also offers a unique set of challenges.  Managers often find that their employees are not fully realizing their potential from the home office and can lose their focus; therefore, many of these same companies are contacting us for help and training in the home office aspects.

If we can help your team fully embrace the home office environment through our training programs, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time.

It seems like everyone is on the social media sites. You have Facebook, twitter, email and the list goes on and on. It can really be hard to focus on your work once you have these sites open. Sometimes because we work from home, we have a tendency to think it is not as important to keep your focus on work and turn off the distractions.

I make a point to check the sites that are important to me before starting work for the day. I am easily distracted and don’t need to hear about drama while I am working. When working from your virtual home office, you have to pick and choose when it is appropriate to take a phone call or check your social sites. Focus takes work and dedication. If you need help with distractions-check out Melissa’s book- Your Virtual Home Office Can Be a Reality.

Working from my virtual home office is the best thing I have ever done for myself and my family. However, not everyone feels that way. There are some virtual workers that need the everyday office drama and feel somewhat isolated from the day to day grind of the traditional brick and mortar job.

I personally have more interaction with people working from my home office than I would if I worked outside of the home. By working virtually, I am able to pick and choose my working relationships. In a traditional office, I would be required to interact with everyone.

When I am working at home in my virtual office, I often struggle with managing my time. It is not always the family or work that causes issues. It can also be the weather, society or general everyday distractions that keep me from performing at my best.

Every morning before I start my work day, I sit down and plan my day by priorities. This allows me to know what has to be done for the day and what could be put off to a later day or evening time when the family is in bed or occupied.