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

With my long but flexible working hours, I frequently find myself working up to 12 to 14 hours per day.     Being in front of the computer for hours at a time and sitting at my desk certainly causes additional stress upon the body.   To combat that problem, I have found the
following tips helpful:

• Taking short breaks from sitting periodically.  For example, I often find myself pacing during conference calls.
• Shifting positions frequently.   Sometimes I adjust the height of the chair or the placement of my feet.
• Ergonomic furniture that adjust easily to new positions.

If you are home based or office based, I hope the above tips help you feel more comfortable within your work space and help alleviate the physical stresses caused by sitting for extended periods of time.

Recently, I took a short vacation; so I took my home office essentials with me and worked from the hotel.    Even though I work from home, my home office is easy to pack and ready to go.  Here are a few of the essential items:

• A bag with essential supplies including pens, highlighters, a mini-stapler, calculator, etc.
•  Essential office files located in one place, so that they can be easily packed.
• Laptop computer.
  NOTE:   I have taken a vacation with a full size computer and compact screen.

Working from home certainly has its advantages, but being ready to work from any location with Internet access is even better!

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.

If you are maintaining a home office and that office is used only for business purposes, you may be entitled to additional tax deductions associated with your home office.    The first step is knowing what percentage of your home is dedicated to your home office.  For example, if your home is 2,000 square feet and your home office is 200 feet, ten percent of your home is for your office and ten percent of the following expenses may be deductible:

• Utilities – gas, electric, water, trash
• Home owner’s or renter’s insurance
• Mortgage interest
• Real estate taxes

Please review chapter 19 or talk with your CPA to get more information.

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.

Wow!  2010 is in the books of history, but tax time is just around the corner.   Hopefully, you kept your records filed neatly and can find the tax documentation that you need to fully take advantage of the home office deductions.

 It is also time to review your record keeping system and make modifications as necessary.   Home office expenses can be varied and diverse, but maintaining a strong paper trail is essential for minimizing the time involved with tax preparation.

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 that business is really heating up and I am keeping plenty busy to meet the demands and needs of my growing business.    I have been working 50-60 hours each week lately.   While that can be overwhelming at times, the convenience of my home office makes the long hours more comfortable and less stressful.   

I am thankful for each and every day from my home office!  Hopefully, you are achieving that same level of satisfaction in your career.

Hard to believe that we just started another new year with renewed visions and renewed goals.     We also need a strategic plan to reach each of those goals.    Deciding to increase your 2011 earnings is certainly a worthy goal, but how will you reach that goal?   Are you ready to market more aggressively?  Are you prepared to full embrace your work at home environment?  

If you need help along the way, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.  Our book and our webinar series will certainly accelerate your success!

As school lets out for the Christmas break, many work-at-home parents are struggling with how to keep their kids pre-occupied while they work from the home office.    Now that my daughter is older (age 13), she requires very little of my time and does not affect my home office operations much.   However, when she was younger (in pre-school or early elementary school), keeping her busy while I was working was quite a task. 

Here are few quick tips for occupying young children during that holiday vacation:

• Remember that this is their holiday – their break from routine.    Scheduling several interactive and engaging activities during the holiday break will provide much needed “together time” and lifelong memories.
• Depending on your situation, your work is still a priority.   You still need to accomplish specific tasks during their break. 

Work with your family and children to create a balance between vacation and work.   Chapter 14 offers an array of tips for working with families.