Working from home

How to keep on schedule and on task when working out of your house.

Three words I never thought I would be saying – working from home. Unless of course, it was working from home because I was under the weather. So when I started my own company nearly two years ago (pause for mild freak-out!) I knew I had to lay down some ground rules to make sure I truly worked from home.

My routine previously had included waking up anywhere between 6 a.m. or 6:30 a.m., depending on what was in the queue for meetings – and to be honest, whether I had to wash and blow out my hair. I would spend the first 30 minutes combing through emails, answering any urgent or semi-urgent matters, and then scroll Twitter for any news of note that I needed to be aware of.

Then it was the process of getting ready – shower, apply all the creams and serums needed in your 30s, apply makeup, do said hair – all while listening to the news in the background (sorry guys, I am not into Podcasts yet. I KNOW!). Then of course, the hem and haw of which outfit to wear, while considering the meetings I had for the day, and then racking my brain to make sure that the outfit I finally settled on wasn’t what I had on when last meeting with whoever I was meeting with that day.

Now, instead of rushing to get ready, and worrying about how long my commute will be, and if my 10 a.m. meeting will remember what I wore last time we met, my day starts off far more calm.

Unless I have an early morning meeting, I am able to add another half hour or so to my alarm, since my commute now involves walking from the bedroom to the kitchen (coffee, natch) to the office. As I have grown my company, and regained a sense of work-life balance, I have also adjusted my morning routine a bit to reflect new priorities.

For starters, I try to put on workout clothes when I first wake up, as a way to tell myself that at some point I will get in a workout during the day, be it sneaking off to a Pure Barre class or hopping on the Peloton for a quick ride/motivation for the day. Then it is time to hit the kitchen and make a light breakfast and an espresso, to be enjoyed while reading through emails, Twitter and listening to the news in the background (I swear I have mastered the art of multitasking).

However, since this could easily delve into an Office marathon on the couch while savoring the last bits of my coffee, I have established a start time of 8:30 a.m. as my base for “heading to the office” since that is around the time I used to get to an actual office. And much like being in an office, I get in a zone, sometimes not realizing it is well past lunch time until my stomach reminds me. The difference is, I can use this time to make a decent lunch at home, or if I need the escape, I run to a nearby restaurant to pick up a quick lunch.

In order to stay connected, I am active on a few boards, and a member of a few organizations, which allows me to get out of the home office with some regularity, in addition to any client meetings I may have. I highly recommend throwing this into the mix, even if it’s becoming a member of your local chamber of commerce. It’s a great way to meet people and businesses you would not have otherwise had exposure to, and it allows you to mix up your routine.

While in the past I was prone to working till I got the big stuff wrapped up, which could have been well after 7 p.m., now I try to shut down for the day around 6 p.m., unless I have a major project or deadline of course, and in that case, this whole post is ignored!

But the nice thing is, my distractions at home are far fewer than they were in an office. I still get phone calls throughout the day, I have offsite meetings and lunches and social gatherings, but the interruptions now are my two dogs barking at a neighbor walking by, or the doorbell ringing for yet another Amazon purchase (usually something I realize I need for a home office that never occurred to me – looking at you filing cabinet!).

Although I get asked all the time about starting my own company, and if I would change anything, I can honestly say that having my own company has been a highlight of my career. Sure, I have a ton more flexibility today than I ever did before, but I am still working with great clients, and working on meaningful projects that I am proud to be part of – all from the comfort of my own home.

You can also check out my must haves for my home office!