Photo by Domenico Loia on Unsplash
Most of us are juggling busy lives that include work/business (possibly both), family, space and time pressures. Having used every room in the house as an office at some stage of the business journey I know what it takes to grow a business, manage home and family and thrive.
It starts with a clear picture of what you want your life to be – for me it’s bringing back the balance of work and life. Sorting, filing/culling/archiving let me see what’s been dealt with and what still needs dealing with. The fun part is setting up the office! Consider colour, light and space to give the advantage of great working conditions. Arranging your office in this way means efficiency, focus and things will get done every time you enter.
Putting aside the time to sort out your home office is something well worth doing. Imagine the filing done, things sorted and to hand, a place for everything and everything in its place – it makes for an inviting welcome when it’s time to get some focused work done. It really does make life so much easier and then to find there is a life outside of work – woohoo! extra bonus!
The benefits of having a dedicated office space (even if you don’t have much space):-
- Work becomes focused, you feel happier and you become more efficient.
- You have time and what you need on hand you get to really know your business, your customers and suppliers.
- You’ll start to ask the questions that will have you understand the important numbers. Learning to negotiate when you know exactly where things stand is a very powerful position to be in.
Leaving the “office” every day is the best freedom.
While you might think it’s just about the physical space, it’s actually more than that. Sure, as a designated office it defines what the room is for (ie focused work), who can dump their stuff there (answer: nobody, no exceptions!) and the stuff that has to go there is business related and ready to deal with.
It’s also about clear boundaries. Each step of the way defines who and how people come into the space (do you want subcontractors and clients coming through your home when business needs to be done? I know I don’t). It defines the work hours (think 24/7 down to 3 days/6 hrs) and what gets done during those hours. It is a clear path to great time management, priorities and saying no (politely & firmly) all of which become second nature along the way.
Start with the physical space and before long you have a home office that allows for a thriving business and a happy life. Who wouldn’t want that!
Take advantage of September’s Spring Clean Your Life Offer and get your office space sorted. Contact me or book in this month for a 10% discount on a 3 hr package.