YOU’VE FINALLY DONE IT! You’ve taken the plunge. You want a better work/life balance or you want to be your own boss…and now you’re ready to start growing your business from home.
You cannot wait to reap the benefits of working from home! It’s going to be amazing!
- Higher Productivity
- More Family Time
- Flexible Schedule
BUT…Then…This…
Your make-shift desk at the dining room or kitchen table is cluttered with a week’s worth of mail and plates from last night’s dinner.
Or this. You’ve set up your office in the guest bedroom where laundry is piled high, waiting to be put away.
Or you’ve run out of printer paper and file folders and you’ve already been to Staples three times this week?
Or this. Your workspace is on the first floor, your printer on the second, your filing cabinet in the basement. Well….at least you won’t have to make a separate trip to the gym after running all those stairs…
Working from home can be a game changer for your business. Except for when it’s not.
- You’re struggling to find balance while working from home
- You’re distracted in the workspace in your home
- The clutter in your home is affecting your productivity
- You’re struggling in both your work & home life
- Your business suffers
So what do you do now?
YOU GET ORGANIZED, OF COURSE!
Entrepreneurs who succeed at building a successful business while working from home understand the value of organization and the value of delegation. Business owners need to work. They don’t have the luxury of time away from work to organize. They are painfully aware that when you don’t work, you don’t get paid.
That’s where Carrie’s Essential Services comes in.
I work with many local business owners to achieve their perfect home office. Think of outsourcing this project as an investment in your business. The more organized your space, the more productive you’ll be, the more successful your business! Bonus – hiring a professional organizer is tax deductible as a business expense! Win-Win!
When a small business owner hires Carrie’s Essential Services to achieve a great home office, we want to bring 4 things to the space:
- Order – Institute systems to increase efficiency & function.
- Focus – Create a clutter-free space to reduce distraction.
- Growth – Design a space that will grow with your business.
- Tranquility – Design a space that you love and where you’ll love to work.
Carrie’s Top Organizing Tips When Organizing Your Home Office
MAKE SURE YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER
If you’re going to be successful working from home, you must be organized in your home first. If you skip this step, over time, both your home & work life will suffer.
Imagine you are working on your laptop at your kitchen island you glance up and spy a pile of messy papers & general clutter on the kitchen counter. Could be the kids’ art projects waiting to be taken up to the attic or the magazines & junk mail you have yet to go through or the folded laundry that has yet to be put away.
Imagine this around every corner, some household clutter distraction that pulls you away from your work, every time you step away from your desk. Mounting frustration as your work begins to suffer, you become short-tempered and irritable. And we all know easily that can cause trouble on the home front…especially when it’s not as easy to “leave it at the office”!
SET UP SHOP
Create a designated area to work. Ideally, it’s a fully enclosed office with a desk or tabletop where you have ample space for a filing system, printer and any other business supplies you might need. Sometime, you may prefer to work from the kitchen island. This is fine, as long as you are fairly mobile (ie: laptop, functioning WiFi, easily accessible files, printer, etc.) & self-contained. When you done working for the day, return your laptop & supplies to your home office.
MAKE IT YOURS
Take the time to add personal touches to your space. If your workspace feels like you, you’ll love the time you spend there. Put in shelves, artwork and personal achievements. Create a space that reflects you, your business & your life.
No good with décor or design? Check out my friend & frequent collaborator, Liz MacDonald. Liz is an interior design extraordinaire, home stager and host of the web series, Shelf Help. Her specialty? Taking pieces you already own to transform any living space. Imagine that dingy, dirty desk that’s been hiding in your basement. Liz can turn it into a stunner with just a roll of contact paper…intrigued? Watch!
SEPARATION OF CHURCH & STATE…WHEN FILING
If your home office is the place you keep both family and business files, then you must designate a space for both. One side of the file cabinet, just for family and the other side, just for business. Or if space & budget allow, separate file cabinets for each.
Same goes with the mail. Separate and designate a place for family mail and another for business mail
ADD A LITTLE COLOR
Color code your business files and family files with their own designated color. Follow through with this system when purchasing supplies – files folder, paper clips, binders, and so on.
SET FIRM OFFICE HOURS
Designate hours for your business and communicate them to your clients as well as your family. This step is about organizing your time. Set hours that work for you and stick to them. This way you establish clear boundaries with your clients on when to contact you and when they can expect a response.
Working from home is not for everyone. The line between work life & home life can become blurred, quickly, when working from home. The key is organization, so that these two parts of your life can thrive…while living together under one roof!
About Carrie’s Essential Services
Carrie Kauffman is an award-winning professional organizer, member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and owner of Carrie’s Essential Services, LLC. Carrie Kauffman works to organize and de-clutter homes & offices on the Main Line and surrounding communities. Carrie’s Essential Services specializes in moving & packing, preparing a home for sale, office setup including filing systems as well as general organizing & de-cluttering.