As more opportunities become available, more people are choosing to work from the comfort of their home.
However, friends and family may not fully understand that you’re on the clock while you’re at home. Of course, the fact that you aren’t in an office doesn’t mean that you’re free to run people’s errands for them.
In the future, try following these guidelines when you’re trying to set boundaries:
- Make it clear that you can’t have a long conversation. Talking on the phone is fine, but when you have work to do it must be kept to a minimum. The best solution to this problem is to not answer the phone while working. If someone keeps blowing up your phone, let them know you’ll call them after work. They should get the point after you’ve told them a few times.
- Even if you’ve already followed step one, some people will persist. When this happens, tell them you have a tight deadline to meet. It’s up to you to set your work schedule, so don’t be afraid to explain you have deadlines. This is more than enough of a reason to skip coffee breaks.
- If you’re conflicted on whether or not to do someone a favor during your working day, ask yourself “would I do this if I worked at an office?” If the answer is “no”, get back to work!
- Set concrete hours. Maintaining your discipline is much easier when you have regular working hours. It’ll also be much easier for others to understand if you work at the same times consistently.
- Check your schedule. If you follow step four, you’ll have regular working hours. If you end up working on other tasks before you’ve completed your work, you’re scheduling wrong. Always follow your schedule and let the people you know understand it.
