Comments on: How to be a Productive Home Worker

By: Carla Marshall

Carla Marshall — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:39:42 +0000

Excellent article.

I agree about the music - I use working in the day as an opportunity to catch up on the radio esp the news and in the evening it's Spotify or iTunes. My productivity would be a lot lower in a quiet office.

By: Tech Volcano

Tech Volcano — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:30:44 +0000

Good read! Some useful info you have there! Thanks!

By: Enigin

Enigin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:51:30 +0000

Cool articles, thanks. I agree with the Music section, it’s definitely one of the perks of working at home!

By: James Kendrick

James Kendrick — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:58:04 +0000

I paid for the rights to use it so it is not available.

By: A Turner

A Turner — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:47:27 +0000

James

Love the “home worker” picture as above on your website. I would like to use this in a newsletter I am producing. Could you tell me if it has a copyright attached or, if it is yours, are you happy for me to use it?

Please reply on the email above.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

By: Gundosyvz

Gundosyvz — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:36:38 +0000

Aloha! ous

By: Saundra Washington

Saundra Washington — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:53:31 +0000

I love your article. It’s right on target. I especially agree with dressing the part.

When I first started working from home long ago, I used to put on a suit, stockings, the whole nine yards every day. People who knew me and new I worked from home thought I was nuts, but it helped me get in the right frame of mind.

I don’t dress up that much today (who does?), but I still recognize that dressing the part and keeping to a schedule are crucial to successfully working from home.

By: Pierre

Pierre — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:04:17 +0000

This is a great article. I worked remotely from home for 2 years, and now, even being in the same city as my company’s office, I still spend close to 50% of my time working at home. Articles like this always interest me because of that.

I think that a lot of the points are valid, but also it should allow for personalization. Like Gail, I work very long hours, so separating work from personal is actually not good for me. If I do emails in front of the TV at night (clearly violating the rule), but it allows me to spend more time with my wife the next morning or something, then I do it. I never fix work and personal hours, but rather strive to keep things as flexible as I can to max out personal time and schedule. But that’s due to the demands of my job.

Work clothes? no. Heck, I always have 6AM phone conferences with our remote offices and customers in Europe. Nooooo, those are done in boxers, t-shirt and a coffee in hand.

Get out with people? Seriously important. Software tools too. Mobility is key for flexibility. Working at the coffee shop, etc, I do that a lot just to get out of the house. My splurge is my little 3G USB stick that allows me to get the heck out anytime I want.

By: Richard bingham

Richard bingham — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:38:21 +0000

Http://richardbingham.wordpress.com

By: Richard bingham

Richard bingham — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:36:55 +0000

Oh dear … Got URL right this time!

By: Gail Bevill

Gail Bevill — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:27:44 +0000

These are great tips, however, some positions or fields require the designated hours to be extended, long hours. By long, I mean early morning until wee hours. Right now, as a small business owner of a real estate brokerage based from my home, I must work the long hours and blend it with my family and personal time. I do have the designated work zone, do dress the part (most of the time), but do enjoy an occasional televised show in my office. Each day, I make it a point to enjoy lunch out with my husband or a friend. Being able to connect with family in the home, steps from my home office, and with professional and personal friends outside of the office, is essential to my survival and success.

By: Ryan Bright

Ryan Bright — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:01:11 +0000

To ensure that I focus on the task at hand, I have a separate OS X workspace designated for each of the tools that I use throughout the day. I have one designated for common tasks such as web browsing and instant messaging, another for software development tools, and another for office utilities like Microsoft Word and Excel. While I’m not prevented from switching workspaces or simply selecting another application from the dock, I’ve found that this simple trick does wonders with a bit of added discipline.

While it primarily aides in keeping me sane, I’ve found that changing my environment also leads to me being much more creative and productive with my work. I frequently alternate between home, a variety of coffee shops, and the local coworking space (also an art studio and engineering workshop), and each provides me with different surroundings and inspiration.

Great article!

By: Richard Bingham

Richard Bingham — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:02:48 +0000

http://wordpress.com/richardbingham

By: Richard Bingham

Richard Bingham — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:01:10 +0000

Great points. I’ve been @home for 7yrs now..
See my blog for some productivity tips too.
I find structuring time is v important.

By: rob

rob — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:29:10 +0000

Good post. Since my work computer is a thin client + 2 screens, I use a corner unit for it. At the end of the day, power down and close the doors. rotate around and there’s the desk with the personal system.
While a huge music fan, I find podcasts do better as background for me, as I can sponge the information without getting caught up in the music too much. Since I’m relatively new to working at home, this has led to NPR, CNET, and TWiT(and mobiletech roundup) crawling up my last.fm charts.
I agree with Robert, guarding against the twitter/FB/phone distractions is key.
We will have to disagree, however, on dressing the part. Chinos are gone, jeans and tees only here. Shoes? Rarely.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:43:41 +0000

Music, yes. I have Sirius/XM wired into a home audio system and can crank up the tunes all day long. Too much talk is distracting so my two favorite channels are XM 50 (The Loft) and 51 (The Coffee House).

One suggestion I would add to your list is to limit interruptions from phones, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, etc. These distractions frequently start out innocently (I just have a quick question.) but allow enough of them and your whole day is suddenly gone. I used to hate working in an office where people can just walk in and it’s hard to ignore them. At home I can use caller ID (and the cool Google Voice management tools) to ignore most phone calls until it’s convenient FOR ME. And don’t read your e-mail and social networking stuff as it shows up because you’ll suddenly feel the urge to respond immediately. (None of these comments apply to jkOnTheRun which you should all read and respond to frequently throughout the day/night.)