With the New Year just around the corner, chances are you have some sort of resolution floating around in your mind that sounds something like lose weight, grow my home business, or spend more time with my family and friends. But according to Forbes, only about eight percent actually achieve their New Year's resolutions.
DITCH THE RESOLUTIONS!!!
So why bother making resolutions at all? Actually, research suggests it's not personal willpower that puts someone in that eight percent, but making GOALS instead of resolutions. Goals are more likely to be met when they aren't huge ones, but rather, manageable—and specific. Lose weight isn't a very good resolution—but Exercise every Tuesday and Thursday and eat at least three servings of fruits and vegetable daily is a goal that's much more likely to still be in progress in June.
Want to grow your work-at-home business in 2015? Start with small, specific goals and you'll be more likely to actually reach that larger goal too. Here are nine small, attainable ideas for managing both your business and your home life to get you started.
1. Set an alarm
Even when you are working from home and might not have to be “in the office” at a certain time, treating a home-based job just like you would one outside the home can significantly increase productivity. Having a set schedule starts with setting the alarm in the morning, and skipping the snooze button. Give yourself enough time to get ready and get a few tasks accomplished before the kids wake up, especially if you have little ones too young for school.
2. “Go” to the office (and not in your PJs)
In the spirit of increasing productivity by treating a home-based job like any other, get out of your PJs and head to a designated work space. A change in environment—and less comfy clothes—are often refreshing enough to supercharge your work time.
3. Make daily goals
While annual goals are great, don't forget about the daily ones. What do you want to get accomplished that day? Creating a prioritized to-do list can help keep your focus on the tasks at hand.
4. Designate family time
Chances are, you choose a work-at-home career to be able to spend more time with your family, but that same work can also be a distraction to family while family distracts us from work at the same time. Try designating time for just family—it may just help prevent distractions during work time.
5. Check the budget annually
At least once a year, go over all the bills you pay every month—both for your business and your home. Contact your provider and see if there are any discounts available, or look at another company that may offer a better deal. One year, switching insurance saved us about $100 a month. This year, we cancelled a $90 cable bill and added Netflix ($8.99) and Hulu ($7.99). Sure, it won't increase your productivity, but what work-at-home person couldn't use a bit of a break in the budget?
6. Separate work and housework
When you work from home, housework is often a distraction, but depending on your personality, working in a messy house might be just as much of a distraction. If that's the case, create a schedule for both work and housework. For me, I find it easier to clean during the day while I'm better able to complete work projects at night when the house is quiet.
7. Unplug
It's easy to always be “at work” when you work from home. Set a time to unplug and focus instead on just being at home. Keep distractions at bay when you're working too—don't check Facebook or your personal email during designated work time. (you can get lost for a whole day easily in
Facebook)
8. Schedule a time to look for new opportunities
A business isn't likely to grow from doing the same things it's always done. Don't get so busy that you have no time to look for new opportunities. Set aside a time to look for new opportunities—daily, once a week or monthly. Depending on your business model, this might look a little different. For me, it's submitting bids on projects, but looking for new opportunities might also come in the form of a new marketing idea or a new product.
9. Designate household responsibilities
Feeling the pressure to be SuperPerson? You don't have to do everything. Designate some age-appropriate chores to your children, it will help save you some time as well as teach them responsibility. Talk to your spouse about what would help—perhaps watching the kids for an hour or two in the evenings or cooking dinner a few nights a week.
Setting goals is the first step to actually achieving them—but setting small goals means you're more likely to reach the larger ones. To boost your work-at-home business in 2015, set small goals that will help enhance your productivity—leading to more business success in the long run.
