- Take frequent breaks. Instead of looking a 100-page project like I have to do it all RIGHT NOW just because my kids are sleeping or are watching a movie or are out of the house, I take it in bite-size chunks. I might stop after every 10 pages and go to the bathroom, refill my water, make some coffee, check in with my Facebook peeps, send a few tweets to promote some Bubblews posts, do 10 sit-ups, return a phone call or ...
- Reward myself with a piece of chocolate! Rewards are important! Im not talking about a Prada bag here ... something small to give yourself a pat on the back for working from home, which is something many people want to do, but which few possess the discipline to do.
- Consider breaking up the job into chunks on your task sheet or Excel spreadsheet or whatever you use to stay organized and keep track of your deadlines. Instead of writing "8 BlogHer Tweets for SlimFast" with a deadline of June 30, I might assign 8 separate tasks, breaking out the income each task will bring, the time each task will take, etc. That way I can cross of each item as I do it and ensure I stay on task and on time. On that 100-page project for proofreading, I might assign 10 different tasks to it to make it seem manageable.
- Try to break up and schedule the project so you can still have a life! This is super important to me since I homeschool lightly year-round and want to make sure we hit the pool or do something fun outside of the house almost daily.
What are your work-from-home tips?