The trials and errors of a work-at-home person

When, like me, you’ve decided to make a living working from home you will no doubt have fallen into some of the traps there are on the internet. Working from home can be very satisfying as you can fill in the time you spend on work and on leisure time. However it can also mean that you spend far more time at your computer than you’d first planned due to distractions which are around all the time.

A lot of time can be spent on social media and although it’s one of the first platforms for networking that is now widely used, it’s also the most distracting. I speak from experience and now have to plan ahead and be strict to myself as to when I switch on Twitter, Facebook, Skype etc.
Planning ahead is paramount when you work at home so I’ve started making a list of things I need to do each day, that way I get more structure in my day and I get more done.
First of all I have a shower and breakfast and start up my laptop – reading of emails has priority just in case there’s something urgent and I respond to and tidy away all mails in the mailbox, that way I keep it manageable. After that’s done I spend time on social media to speak with friends and prospects, do some advertising and catch up with the news.
Most days it’ll be lunchtime when I’ve done those tasks.

After lunch it’s time for a walk of about one – to one and a half hours, provided the weather is good, I draw the line when it’s chucking it down. I walk together with my husband about 5 times a week the other 2 days I spend doing some housework.
I spend time reading up on news, watch training videos and work on my website.
Making new friends and acquaintances is another thing you must do to make sure your business grows – this can be time consuming – especially when you get drawn into long chat sessions on Facebook or Skype. Advertising takes up the rest of my afternoon. I use all kinds of Social Media for that. Facebook, LinkedIn, Webtalk etc.
This is a typical working day for me but I must confess that I spend many of my evenings online as well, attending Zoom calls and catching up on training.
Another important side of any home business is keeping track of what you do financially, so book keeping is an essential task. I register everything I do on an Excel sheet. That way I’ve got it all in one place and can keep track of my outgoings and of what’s coming in.
I’m now heading in the right direction and the balance is now well into the positive.
It also gives me the freedom to travel and still keep up with business. The laptop lifestyle they call it. Well it certainly suits me!

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