Working from Home after a Disaster

The recent hurricane has brought many businesses to a standstill. Most employees, entrepreneurs, contractors and freelancers are forced to work from home. If you are new at this, you can be quite stressed, worried or fidgety because of the situation. Working from home actually has its benefits and you can be productive even with all the distractions and temptations (i.e. TV) around. Here are a few tips to make your load easier.

Don’t worry, be happy

Yes, this is an old song that still rings true today. If you are stressed because you keep thinking of all the days you missed working because of the power outage or you are worrying about the future of your company, well guess what, you are not alone! Your clients might be worried about the same thing. It’s okay if you missed a deadline because of the hurricane. Your clients are doing other important things such as getting the power back or fixing their office or finding a new one because the last one was destroyed. Don’t worry about next week. Until the problem is not in front of you, you won’t be able to solve it anyway. Focus on the now and the things that you can control.

Schedule

While we are focusing on today, make a schedule of your day’s task. Work like you are in the office. Schedule coffee breaks and lunch breaks. Start and stop on time. If you go home at 5 pm, stop working at 5 pm and spend the rest of the day with friends and family or do what you always do after 5 pm.

Make sure to tell your family that you have a schedule to adhere to. Kids must understand that it is still work time. They can have fun with you after work just like when you were in the office. Reward them for behaving while you are working. You can order pizza or have a movie night after work.

Set a goal

Working from home does not mean that you can slack on your work. If you made a schedule make sure that you accomplish most of your tasks in that list. Understand that some tasks will take longer to finish because of the lack of resources (i.e. power and technology) but at least you get some work done.

Take a break

Working from home has its perks. You can go raid the fridge when you’re hungry. You don’t have to go out to buy coffee because the office coffee sucks. You can always have a fresh cup of your favorite coffee. You can watch TV during your lunch break. These simple things will keep your mind off some of the problems that are you are dealing with.

Keep these suggestions in mind and you are sure to transition smoothly from the office to working at home. 

This article was brought to you by Contractor Money. Visit the site for more contractor and freelancer tips.