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Organizing a Home Office Can Take More Space Than Time

September 29, 2010 By

A good friend of mine who could be the poster mom for organization, called me last week to tell me that she couldn’t get her office under control.

I couldn’t believe it. She’s always been organized to the point of making a few of her friends mad because they can’t keep up with her.

This is someone who’s always on time, never misses a deadline and doesn’t do projects halfway. She’s even a borderline perfectionist.

After talking with her, I figured out why her home office had gone from straightened out to stressed out and gave her a few suggestions. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office design, Home office organizing, Home office setup, Making money from home, Time mgmt./Productivity Tagged With: , , ,

What You Learn at Seminars Can Leave You Speechless

September 27, 2010 By

Years ago, when my older son came home from his first day of Kindergarten and I asked him what he’d learned, he said, “My brain is full!” After going to the NAOEM conference last weekend as a speaker and an attendee, I understand how he felt.

During the two days of information-packed sessions ranging from how to market your business to growing your online presence, I was surprised at how much I learned.

Not only did I learn great tips and strategies from the speakers, I picked up a few tips from the attendees as well.  This was no group of slackers!

Before you go to your next live conference, consider these tips: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Making money from home, Marketing/Public Relations, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working with clients Tagged With: , , ,

How to Go From a Corporate Office to a Home Office

September 23, 2010 By

When you’ve worked in the corporate world you’re entire adult life and then start working from home, the whole process can be overwhelming, scary and challenging. Before you psych yourself out of joining others who are Working Naked, there are a few simple steps you can take to make sure your new workspace is a place you want to go to every day, even if your commute is only 10 seconds long.

  • Find the right place for your home office. Make sure that your new home office space isn’t in the main flow of traffic but also, isn’t isolated. Also, make sure the space has enough room for a desk or other work surface and a place to store files. Crate & Barrel and aspenhome carry a few of my favorite desks. Don’t forget an ergonomically-correct chair. The sleek, multi-function Think chair is a good option. [Read more...]
Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office design, Home office organizing, Home office products, Home office setup, Home office technology, Making money from home, Time mgmt./Productivity Tagged With: , , ,

5 Ways to Keep Home Office Info From Going Up in Smoke

September 21, 2010 By

For years I’ve talked and written about how important it is to be ready for any type of disaster, including floods, hurricanes and fire. When my younger sister called a few days ago to tell me that my parents’ house — the house I grew up in — had caught on fire, those tips hit close to home.

The fire started in the kitchen and spread to the attic. By the time the firefighters put out the fire, two bedrooms, the kitchen and a few hallways were destroyed.

Fortunately, my dad’s home office was untouched.  After the firefighters let my parents into the house, my dad went to his home office and took out some important papers.  Years before, he had put important papers in one file and kept it where he knew he’d find it.

Aside from making sure your home has plenty of smoke detectors and that you have considerate neighbors [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office design, Home office organizing, Home office setup, Working at home Tagged With: , , ,

What Not to Do With Your Web Site

September 17, 2010 By

My Web site is a work in progress. I make a few changes to it and then a month later I think of a few more things I need to update. Within the next few weeks I’ll be making a few more changes. It never ends.

In “11 Reasons Customers Don’t Trust Your Web Site,” writer Lisa Barone shares common sense tips and easy-to-stop-doing strategies for making your site better.It’s more of a list of Web site mistakes you may be making including:

  • It’s littered with typos. Do your best to find typos and squash them dead. It’s hard to believe what someone has written when every other word is spelled wrong. Also, it looks bad if your phone number is wrong. My number changed recently but I didn’t change it on my site until last week. (Oprah, if you tried to call before, try again!) [Read more...]
Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office technology, Improving your web site, Internet marketing, Marketing/Public Relations, Working at home Tagged With: , ,

5 Ways Twitter Makes You a Better Person

September 17, 2010 By

Guest post by San Sharma

If you work alone or from home, there’s no denying that Twitter is an invaluable tool, both professionally and personally. As part of a marketing strategy, Twitter can help spread the word about your business. And when you’re feeling disconnected, Twitter can make you feel a part of the world around you.

But in some circles, Twitter, Facebook and social media, in general, is considered a bad thing. “We’re all getting self-obsessed,” some complain. To them I say, Twitter can actually make you a better person.

Here’s some ‘Twitterquette’ to demonstrate how:

  1. Be more open
    Contrary to popular belief, Twitter’s not all about what you had for lunch. But its 140-character limit and the ways in which you can tweet – from your desk or from your mobile phone – make Twitter an ideal platform to share a little more about yourself. Being transparent with your [Read more...]
Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office technology, Improving your web site, Internet marketing, Making money from home, Working at home, Working with clients Tagged With: , , , ,

From Blog to Book…the Working Naked Guide is Here

September 15, 2010 By

Whenever I mention the blog name Working Naked, I get curious stares, raised eyebrows and sometimes a few smirks. Most of the time women understand the concept immediately while some guys chuckle and wait for me to laugh and tell them the real name of my blog. Yes, it’s Working Naked.

So imagine the looks I got yesterday when I was showing my new book, Working Naked: A guide to the bare essentials of home office life, to a friend of mine. While the guy at the Starbucks counter thought I was holding a “questionable” book, the woman in line behind me had an “I get it” look on her face.

Well, now you can get it…my fifth book. In Working Naked, I’ve included need-to-know tips that I share through my seminars and individual consultations.  A few of my favorite tips are:

  • When your home has limited space, consider all areas of your home including wide hallways, closets, [Read more...]
Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office design, Home office organizing, Home office products, Home office setup, Home office technology Tagged With: , , ,

4 Ways to Keep HOME Work and Home WORK Separate

September 14, 2010 By

Yesterday was the most productive day I’ve had in a long time. Rather than sneak in a few personal tasks that I knew would take only a few minutes, I kept my focus on work. I admit that it wasn’t easy but at the end of the day, I’d made a dent in my To Do list.

Working from home gives you the freedom to work flexible hours, take days off and put off tasks that you need to do but don’t feel like doing.  Too much freedom though can make it hard to fight the distractions that surround your home office. There are a few ways to keep distractions under control.

  • Keep a TV out of your home office. Between HGTV, CNN and reality shows, it’s easy to get distracted. Fortunately a TV is a simple distraction you can take out of your home office. I know you can catch some of the same shows on your computer, but fight the urge to watch instead of work.
  • Use Caller ID to screen your calls. One too many personal calls will make you wonder at the end of the day, [Read more...]
Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office organizing, Home office setup, Making money from home, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home Tagged With: , , ,

5 Signs That You Need to Change Your Management Style

September 13, 2010 By

You may have started your own business to get out from under the thumb of a bad manager.  Who can blame you?

So whether you hire subcontractors for various projects or work with a small staff, it’s up to you to lead, inspire and get out of everyone’s way. Sometimes that’s easier said than done.

When I was in the corporate world, I worked for a wide variety of bosses. Some were power-hungry individuals who scared off good employees, while others truly wanted what was best for the company and his or her employees.  From some of my bosses I learned that a boss with little to no management skills can lower a company’s productivity and increase the staff’s blood pressure.  Yet through another boss I learned that strong management skills can take a company to new levels. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office organizing, Making money from home, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home Tagged With: , , ,

How to Improve Your E-mail Efficiency

September 8, 2010 By

I did it. I finally broke the habit of checking my e-mail first thing in the morning and too many times throughout the day. It wasn’t easy but I kept reminding myself of how much time I was wasting logging in and checking to see what I had missed.

E-mail is a great way to communicate with others, but it can quickly spin out of control if you don’t organize all of your messages.

  • Develop a system for reading, responding to and storing e-mail messages electronically. Set up electronic file folders to store e-mail messages worth keeping and label the folders clearly. Treat the electronic folders the same as paper files and regularly purge documents you don’t need [Read more...]
Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office technology, Improving your web site, Making money from home, Time mgmt./Productivity, Working at home Tagged With: , ,
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