Separating Work From Home
There is a simple code that I abide by to help ensure peace and balance in life, and that is what happens at work stays at work there, and what happens at home stays at home. Mixing the two worlds often can have troubling effects on both areas of your life. This can be especially difficult for people that work from their homes and be even more difficult to manage.
Of course after I say that I need to clarify. I also believe that your job takes at least eight hours of your day, and that being able to share that time with your spouse is important. Talking about it is one thing, coming home and taking it out on your family is something else.
Strategy One: Use the drive home to focus on coming home.
Granted this is sometimes easier said than done, but you can use your commute time profitably, and is more geared toward those working outside the home. Begin to actively let go of the work day’s problems knowing they’ll be there tomorrow, and look forward to time with your family and what may be next.
Two: Come up with a Schedule
This tip is for people that work from home, where keeping work and family separate is even more of a challenge. You might need to think outside of the box. There’s a great tendency to put in alot more work hours when you work from home, simply because you’re there. Perhaps you can work after the kids have gone to bed, or down for a nap. But look at the needs of your family and see if you can carve out times when their needs are less to use that for work hours.
Tip Three: Separate Your Phone lines
This will help create a division between work and home. Define work hours as much as you can. You can either have a cell or land line be one or the other. You can also have different phone rings for personal use to separate the roles. When it’s not work hours, let those business calls go to an answering device.
Four: Make a designated place for business transactions.
I know this isn’t always possible. What you can do is create a work space. There are really beautiful little room partitions that you can get to help create a separate workspace. It’s important for you to be able to get up and walk away from work.
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