Have you noticed that your personal habits have gotten slightly less appealing since you began working from home? It’s sad that people “let themselves go” because there is no one around to impress. Is your body a body developed by seclusion?

Personal habits like grooming, using deodorant, bathing regularly, wearing clothes appropriate for meeting company or visitors, and taking the time to rest and recuperate are all important habits whether you work in an office in or outside the home.

Allowing your personal habits to become sloppy can become a mental and emotional hazard which affects the quality of your work. How you think about yourself can affect how others treat you. It sounds silly and overrated, but good grooming habits really can come across in your voice, your actions, and your decisions. Too much private time or time without interaction with other people or at least not sitting on the sidelines by taking a trip to the mall and people-watching, can be seclusion overload.

Having a strong personal will to succeed includes maintaining yourself, inside and out. If you want to give off a feeling to other people that is negative, then you have no worries. But if you prefer to keep an image of professionalism, beware your personal habits.

Sloppy personal habits may seem more comfortable occasionally, especially after taking a trip somewhere and having to dress from top to bottom in fancy clothes that normally feel like you’re just wearing a costume for the outside world. There is a feeling of relief and immediate stress reduction when you can go home, kick off the dress shoes, and grab those sweatpants and your favorite old tee shirt to relax for the evening. However, making this an every day, all day event on a regular basis means you should reflect upon your personal standards.

If you’ve become something the dog wouldn’t drag up, your work may be suffering in quality, and your life may have become lonely simply because people get a negative or depressed feeling when around you. Take notice and recharge your inner batteries. Picture yourself improving. Get a haircut or a massage. Begin taking walks to enjoy the beauty and serenity of nature or just to get your blood pumping and a change of scenery.

Refreshing your mind is a must for success. Refreshing your personal image and positive outlook is a must as well. If seclusion is your idea of a perfect situation, you may be surprised how it can overtake your body as well as your mind. Dreaming about it and being forced to live a life of seclusion are different.

Get out of that house, that office, that yard, neighborhood, or whatever! You don’t have to throw a big party and invite a crowd of strangers to keep your sanity and your proper perspective. But it certainly helps to avoid seclusion when it begins to affect you in negative ways. Remember, a body by seclusion can also mean you’ve reached hermit status. Shake off that safety net and get a little brave. Just a little change at a time can be productive and a path to better work results and inner happiness.

This is a guest post by Shawnee Bowlin.  You can learn more about Shawnee by visiting our featured writers section.

One of the first things you have to quickly learn when you work out of your home, is when is your most PRODUCTIVE TIME” or situations that contribute to you being MOST PRODUCTIVE! During the summer months I get the majority of my work done between 6.30 am and noon. WHY?

1. Our daughters are home for the summer and they can be a noisy bunch. So while they’re in bed, I try to get as much done (things I need peace and quiet for, like brainstorming new money making ideas and writing content) as I can. Not only the noise, but I have to feed the 3 walking Bermuda triangles many meals during the day! So this means cooking or running out for some fast food. Teens and pre-teens tend to sleep their mornings away.

2. I find that when I get a jump-start to the day, by noon I have the rest of the day to chillax and enjoy the SHORT Canadian Summer. With the kind of winters we experience here, you MUST make time to enjoy the warmer months.

About 2 weeks ago our youngest daughter walked in and out of my office without a word of hesitation, kinda comical actually. I could hear her saying to someone, “What is dad listening to?” Since then I’ve been getting weird stares from my entire family.. even the dog, Bridget!

I’ve found that I get a lot of “solid” work done when I listen to classical music. I have a collection of the 100 most popular classical hits ever recorded and I raise the volume to a nice height and chug-away at work. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel listening to classical music as I work gives me a sense of power. A sense that whatever I’m doing will succeed and that I’m on the right track.
What type of music do you listen to while you work? You don’t!

Give it a try and let me know the results.

It’s very common for people to be full of energetic passion for their home business when first starting out. It’s new and fun and full of hope. As time passes, it starts to become routine, maybe even boring. Disappointment can set in if things haven’t gone the way you’d hoped fiscally, tarnishing that once bright, shiny outlook. On top of that, when you work long hours like I do, you can lose sight of balance and forget that there is life away from the computer. Everyone can benefit from knowing how to stay balanced and motivated, especially when you work from home. Try any or all of the following and see if it helps you.

• Rejuvenate Your Business Objectives. Summer is over and the last quarter is upon us. Refuel your work passion and excitement by making some very specific goals and strategies to finish out the year, and then work them. Try replacing outdated or unsuccessful techniques with new or different methods.

• Expand Your Office. You don’t have to move walls, move yourself instead. On bright, sunny days, I write out on the deck. If it’s a cloudy day or dusk (too much glare in sunlight), I can even take my laptop out as I have wireless internet. If there’s a park or café nearby where you live, try those. Ever heard that old saying, “a change is as good as a rest”?

• Shake Things Up. Throw open the windows, draw back the curtains to let the light in and put your favourite peppy music on. Keep the energy moving and light. You’ll feel happier and be more productive.

• Establish Regular Hours. Determine your best start and stop times and stick to them. Get away from the computer and make time for your family and friends. Everyone will be happier and more relaxed.

• Laugh. That’s right, have fun and laugh often. It reduces stress, builds warm feelings, keeps you light and just makes life worth living.

Just in case you haven’t noticed, nothing in the above costs money. Not knowing How to Stay Balanced and Motivated When You Work From Home can cost you plenty, though. Your health, relationships and business are at risk. Use the start of autumn to mark your new routine, and put more joy and balance into your life.

This is a guest post by Shirley Anderson.

I’ve talked before how important it is to write down your ideas or tasks and how I take full advantage of the massive dry erase board in my office.

Between that dry erase board and my calendar, I (we) would be lost. We plan our entire family life around these two items. Phone numbers, appointments at the dentist, what days Caron is at work and what shift, soccer practice, hockey and cheer trails… it’s the only sane way to keep track of everything. We’re a BUSY family of five.

If you use a dry erase board you’d be able to relate. After a message is on that sucker for a couple weeks and you try to wipe if off with the duster it comes with or a piece of paper towel, you get streak marks. Almost like a cloudy residue of red, black, blue… depends on the colour marker you used.

This pic shows exactly what I mean. I cleaned the board with a piece of paper towel and though the main notes I made are almost gone, the residue left back made the board seem dirty and you can still see the outline of my original notes.

After the first time it happened, I went out to Staples and purchased the “Expo2″ brand dry erase board cleaner. Though it did clean the board with a slight difference than what you see above. The fact remains, it didn’t really “CLEAN” the friggin board.

In the pic below you’ll notice 3 things…

- the “Expo2″ cleaner I purchased that didn’t work

- household cleaner

- scouring pad, ones you use to wash dishes.

No need for fancy products that don’t work.

After being disappointed with the product that was made specifically for this problem, I tried some household cleaner we had under the sink and the sponge/scouring pad we use to do dishes. All I did was spray the cleaner onto the sponge and wipe the board clean. No real effort and it came clean as the day it was first purchased.

Dry erase residue/stains were gone!

Do you have a tip you’d like to share? Leave me a comment below.

It can be hard when your office is a room in the family home. In my case it’s the room next to our bedroom, so sometimes it can be so tempting to just head to the right and dive under the covers. Working from home is NOT as easy as you’d think. Besides having the ability to work alone, you must have drive.

Make your space more friendly and less like work!

A couple weeks back Caron came home with about 3 or 4 bunches of flowers (must be a popular girl ), so I asked her if I could have a bunch to put on my desk. After-all the desk in the kitchen was a bit crowded and I hate overcrowded spaces. The male readers are probably saying, how sissy of you to want flowers on your desk. But get this… I love gardening and flowers so why not bring it into my space? The beauty, the colors and the reminder of my garden… those flowers added a sense of peace on hectic days.

Over the years I’ve come to realize that it’s very comforting when I surround myself with things that make me happy. Things that brings out emotions or memories of happy times. I’ve even gone as far as to put up images of things I’d like to have, so I can see what my goals are. Kinda materialistic? Who cares, I work hard and I deserve some material stuff

Most of us usually have pictures of our children, wife etc on our desk or desktop background and that’s great,  but I’ve gone a bit further.

After Caron and Tehya’s recent trip to the Mexican Riviera, they brought back a mini version of one of those local blanket things. Though I didn’t go with them, it still reminded me of what they did. I saw the beaches, the ruins at Tulum, the resort they stayed at, the food they ate, the street scenes in Playa del Carmen. Amazing pictures. That blanket now sits on my chair…

I drink tea in a different exotic Caribbean destination every day. Nothing beats daydreaming if not for just a couple minutes on a cold winter day about lounging on Darkwood beach In Antigua. Caron collects mugs whenever we travel (she just started collecting shot glasses, since we’re running out of room in the kitchen for mugs) so I’ve decided to put them to use. As I enjoy my tea, I glimpse at the cup and it takes me back to the location where they were purchased… St Lucia, St Maarten, USVI, Aruba..etc.

This morning I felt like reliving our trip to Barbados last year, so I grabbed the Barbados mug and enjoyed a wonderful cup of tea. An excellent way to start a gloomy, rainy and humid day.

Besides the blanket, mugs and pictures of what I’d like to enjoy… I also have a stuff from my trip to the world cup in Germany, Tehya’s trip to NY city and for the longest while I had the girls soccer book/schedule on my desk, since it reminded me of our weekly games during the summer. I looked forward to going to the games with a  cup of Tim Hortons in hand and 4 beautiful girls at my side (when we could convince Kieana to join us).

Surround yourself with things that brings out happy emotions and you’ll beat any work at home stress or boredom.