And when I say tolerant, I mean they sort of can accord you some respect. Some five years back if you told anyone, literally anyone, that you work from home they would snigger at you and conclude you are basically jobless, but trying to keep a bold face.
I recall when I opened my first business bank account. I spoke with this banker and said, ‘oh, I don’t have separate office and home residence, my office is in my home’. The look on his face was priceless. It was like I had just reported I am an alien and in our Jupiter or Mars, we do not use IDs. It was hilarious.
Anyway, fast forward, there is a sensible way to work from home and a way to completely self-sabotage. Some of these contribute to poor performance and do affect one's income potential. This article will help you set yourself up for your home office in a way that enhances your productivity as much as possible.
Time is Money Across the Globe Therefore Spend It Well If you do not realize this early, you will suffer when working from home. I love this particular one because it is my Achilles heel. This is the one thing that messes up many people who work from home (and yours truly on Monday mornings). Many others wake up late and go to sleep with the rest of the world. Bad strategy! Put in the hours and your work will pay you.
Nothing pleases me more than waking up at 9.00am and going to sleep at 3.00am of the following morning. The net in Kenya is so uncluttered at night; the speeds are awesome. And in the mornings it is really fun to listen to the neighborhood move from the cacophony of people falling over themselves in a mad rush to go and sit in traffic for an hour, to the silence.
When you work from home you know your neighbor three homes away has a toddler. You can hear them gurgle because it is that quiet. As a matter of fact, if you do not have the self discipline to wake up at a specific time, get up with everyone else.
Your Brain Is Your Tool and Needs Cue to Work With You
The other stumbling block to working from home is the allure of working in pajamas. I know that is the image sold by the laptop image sitting outside the beech in a red bikini used in work from home (work from anywhere) online programs, but do not be deceived.
Working in your tattered once-was-navy-blue tshirt a.k.a night shirt and ngothas (underwear) is a bad idea — a very bad idea. Your brain does not register that you have shifted gear to work mode. Therefore, you will find no matter how much you want to concentrate on the task at hand, your mind keeps wandering to unproductive thoughts.
I told someone (and this someone is most definitely male) that the client on the other side can ‘feel’ your tattered dress and he thought I was insane. Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and you smile at a private joke only for them to startle you with ‘why are you smiling?’ We are more intuitive than we are aware of. If you are well dressed, it will carry through.
When you get up, dress and then sit at your work table. Your brain understands you have entered into work mode. No matter what you do from home, dress as though you are going to work. Even if it means wearing a jacket and hanging it on the chair two minutes later (okay that is way extreme), but do give your brain some ‘I am working’ juice.
Separate Your Work Space and Set it For Work
This is a HUGE failing of many people who work from home in Kenya. I have had opportunity to either Skype or walk into homes where there is someone who works from the house. Disaster is a polite word to define these work spaces.
Let us not even discuss the clutter — I will leave that to the Life Coaches. Clutter spreads the cobwebs to your mind and makes you generally unproductive.
But, yes, your children love you, and they like to hand out with Daddy or Mummy, but if you would not take your baby to your office on Kenyatta Avenue, what are they doing scribbling in crayon on your draft? Keep your work area designated for work and develop boundaries around it.
Let all your family members know, no matter how small your work space is (it could be just a table and chair), that it is a place where you work and let them treat it like it is sacrosanct. They will respect your work, and your brain will recognize the space too.
Get Right Equipment to Work With
If you want to prosper online invest in FOUR items for sure, and THREE others as an urgent matter of course:
1. A good computer with a decent processor, RAM, screen and disk space
2. A good working table that can hold your computer, keyboard, and a book
Tuskys and Ukwala supermarkets country-wide have very affordable office furniture
3. A chair that supports your back
Please remember you won’t be young forever and years of abuse show up in strange ways in the human body. Back pain can be very debilitating particularly when you are older.
4. Original software; Antivirus, Operating System, and Microsoft Office at the least.
Plan on these urgently and in the shortest matter of course:
1. High speed internet access
Many people working online use a modem. I recently did the maths of how much value I lose because of the restrictions of using a modem, and I almost went nuts. With fiber optic cable running through most estates, high speed internet is within the budget of most online workers. Plan and invest in it. In most middle class estates in Nairobi you can get a connection for Kshs 1500 per month with very little downtime
2. Gadgets
Gadgets enhance your efficiency and connectedness regardless of your location. These include but are not limited to a laptop, a Tablet/iPad, and an internet enabled phone with net and a web-browser
3. Your own blog selling products and services
In this digital age, one has no excuse to work from home and not build parallel sources of income. These compliment your other incomes. Build passive sources of income in the shortest time possible. Its double achievement for same time online.
Further Reading Resources
Here are two powerful articles by one of my best online writers Steve Pavlina
What is Passive Income?
Why Should I build Passive Sources of Income?
Three Ways to Get a Job By Nightfall Today by Paula Thayrow
I really like this piece. I think different writers have their different ways of working. Personally, I work in my pajamas and unlike you I'm a bit of an early bird who begins typing away at 5am. I cannot argue when it comes to separating your workspace, getting good equipment and ensuring that you have fantastic internet connection.
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