One of the best things about working for yourself is the chance to say goodbye to the office and office hours and work from home on your own schedule. However, for freelancers and other business owners who work from home, having a flexible schedule sometimes becomes having a schedule which means you are always working, about to work, or thinking about work.
Separate everything you can when it comes to your communications
Of course you have a personal email account and a business email account. But if you use the same app or site for both, you risk using the wrong account.
And communications go beyond email – have two phones, a business phone and a personal phone. Even if it is a landline or basic cellphone, having a way to silence work calls during personal time is vital.
Even try to keep your instant messaging segregated. Using one app for work and another for personal messages means you can ignore work messages in your off hours and personal ones while you’re working.
Have dedicated personal time
While you don’t need to schedule your work hours to mirror traditional business hours (and in some cases you can’t) you should have definite time when you are not working. If those times are predictable – like you don’t start until 12pm and instead work into the evening – make sure your clients know ahead of time when you’re not on the job. Try to resist the urge to answer emails or field calls during your personal time.
Do activities completely unrelated to work
This is particularly important if you have turned your passion into your business. While you may still love what you do or create, it’s still going to have the aura of work when you do it in your personal time. Trying new hobbies or reconnecting with old ones, regular outings with friends, or just hitting the gym – make sure your leisure time is leisurely.
Don’t work from your bedroom
Not everyone is lucky enough to have space for a dedicated office. But no matter how small your living quarters are, don’t work in your bedroom. Even if you have to set up camp at a nearby café or your local library, do your work somewhere you don’t go to relax. Working from the bedroom will wreck the quality of your sleep, as well as other activities you do in bed. Having an oasis away from the pressure and stress of your job is important, so try to leave all the work at the bedroom door.
Use a physical signal to start and end work
The standard advice is to dress for work like you would to go to the office. But working in your pyjamas is one of the great perks of being self-employed. The idea behind “dressing for work” is good, however. By having a signal or ritual which switches you from “work mode” to “personal mode” you can more clearly separate the aspects of your life. That signal could be as small as changing your glasses or as big as going to your designated workspace. By associating that signal with working, you will be more productive on the job and more relaxed away from it.