Top 5 Ways to Work Effectively at Home

This Week with Sara Fitts is devoted this week to daily lists of top 5's. Today I'm listing the top 5 ways to effectively work out of your home office. Sometimes it can be extremely difficult to work out of one's home, but I find that the most successful home offices utilize these 5 ways to be more effective.

1. Develop a routine or schedule. You're the boss, so set your times of operation - and stick with them.
2. Set deadlines for specific tasks - with consequences attached. Usually the self-employed have built-in consequences of not getting the work done!
3. Educate your family, friends, and neighbors about your business and your work schedule. While everyone experiences interruptions from time to time, set strong boundaries and live by them - period.
4. Set daily goals that will hold your focus. This can help manage your time, too.
5. Prepare for the next business day before today's close of business. Just by clearing your desk, organizing your files, reviewing the calendar, and knowing what's on tap for the next day leads to the start of another good day in business.

Each of us must find our own best ways to run our businesses and our home offices, but these are the top 5 ways that successful people have remained effective leaders in the business world.