MLM Expert Advice

You’ve made the decision to work from home (whether its in network marketing or some other business) and its a great feeling to know that your commute can be measure in tens of feet, or less, instead of tens of miles.  However, there comes a point where you realize you have to create some sort of balance between work and home.

For many its easy to become workaholics neglecting any relationships they have.  Even though there is no one supervising, those of us who choose to work from home often push harder because after all you only get out of business what you put into it. And yes having a laser-sharp focus on your chosen profession is very important its also extremely important to devote time to each of your relationships – husbands/wives, children, friends, and family members.  After all for many of us, spending more time with them was one of the reasons we decided to work at home in the first place.

Even if you’re just getting started building your home business and you’re also working a full- or part-time job you still need to make the time to keep your relationships working as well as your business.  This is not something you can put off till your business is working smoothly or you may find yourself without any relationships when you do achieve your business goals.

Alternatively you may be facing distractions at home.  Your kids figure since you’re home all the time they can come ask you to read them a story, play ball, help them with homework, etc.  Or maybe its your spouse asking you to help out with something around the house or just wanting to talk. These are all things that you definitely should be taking time to do but not when you are working.

Yes, some sacrifices may have to be made but you have to balance work and home even when, or especially when,  you work from home.

Some simple steps that may hep in achieving that balance (and keep it) are:

• Get and Stay Organized. If you are organized it will increase your productivity which means work gets done faster and that means more time for those important relationships.
• Stop Procrastinating. Procrastination will not only stress you out as you race to make a deadline but also it will affect the quality of the time you do devote to your relationships because you will be thinking about the deadline and not making the most of your non-work time.
• Create a Schedule. If you set a schedulea and stick with it you will have the time and energy for both work and your relationships.  When you are working, you’re at work, and when you aren’t working, you’re at home — even if the physical location hasn’t changed.  Its a bit easier if you can allocate a workspace in your home and let friends and family know that when you are in your home office that you’re at work and you’re not to be bothered (except for emergencies of course) but if you can at least share your schedule with them then everyone knows the ground rules
• Shut Down.  When you leave the office, close your binders, shut the laptop, shut down or log out of the computer, if you have a separate space for work close the door and turn off the lights.  Work will be there the following day when you are ready to work.  Computers especially are a temptation — to check our email, to check an online forum or store front, to check out website traffic, etc.  And don’t kid yourself into thinking “it’ll only take a sec” because a few seconds turns into an hour.  Your relationships deserve your undivided attention and you deserve your relationships.

It is inevitable that there will be work that has to be done and you have to give up that family time just as there will be time that you have to put off working to be with family.  However if you have a schedule (including some vacation days) you will be able to keep work things in their place.  Maintaining our relationships with family and friends will be an asset to your business because they will be more supportive of what you are doing.

It may be difficult to stick with these steps, but when you find that balance you’ll know its well worth it.