How Do I Keep My Sanity While Working At Home

In my cross blogging adventure with Dan Reinhold of WAHumor he has asked me to answer an urgent question:

How do you keep your sense of humor – a.k.a. your sanity – while working at home?

You can read the entire question on his blog here: Keep My Work At Home Sanity

Keep Your WAHumor How do I keep my sense of humor? I didn’t know I had one. That’s one thing I had to think about.

I’m don’t think I’m a “laugh out loud” kind of girl. But – I giggle – A lot.

Keeping my Sanity while working at home… is an entirely different subject. You would think I would be totally sane – because I’m NOT a WAHM.

I don’t have kids at home. Not any more. They are both big grown boys.

But… working at home – alone – day after day – can be a challenge.

Why? Because… I don’t have anyone across the hall to ask “How do you make this work”?

I also don’t have a big – bad – grumpy Boss to “Tell me what to do next”.

What I do have is a burning desire to “Make Working At Home”… Work.

So my favorite word is FOCUS!

I remember when I was young (a long, long time ago) that my mom used to say to my dad… “You need to focus, dear”.

You see… my dad was a worker. He loved to build and make things. But he hardly every finished anything. When my dad passed away… we spent months selling, throwing and giving away – Half Finished Projects.

Since the cream rises to the top… (Me being the “cream of the crop) I inherited the ability to sabotage my progress with half finished projects.

I have had mentors and partners who have told me that they are amazed at the “finished projects” I have accomplished. What they don’t see – are all the “unfinished projects and ideas” I have laying around.

I’ve learned to FOCUS on one project at a time. Start to Finish. This often means that other things go by the wayside. I do have to go back and pick up the pieces:

Unanswered emails
Returning phone calls
Shipping products
Updating Income / Expense reports
Tracking sales
Update VA’s and Outsourcing contacts
Etc… Yadda Yadda Yadda

It’s a game to me. I play the “skip ahead” and then “catch up” game.

My “Skip Ahead” time is when I get really Focused. I work on projects that are going to give me the best bang for my time. I do these projects when I am at my best and when the house is quiet.

Then I play the “Catch Up“ game. This is when I do all the work that does not require an entirely Focused Mind. I can be interrupted and still start right back with what I was working on. Lynn Terry has her Ketchup Day but I have my “Catch Up” game turned on daily.

I admit that I do check my email first thing in the morning. I have a special email address for those “can’t wait” answers. Then I try to save all my other “catch up” duties until the evening. My brain isn’t as fresh… but it’s still functioning.

As A Side Note For You Empty Nester’s - My husband still goes to work every day. He is self-employed and could work at home most days… but I have put my foot down. I’ve made a deal with him:

I can grow my business faster if I have plenty of daily “Skip Ahead” time. This means he should be able to retire earlier. – That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It!

I do work on weekends – because I can. But – it’s more “Ketchup” work than trying to accomplish anything Focused.

Okay… Now for another question. Dan… I read this on your blog:

“I did it again this morning, exactly when I know I shouldn’t. Checking email at the start of your day can be a humongous time waster” Don’t Start Your Day With eMail.