Written by
October 23, 2017 0 Comments

5 Ways to Add Fun To Your Home Office

If you work from home, you’ll be spending a lot of time in your home office.  Since it will become your main place of business, it’s important that it reflect you and be comfortable.

If you’re stuck on design ideas, or ways to incorporate your own pizazz into the office, read along! We’re sharing tips to add some fun to your home office.

Personal style

Including your personal style in your office is an easy way to start seeing items that will fit.  If you go into it assuming that offices have to be sterile and boring, you won’t be able to find the items that work for you.

Is your style eclectic?  Do you like really neat, clean lines and minimal color?  Once you establish your personal style, you can choose a paint color, office supplies, and systems of organization that fit your personality.

Office supplies

Office supplies can be a lot of fun! From dog-shaped staplers to taco tape dispensers, to personalized pens and binders, you can really spice up your office for minimal investment.

Check out Target’s office section or hit up the Container Store for fun storage options.  Office supplies certainly don’t need to be boring!

Add some art

Add something to your walls! Even if you aren’t a huge art buff, you can include something on your walls. You can also simply do a fun paint color, accent or patterned wall, or add prints from Etsy.

Etsy even has downloadable prints that you can print at home, and most range from $3-10.  This is an easy way to add color, personality, and style to your space!

Add an unexpected feature

Looking to really add some fun?  Add something unexpected or unique!  In an office setting, something like a zen garden is great for keeping the peace and adding another feature.

You can also add plants, succulents, a small water feature, and so on.  This is just something that’s fun and unique to you, that also gives your office a conversation piece!

Make it functional

Put the fun back in functional. Seek out ergonomically correct chairs, desks and office furniture. It won’t be as enjoyable being in an office if you’re uncomfortable and feeling out of alignment each time you work.  But these items don’t need to be boring! There are colorful office furniture options everywhere, as well as desks that might have a unique shape or setup that’s more suited to your working style.

Don’t forget about computer and phone cords and other functional items. There are fun ways to incorporate these as well.  From the functional – cord wraps – to the fun – USB cords – you can add your own spin.

Make it work for you! That’s the name of the game in making your office fun, functional, and highly personalized to you.

Continue Reading

Written by
October 2, 2017 0 Comments

How to Establish a Work From Home Routine

When you decide to work from home, either from a traditional job or stay at home mom role, there are bound to be some adjustments.

Getting into a new schedule requires a few steps, but it’s worth it to establish a routine that works for you and your family. Read along for tips on establishing a work from home routine that invites productivity and flexibility.

Figure out the differences

It’s important to ask yourself this question: What will need to change since you’re no longer going to the office, or being a stay at home mom?  You might still be parenting from home, but if you’re also working, things will still be a bit different.

If you’re now working from home, things are bound to change in the family schedule.  Maybe you can no longer participate in carpool duties daily, or maybe you’re wanting to free your schedule from 3-4pm to pick up your kids from school.  Additionally, things like meal prep, meetings with friends, and workouts need to be considered. If this fit into your day a certain way before, it might be best to just try to keep it. You might have far more flexibility, but it still requires that you figure out where it all fits into your new workday.

Answer the questions

There are more questions to answer to establish your routine! What will remain consistent? Maybe you’ll still do dinner at the same time and take your kids to soccer in the evening, but you’ll ask your children’s friends to handle carpool.

Also look at and examine: What will be changing based on family schedules, freelance projects starting and ending, time with friends, and so on.  Once you know what will change and what will stay the same, you can begin to create a daily schedule.

Focus on the goal

Whatever your reason for a work from home job, focus on this goal as you begin your new routine.  Are you looking for more flexibility in your life?  Do you dislike commuting very much?  Do you simply want more time with your family?  Or did you just fall into a job that happened to be home based?

Either way, you should work on establishing a goal for your work from home job.  It’s easier to begin – and keep to – a routine that sticks if you’re focused on a goal.  When things are a bit tough schedule-wise in the beginning as you readjust, remember that you get more time to attend your children’s events, or meet a friend for coffee, if those are your goals.

Keep track

Log your progress! Keep track of how you’re sticking to your new routine and schedule.  When you’re able to do something on your list of goals, or you maintain your weekly schedule, take note.

This also allows you to see where you may have over or under booked yourself. Make space for changes! This is an adjustment period, and it will take some time to get into the flow of a home based career.

It’s a big change, whether you worked before or not. Many people believe that working from home is simply easy, and that’s not always the case!  You may actually be juggling more demands now, however sweet it may be to have more flexibility.

Remember why you got into this type of work, praise yourself for staying on track, and make adjustments as you and your family needs to, and you will establish a productive routine in no time!

Continue Reading

Written by
November 7, 2016 0 Comments

4 Tips to Achieve Ambitious Goals

Achieving goals is a prominent concept in business, life and self-development, and it’s for good reason.  When we set goals, we’re more likely to get where we want to be in life.  Although establishing these goals is a lofty and admirable practice, there are ways we can go about them that will ensure that they’re much more achievable!

Write it out

We often forget things if we don’t write them down.  Think about going to the grocery store without a list – we often end up forgetting several things.  The same can be said for to-do lists and other means of writing down reminders.  First of all, by writing down your goals, you’re more easily able to remember them on a daily basis.  Additionally, writing down your goals makes them that much more real.

Visualization is another large part of goal-setting, so if your goals are time-oriented, purchase a wall or refrigerator calendar so you may see your goal date, daily steps, or time passage appropriately.  When you can actually see something in front of you, it’s a more constant reminder of what you’re trying to achieve.

Every day, every week

Do one thing every day or every week to work towards accomplishing your goals.  It can be as simple as reaching out to someone, making a contact, networking, completing a document, or anything small that will help you on your way to success.

Choose an interval that works best for you.  If you know that daily practice isn’t possible, stick to weekly.  When you keep this momentum going, no matter daily, weekly or monthly, you’re more focused and able to come back to what’s important.

Be realistic

Goals must be realistic to be obtained, and what’s realistic for you may not be the same for your friends, partner, or family members.  You know what you’re able to accomplish, and you also know that goals require you to push a bit.  We feel much more accomplished when we’ve strived for a goal and made it happen, so ensure that “realistic” does not mean “easy.”

With that in mind, set goals that are able to be accomplished in a set amount of time.  By keeping time ambiguous, you’re less likely to commit.  Set a specific goal, with a time frame, that is possible within the scope of your lifestyle and willingness to accomplish it.

Move forward

If you’ve reached a goal, go a step further or establish a new, more bold goal that is similar.  You can also choose another step forward that will complement your prior achievement.  Setting, achieving, and moving on from goals is all part of self-improvement; we can stretch ourselves and work to improve and grow.

Goals don’t need to be scary or unobtainable dreams – they can be a real part of your life that allows you to strive for more and gain a true sense of accomplishment.  Reach for your goals, whether they are personal, business-related, or simply related to improving yourself.

Continue Reading