To continue our post on “Sunday Productivity”, many interior designers have the perk (or curse) of working from home.  Working from home can be freeing and fun, but sometimes it’s easy to fall into a rut or get behind in tasks. Any procrastinators in the house?

Here are some tips for staying on the money, and keeping a sliver of sanity for you work-at-home interior designers:

Set a Schedule

Although a complete loss of regimen may sound like heaven if you’re “working for the man” from 9-5, the grass isn’t always greener. A loss of set schedule can sometimes lead us to procrastinate, and a lack of productivity can cause a designer’s creativity and motivation to dim.

Take a look at your daily routine and figure out your optimum concentration hours, and work around those. As a designer, your schedule isn’t always going to be black or white, but you can figure out a schedule that keeps you from sending those dreaded 1 am emails (clients do notice).

Set Boundaries

Not only is it important to set boundaries on your time, it’s also important to separate your work from home life, even if they must cohabitate.

As the saying goes “leave work at work”. Find a place to designate as “work” in your home, and don’t let that designated work space overflow into the rest of your home life.

Take a Break

You are a free-bird, so use that to your advantage. You are not only a business owner, you ARE your business. When you are energized, productive and on-it, so is your business. Treat yourself like an employee and take a designated break (there’s a reason they are required in the work place). Work out, cook, run a personal errand or read. Stepping away from your work for a while helps you gain some much needed perspective on the rest of your day.

Create a Strategy for Success

Use a project management tool to structure your time and set a roadmap. Approach every design project systematically and you’ll begin to program yourself to continue the habit. These strategies and processes should be easy to repeat, and easy to pass on to a future assistant. This sets your business up to grow, and will make for more productive work days.

There are many amazing benefits to working at home, it’s all about finding the best of both worlds – productivity and freedom.

Of course, it’s always important to have a savvy office space to work in. The beautiful home-office design above is by Missouri based interior design firm, Amie Corley Interiors (not affiliated with C&J Accounting). Check out her “Clayton Lane” portfolio here: http://amiecorley.com/portfolio/clayton-lane/

Stay Productive,

The C&J Team