Family and Home. Money Matters. Life in General. And More.
Don’t you just love this idea of a work nook that can save you space especially if you are living in a condominium unit? This is perfect for those who are working from home like me, who needs even a small space we can call our office. I just love this simple and clutter-free desk idea I found online!
I think I will put this into use in my corner to avoid the temptation of putting too many stuff on my desk.
You work from home and this makes you the envy of your friends and family. They imagine that as they endure rain drenched streets thronging with bustling commuters, over crowded trains and buses or the quotidian agony of rush hour, you’re warm and cosy at home. They envisage you sipping coffee and watching daytime TV idly contemplating the prospect of maybe getting some work done and turn green at the gills with envy. Unfortunately, they view your situation through rose tinted glasses. They fail to realize that when you work from home, time is money and that your livelihood depends on your ability to wring every drop of productivity from your every waking hour. Unfortunately, even the hardest working and most organized of us can have trouble mastering the art of staying productive while working from home. Indeed, many of us unknowingly hinder our own progress by making ill informed choices in our home work space. While it’s a rookie error to think that you can be productive from your sofa or your bed, even those of us who take great pains to set up dedicated work spaces in our own homes can make unwitting mistakes that can hinder our productivity.
Here are some ways in which your home office or workspace may actually be hurting your productivity rather than helping it. Here are some ways in which your working environment may have you at a disadvantage and what you can do about it.
It’s not isolated enough
The home is riddled with distractions that are like a magnet to the creatively frustrated mind or to those who are drawn to procrastination like a moth to the flame. If you’re not careful within a few hours you may have washed all the dishes from breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, made the beds, packed tomorrow’s lunches for the kids and rearranged your sock drawer into color order… But gotten staggeringly little work done. While it’s important that telecommuters don’t become hermits, it’s equally important that their workspace is insulated from the distractions of the home and all who live therein (it’s extremely hard to be productive while following the plot of the movie your partner’s watching in the next room or while your kids rack up body counts on Call of Duty). Your home office should be secluded from the rest of the home and soundproofed if possible. If you have a basement that’s currently only used to store a scant few possessions you’re letting a great opportunity pass you by. Check out www.HelitechOnline.com/waterproofing for advice on how to seal and waterproof your home to transform it from a dark and dank space into a fully functioning room. Even something as simple as a closed door can help you to maintain the necessary psychological barrier between living space and workspace that is necessary for productivity. It’s better still if your office space requires the climbing of a set of stairs to create a sense of transition that will allow you to subconsciously shift from home mode to work mode.
The temperature is wrong
Believe it or not, there is a temperature range for peak productivity. If you’re struggling to focus on your work but are unsure of why then it may be that the temperature is to blame. A 2006 study by Helsinki University of Technology found that workplace productivity peaks between 69.8 and 71.6 degrees Fahrenheit (21-22 degrees Celsius). You may not think that the ambient temperature can have much effect on your productivity but in controlled conditions studies showed that typos fell by 44% in this temperature “sweet spot” and that employers saved 42 per worker, per hour in real terms.
The lighting is inadequate
As well as ambient temperature, lighting can also play a large part in productivity. When there is too little of it, productivity tends to suffer. In fact, a study by Phillips showed that raising light levels increased productivity by 8% and reduced accidents by 52%. Likewise, natural light is proven to be more conducive to productivity than its artificial counterpart. Even the colors you put on the walls of your home office can affect your productivity. Most home offices are decorated in neutral whites and grays but there’s evidence to suggest that a more colorful palette can increase alertness and productivity. Blues and greens can help to reduce stress levels while reds and oranges can engender cognitive stimulation.
There are too many distractions
There’s a place for distraction (we’ll discuss that shortly) but it must be carefully managed and deferred to “break times” in which you allow your brain to take a rest. Your home office must have a strict delineation between work spaces and rest spaces and your work spaces should be completely free of any distractions. Thus, your work computer should be carefully calibrated to help you with your work. Install software to block your access to distracting websites and apps while keeping your phone or tablet in a nearby drawer for down time.
You don’t have a think space
When you work from home, every work day is a marathon rather than a sprint. Trying to run a marathon is impossible if you come out of the gate sprinting and try to maintain that pace. Thus, your brain needs rest periods to recalibrate or you’ll waste valuable time and energy running on empty and getting frustrated. As such your home office should incorporate a “think space” to allow you to take your mind of work and just… think. This area should have comfortable seating, art and motivational posters, music and books. And, hey, if you want to take 5 minutes to play Candy Crush Saga, nobody’s going to judge you! Just make sure you’re back in “work mode” by the time you get back to your desk.
You lack plant power
Whether we’re “outdoorsy” in nature or not, we’re naturally predisposed to be happier and more productive when we’re in close proximity to nature. That’s why so many offices are decorated with lush plants. They’re more than just an aesthetic measure, they’re proven to increase productivity and job satisfaction by up to 15%. If your workspace is looking a little too spartan, it might benefit from the presence of any one of these oxygen giving plants which will thrive indoors and brighten up the room!
When you run a small business, it is important that you do everything you can to make sure that you are protected. You also have to make sure that everything runs smoothly so that you can avoid a lawsuit as well. All of this can be incredibly difficult when you have so much to think about on a day to day basis, but with a little bit of help and support, you can give your small business the protection it needs.
Watch what you say
Your business is all about your image and you have to make sure that you avoid making any announcements that may be seen as being questionable. You also have to try and avoid things like slandering your customers and even dealing with other individuals who may be seen as being questionable as well. Of course, if you know that your business is not big enough to be worrying about this then you couldn’t be more wrong. Even the smallest businesses run into issues like this now and again. To avoid stress, you need to make sure that you are focused on how your social media presence could affect you and even how you can change your attitude.
Hire an Attorney
As a business owner, you need to make sure that you interview an attorney. Even if you don’t think you’ll need one, it’s important to have someone that you can go to when you need advice because if you are being sued then the last thing that you need is to try and hire someone in a hurry. If you are concerned that you can’t afford to hire an attorney right now then think about the expense that you will have to go through when you are actually being sued.
Always Back up Files
A lot of people that work from home don’t think that they have to backup their files and they also believe that they don’t have to spend time worrying about cybercriminals as well. This is not true at all and when you run a small business, you are just as likely to have your details stolen when compared to someone who runs an office down the road. For this reason, if you want to avoid all of this then you have to make sure that your files are protected and that you have copies of absolutely everything. If you want to secure your data with Infrascale then this is more than possible for you to do.
Don’t Hire Friends or Family
When you run a business, it can be hard for you to turn away friends and family for a job, but it will be even harder for you to turn them away when you have to fire them or even if you cannot afford to pay them one month. For this reason, you have to do everything you can to make sure that you hire people who you know you can trust as well as hiring people who you know have the right experience and the right knowledge to get the job done.
Compromised. Hacked. Malware carrier. Suspicious site. Dangerous. Threat.
Those are all the words thrown at my blog by various sites due to a malware that entered my blog through the backdoor. According to one of the experts I talked to, there are various ways that a hacker can compromise a site. I am not much of a tech person so I didn’t list everything down anymore but took note of one important thing: regularly change passwords! I’ve been so complacent, not bothering to check my blog as regularly as I used to, and trusting that as long as my chosen password is strong, hard to guess, then everything’s okay. I was wrong.
My site got a malware virus from an attack I didn’t see coming. I was joining blog hops here and there and I am not sure if I got it from that. A few days ago, while joining a blog hop, a member of that group told me that her browser was issuing a warning that my site was compromised and that it posed a threat to her computer security. I checked and there was nothing so I ignored it. Then, another member told me the same thing. I ignored it again because when I checked, everything was normal. The following day, that’s when I began seeing something disturbing from my blog. I checked and that’s when the red warning appeared…
My site was tagged as a malware carrier!
I am not ashamed to tell you that I panicked. Why wouldn’t I? This site is my baby. It’s 10 years old already, turning 11 May of this year. Sasha-says.com is also a source of income for me so losing this site is a big no-no.
So, here’s what I did.
I tested this site in different browsers: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Samsung Internet Browser (through my best friend), and ASUS Internet Browser.
No more warning from Google!
Yey!
My blog is now back to regular programming.
Working from home is a dream for many people, but it can be a big lifestyle change compared to working in an office or another type of workplace. When you work from home, you’re often alone and sometimes the only contact you might have with others is through email.
There are many health implications to consider when working from home to make sure that it stays the right move for you. Your mental and physical health are important, and perhaps even more so when you’re self-employed, with no allowances for sick days.
Take a look at some top tips to consider on looking after your health when working from home.
Ensure you have the right desk setup
When you work for an employer, it is their duty to ensure that your health and safety is taken care of in the workplace. Now that you work from home, it’s up to you to fulfill that role. Give yourself the right desk setup to make sure that you have the right back support, comfortable surroundings and plenty of light. Give careful consideration to designing your home office to make sure that you have a workspace that is fit for purpose and will motivate you to work.
Establish a routine
When you work for yourself, you become your own boss. There’s nobody to slap you on the wrist when you’re late, and nobody to see you sat around in your pyjamas. However, developing bad habits can soon lead to productivity problems. From the outset, it’s important to establish a good working routine that helps you get your work done. Set yourself core working hours and a schedule like you’d have in the office. Make sure that you get dressed too – there are some proven benefits to dressing the part for work, even when you’re working from home.
Separate work from home
Some of the benefits of working from home include being able to tackle those everyday chores that would otherwise have to wait until the evenings or weekends. Things like unloading the dishwasher, or putting some laundry out to dry, can make it easier to manage your home while working and make working from home worthwhile. However, it’s important that the lines don’t become too blurred. If you pre-occupy yourself too much with chores, you’ll start giving less focus to your work, while also running the risk of working late into the night to compensate. Try to tackle your household chores during a break and give yourself a time to switch off from work – it’ll make it much easier to separate the two aspects of your life.
Take breaks
While some people might struggle with finding the motivation to work at home, others could have the opposite problem. By working too hard, you miss out on the benefits that taking a break can offer, causing you to burn out. Breaks are important for keeping your mind sharp and feeling energized, so it’s important to factor them into your day. When you work from home, you’re given a much wider choice of things to do during your break such as going for a drive or taking a nap, so start thinking about the great possibilities you could be enjoying instead of working flat-out.
Avoid bad habits
You get more freedom to do what you want when working from home, which has its negatives as well as its positives. It’s easy to get into the habit of sitting for too long, snacking too much and other bad habits that can affect your health. Another one is smoking. Just because you can smoke when you please now, doesn’t mean that you should. If you’re trying to quit, turn to vaping or even using a bong to reduce the damaging effects of smoking. You can get a bong from Dopeboo’s best bongs of 2018 that you can use at home without anybody knowing. Instead of forming bad habits at home, focus on healthier ones instead. Going for a lunchtime or morning run could help you get some much-needed fresh air, while also helping to keep your body fit and healthy.
Living a healthy lifestyle should be a priority for you, and is something you need to work extra hard at when you’re working from home. Maintain a strong work/life balance to help make sure that you see people and socialise and avoid some of the health issues which can stem from working alone. Working from home is wonderful when you get it right, so focus on the best ways to can make it work for you.
We all fantasize about the idea of working from home full time, but what about those people that want to take it one step further, and set up their own business from home? It’s certainly a bigger challenge than setting up the standard home office, but if you want to use your home for more than just a place to live in, but use it as a base of operations, or use it as a place in which you can trade, how can you do this?
Is Your Home In A Lucrative Location?
Of course, this depends on the type of business you are trying to start, but if you are working out of your home, and you plan on serving customers, like so many holistic therapists, you have to factor in your location in your overall planning. When it comes to the location, it needs to be within a reasonable distance to your customer base, but it also needs to be in a neighborhood that is zoned for home businesses. Of course, you can set up a business from home, but there could be trouble further down the line if your local council catches up with you, or a neighbor makes a complaint. And on this topic, dealing with neighbors when it comes to having any thoughts of renovating your home, especially to set up a business, can cause a lot of personal and professional problems for you and your professional image. It’s worth having a look on houzz.com to get some this is information with regards to dealing with those pesky neighbors. You may be forgiven for thinking that running your business from home takes a lot of the anxieties out of the process, but unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.
How Does Your Home Look?
For the average e-commerce business, the appearance of your home doesn’t matter so much, but when it comes to appealing to customers and clients alike, you need to bear in mind that the attractiveness of your home could have positive and negative effects on your numbers. You don’t want to scare customers off before they have set foot through your front door, and so making sure that your property, in terms of the interior and exterior, is up to code. It’s always vital to make sure the aesthetics are pleasing enough, and so investing in a contractor to get these bits of work done should be viewed as a worthy investment. You can go to wildwoodroof.com and look at what a typical contractor can do to improve the exterior of your home, so it is that bit more attractive. From the moving to the sidings, or even the windows, if you live in a dilapidated home, and you plan on running a proper business from it, some people may be turned off by the appearance from a distance.
Working from home can be amazing because you don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn and go outside into the freezing cold and commute to work. There’s no traffic jams, no people trying to have deep conversations with you at 8 am, and no need to wear high heels.
You can simply roll out of bed at 7:30 am, brush your teeth, come downstairs and grab a cup of coffee and get started with the day. Working in the comfort of your own home is great, and you will probably have a beautiful desk area set up for yourself, designed with you in mind. But there are also some really great gadgets you can add to your desk and your home to help you work more productively, and just because they are really cool gadgets to have!
Wifi Extender
First of all, the practical gadget. If you have a lot of devices in your home, your router may struggle to cope with connecting to them all effectively. The Smart Future has compiled a list of the best wifi extenders around, to help you boost your connectivity in your home and allow you to work more productively throughout the day.
DeskCycle
Sitting at a desk all day isn’t good for your health, and you need to try and keep yourself moving as much as you possibly can in the moments between being at your desk. But there is a gadget which allows you to keep your legs moving while you are hard at work during the dad. The DeskCycle is a mini exercise bike which allows you to move your legs and burn calories while sitting comfortably at your desk. Save money on going to the gym and stay home, working off those extra pounds without moving from your seat!
Flower USB Port
If you tend to use quite a lot of USB devices in your PC at once, and also want to add a splash of colour to your desk: this Flower USB Port is ideal for you. It has 4 USB ports in red, green, blue and orange, and keeps your cables organised as you work. The stems even light up when you plug in a device!
Henry Desk Vacuum
If you like to eat breakfast at your desk, then you may have had a few stray crumbs fall into your keyboard before now. It’s frustrating because you can’t get it out without blasting the keyboard with air. However, this cute little Henry Hoover will clean up the mess for you and sit as a colourful decoration in your office. So next time you fancy some toast, go for it!
USB Mini Fridge
There isn’t much to say other than this is the best gadget you will ever buy for your office. Chill your drink or stash a cheeky lunchtime cupcake in your USB mini fridge as you work away. It’s the perfect way to keep your snacks safe and your favourite drinks cold as you work.