It isn’t really fair that I’m giving you advice that I myself don’t follow. Well, at least not all of the time. I’m better than I used to be. The advice in question? As a freelancer, one of the first things you should do is set up a home office…and do your work there. Why?

• You have to be able to shut the door and “leave the work at the office.” If you don’t, you’ll never stop working. It’s true – just ask anyone who’s ever been my roommate. It’s better to work solidly for 8 hours than on-again-off-again for 15 hours, at least for most people.
• If you have a place to work, your family will know when to leave you the hell alone. I live alone now, so this isn’t really and issue for me, but when I visit my parents/sister, I have a spot in my childhood home that is designated as a workspace for me when I’m there for a few days. They know when I’m there that they shouldn’t bother me if they can help it.
• You need to be organized as a business owner. If your office is you couch, you can’t keep your bills, contracts, and office supplies in order, and that can be a very bad thing when you need to find something quickly. I’m speaking from experience here.
• A workspace will put you in work mode. Take it from someone who knows – when you work in your living room or bedroom, there’s too many other things (TV, cleaning, etc) to distract you.
• The utilities/rent for a home office are deductible on your taxes. Take every penny, people! You can’t claim part of your utilities and rent if you don’t have an official office space, though.

I use my office space about 50% of the time. I used to work on my bed. Yes, you read that right. On. My. Bed. It was a bad choice. I’m much more productive and work fewer hours now that I have a home office.

For the record, that isn’t really a picture of my office. My desk is covered in stacks of papers and other crap, and my desk chair isn’t nearly as nice. I promise you a picture someday. When I clean it. So don’t hold your breath.

This post was written by me and first published on b5media’s Bizzia website. It is reposted here with permission.

Photo credit: jnyemb