First Do No Laundry

I’ve got to admit that I do a pretty good job of keeping focused on my work as a professional writer while I’m here in my home office. When I’m at my desk, it’s just like being in an office at work, and I pretty much ignore that I’m actually sitting in my living room at a $35 Ikea desk I picked up at a thrift store.

But sometimes I really have to stop myself from living the life of someone who stays home all the time. A former colleague gave me the first rule of working from home: never do your laundry during the day. Here are a few rules I try to live by to keep my work day professional.

1. Like my friend said, first do no laundry. I have three loads running right now, but I couldn’t help it. I don’t have many outfits for the gym, and I go five days a week. I have to therefore keep up with my laundry much more than I did when I just sat around in yesterday’s sweats all the time.
2. The fridge is not your friend. Just because I’m ten feet from my kitchen doesn’t mean that I can pop up for Pop Tarts when I need a break. Of course, if I worked in a real office, I’d have to avoid the conference room donuts as well.
3. Forget working on your complexion or your unwanted facial hair during the day. Sometimes on a quick trip to the restroom, I catch a look at myself in the mirror. “Hmmm… I could use a quick mud mask,” I think. But I really try to resist.
4. Do not pick up a dust rag. This is actually my worst habit while I’m talking on the phone. I pace around the house, and I start dusting, or mopping, or wrapping up the garbage. And then the client says, “Write this down,” and I have to rush back to my desk.
5. Watch out for friends and coffee. I’m forever getting sucked into coffee with friends during the work day. I ADORE coffee with friends, and it’s hard for me to resist. But sometimes I really need to limit my coffee time or just not go. (Ok, I always go, but sometimes I make myself leave early.)
6. Be careful of personal email. I’ve talked about this before. Personal email checking, internet surfing, mail sorting, personal calls from friends. All these things distract me from actual work. And if I don’t do the actual work, the business does not keep going.
7. When the cat’s away, you can get work done. My cat’s name is Mickey Mouse, and she frequently becomes insistent that NOW is the time to cuddle. RIGHT NOW. No, really. It’s best when I keep her high on catnip or when I keep the house a little chilly so she curls on my bed in the down comforter.

For more ways I waste time, view My whole category on Procrastination….

Tags: focusing when you work from home, freelance copywriter, mismatched socks, small business, working from home

Nov 28, 2007 in Procrastination, Small Business Ideas, The Writing Life |

8 Responses to “First Do No Laundry”

1. Liz on 28 Nov 2007 at 2:41 pm #

   So - is this the same small black kitten we picked up at the shelter in Denver? If so, how she’s grown!

2. GlutenFreeTiffany on 29 Nov 2007 at 9:43 pm #

   I have a home business too (along with my new outside job), and I “ditto” everything you wrote, plus a few.
   1) I still need to get dressed. I don’t even take mySELF seriously in my PJ’s.
   2)Eat breakfast. Otherwise lunch will be early, along with dinner, and hubby will wonder why I am not hungry when he gets home.
   3) I can’t just “listen” to the t.v. I will always want to run into the next room to see what the nast mother-in-law on Dr. Phil looks like.

3. Angie on 10 Apr 2008 at 8:52 am #

   I have SUCH a hard time focusing on my home business sometimes, so I can relate to your rules.

   Here’s another one:
   Don’t Stumble more than 30 minutes per day! You will find WAY too many cool blogs and websites (which, coincidentally, is how I found this blog!).

4. Voydlander on 17 Apr 2008 at 12:31 am #

   AHA! I have a perfect solution for a few of the problems posed. Simply transform yourself into a single male entrepreneur.

   1. Be a Bachelor. As a single male, you will be less picky on coordinating your casual ensemble till the designated laundry day…sure those sweatpants may have not fit you since high school, but at least your butt will be (mostly) covered.
   2. Never grocery shop. If the fridge is lacking anything but some wilted lettuce, various condiments and a box of baking soda, you will be less inclined to open that door and forage for food.
   3. Heh. Grow that facial hair out.
   4. ….cleaning….LMAO!! Bachelors don’t do that. (If we do, we don’t admit to it, and if we do we are lying) Of course…there are alternative distractions, and it’s just as hard to drop the playstation controller and run for that notebook of client info. (on the plus side…that 50 meter dash could qualify as a workout)
   5. Okay…there really is no solution to this.
   But good coffee is the fuel of successful business, so I would call it a necessary thing. And you get the networking in along with a healthy boost to productivity….more or less. (corporate break rooms have that terrible freeze-dried stuff…the more horrible the company, the worse the coffee)
   6. Separate personal accounts help, as well as being draconian about people from your personal world contacting you on a business address.
   7. Cats. No, I am not a cat person…seriously. Okay, there is the one, but its really the ex’s…and righth now its sittong on my arnm..thats oksy, I cdn still type in a perfevtly understandabke manner. I thonk its silly to thinl that you can’r do biisiness with a cat aroubd.

   gotta end this…kittu is sleepong now.

5. Dhane on 17 Apr 2008 at 1:20 am #

   Here are some I use:

   1. Close all communications apps on the computer.
   2. Put all phones on silents, and only use them when you have to.
   3. Dont get sidetracked with the many things that are going on outside (my window is directly across the street from the mall).
   4. Dont let the dog or the cat play with you.
   5. Tell your family and friends that just because they choose to go work for someone else that that doesnt mean what you do is not serious and professional.

6. Don on 17 Apr 2008 at 2:22 am #

   LOL you hit the nail on the head!
   Working as a free-lance graphic designer from home it’s hard to stay focused, especially with your TV a few feet away from your desk.
   Snacks, TV and nosy neighbors take time… but, STAY THE COURSE!

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