So, you like the idea of working at home? You are not
alone, thousands of people every year decide to start a
home based business so they can work at home. Their
reasons are varied: some want to be at home with their
kids, some can't get a job, some have physical problems
which make commuting difficult, some desire the freedom you
get when you are your own boss. There are all these
reasons and many more but one thing all these people will
have to face up to and deal with is the danger of
distractions.

When you work at home, there are built in distractions that
don't even seem like interruptions to your day. These are
usually insignificant things like deciding to have an extra
cup of coffee at breakfast, spending a bit longer lying in
the bath, having a "quick look" at the newspaper, chatting
to friends when they phone you, stopping to tidy a room on
your way through, taking your time browsing when you go to
the shops for an essential item, taking the dog for an
extra long walk. Imagine how much time you would waste if
you were to do all these things on one day. If you also
spend some time reading your mail, have an extra half hour
at lunch and a couple of extra breaks to make tea, you will
have filled your day but you will not have used it
productively.

If you add up the extra minutes and hours stolen from your
work at home schedule, you will be surprised and probably
horrified at how much time you have wasted. The examples
used above are not extremes, they are just everyday things
that you could do without really noticing and, if you let
down your guard, you end up having achieved nothing and
wondering "where did my day go?".

All the small distractions I have mentioned could be dealt
with easily. For example, if you really want an extra cup
of coffee at breakfast time, take it and drink it while you
are doing some paperwork. Take an invigorating shower
instead of a bath and allow yourself a long luxurious bath
as a reward when you have completed your day's tasks. Tell
your friends you won't be taking calls during your working
hours and let the answering machine pick up your calls
during those hours.

Distractions are particularly dangerous when you are about
to start a task you dislike or find difficult. Instead of
getting on with the work to get it over with, you will be
tempted to put it to one side and make another cup of
coffee, maybe just check your email or have a quick look at
today's news on TV. If you allow yourself to lose focus
for an instant, you can lose hours of valuable time without
even noticing its passing. If you are distracted by
something this should not be used as an excuse to put
things off and change your schedule. You must be able to
recognise that you have been distracted, regain your focus
and go straight back to the work you were doing.

The ability to focus is what enables you to turn a
potential waste of hours of working time into a momentary
interruption. Strong self discipline and the ability to
focus are keys to working at home successfully.

About the Author:

Elaine Currie is the owner of the Free Work At Home
Directory at http://www.huntingvenus.com and author of the
book Ezine Article Writing - 10 Steps To Success. You can
download the book free of charge at:
http://www.huntingvenus.com/ freeezinearticleswritingebook.shtml