Working at home is the ideal of every office worker. However making the change from working in a corporate office environment, where you have interaction with fellow employees or even customers, to a home office where it is just you and the cat, can be depressing and unproductive for many people.

Isolation in the home office is just one of the problems a home worker faces. Disruption from children or friends stopping by to have tea or chat can interfere with a home workers productivity. Luckily the problems can generally be nailed down to a general lack of structure and discipline as the root cause.

The more businesslike you make your home office environment and the more you set yourself tasks by a schedule the easier it is to overcome the pitfalls. Here are some tips for you to consider.

Schedule You Day

Set office hours, complete with tea break, lunch break and coffee breaks. Stick to them. Routine will be your friend and you will feel less tired if you take breaks at regular intervals.

A Room for Your Business

Create a space where it is all about your business. Ideal is to have a room on its own with a door that can close. Complete with desk, comfortable office chair, suitable lighting and daylight and space for your books and filing system. It does not have to be big, just efficient.

Communications for Your Business

You want to be available during work hours. So install an ADSL line just for your business. This will give you uninterupted telephone line and inter-connectivity. Have two cellphone SIM cards. One for your personal number and one for your business. Don't give customers or suppliers your home telephone number or your personal cellphone number.

Use your business numbers and make use of Voice Answering services. Also use Call Redirect for times when you must leave your home office so that calls to your office number will redirect during work hours to your mobile phone. Get a fax to email service number so that people can send you faxes and you can read and print them from your computer. You never know when you will be out of the office and need to get a fax.

Computing for your Business

Get a computer or a laptop that is just yours and which nobody else will use. No games to be installed only the things you need for your business. If you are going to be mobile some of the time and at the office at other times, invest in a good laptop and a docking station. This way you can use the laptop on and off the road and when you are in the office you can use a regular keyboard, mouse and monitor when working. Laptop screens and keyboards are tiring when working. If you are going to be on the road make sure the laptop has support for WiFi or you can insert a card to get internet access using 3G. If you need to print, invest in a decent laser printer with color capabilities and make the use thereof ONLY FOR YOUR BUSINESS. Presentation is important and costs of printing are not cheap. You don't want to have to look for ink or paper when you need to print something.

Set Goals and Use a To Do List

List the things you need to do. That way you will not be able to forget them. Deal with the things that are most productive and most important or will bring you income. We all have things we hate doing, attack those first, after than your day will be much better and your mood will lift when you have a feeling of achievement. Review your todo list at the end of each day. Look at what you have done and what you still must do. Prepare and plan what you will do tomorrow. That way you can start your day with bang the next morning and not sit around trying to decide what to do next. Knowing what is next often is a great motivator to getting up in the morning and getting into the office early or on time.

Network with Other Home Workers

Find other home or independent workers to talk with. The forum here on Business Investor Network will make a great place to start. You can exchange thoughts and ideas and get breadth of perspective from the knowledge and experience of other like you. You can also surprise yourself by helping others with there questions. This raises your level of confidence and improves your decision making skills greatly.

Personal Communications

The isolation of working at home has the drawback of making others feel like you are not there. Increase your communications with people you are working with. Tools like email, Skype and Instant Messengers can help you build a virtual presence and help break down the feeling that you are no longer in touch. Regular communication will also help projects keep on track and allows others to prepare and anticipate problems.

Get Feedback

Invite constructive critique of your performance. Do this whether you are working for a boss or manager or servicing clients. This will help you find ways in which you can improve and continually meet peoples expectations. Without daily face-to-face contact it is difficult to read what people are thinking and many people do not like to give negative feedback. Ongoing feedback avoids this problem and helps you to address issues earlier before they become a silent disatisfaction.

Pace Yourself

Don't over or under work. Pace yourself. Set realistic deadlines. Take breaks to clear your mind and stretch your legs. A table outside your office located in a quiet spot in the garden is often perfect. Getting away from the desk and computer, even if just for 15 minutes to have a cup of tea, can help you come back with more energy and focus.

Limits and Boundaries

You are the boss, you need to be in control. Personal friends, neighbours and family need to understand that the office space and time is no go time unless in an emergency. Customers and suppliers come first during work hours, but also do not pressure you to take time from your family and personal time. Demanding customers who are always under a dealine and late and cause you to constantly work outside of your work times, may have to be spoken with. If it does not improve, then consider not servicing the customer. Many suppliers and customers will expect you to work all hours for no more remuneration. Often they do this because they cannot treat their employees in this manner. If you don't chalk out the boundaries it will cost you in other ways.