We all do it - sit down to help with homework, then the phone rings. We grab it, thinking it'll be a 2 second call. 45 minutes later, the kids are frustrated, dinner's not ready, the crisis you tried to avert by answering the phone has erupted into catastrophe, and you feel lousy.


Or, it's date night. You're all ready to go, the kids are taken care of, and you decide to check email one more time. The next thing you know, it's been 20 minutes, the kids have found you, your spouse is antsy, and you're frustrated by the email you wanted to check "real quickly." Your night out is tainted by frustration and disappointment.

I could go on and on, pointing out how those of us who work from home just can't seem to turn it off.

Let me ask you a question:

If you wanted to take out a home equity loan through your credit union, would you expect them to come in at 3am to process the paperwork, simply because it works for you? Absolutely not! Running a home-based business is no different.

Set office hours, and stick to them.This simple strategy is the most effective way to begin to balance real life and work. When your work day ends, shut the door. That doesn't mean take 2 phone calls or answer 3 more emails or text your assistant all night long; it means quit working and re-engage in real life.

Work when you're supposed to. Spend work time actually, you know, working! Don't do laundry, or start to clean your bedroom, or pay personal bills while you're "at the office." After all, would a 9-to-5 boss let you do those things on the clock?

Set aside time for yourself, each and every day, doing at least one thing that energizes you. Some days, it might be an hour workout or run. Other days, it might be 5 minutes to pray or meditate. Maybe it's lunch with a friend, or a massage. Allowing yourself to breathe makes you a better you.

Be selfish with your time. It's okay to let the phone ring when you're working or with your family. Just because the world wants to connect 24/7 doesn't mean we have to participate! It's okay to put your family and work priorities above an acquaintance's.

Set and maintain boundaries.This is key. Saying "no" is okay. Declining to work with a potentially difficult person is okay. Choosing to do business with people who embrace your ethics is okay. Boundaries enable us to take control in all areas of life.
Start with just one of these tips. Add the others in as you deem possible.

Take life one hour at a time, one day at a time.

Remember why you've chosen to work from home, and honor that reason.

Wishing you joy in the journey...

Despite the still alarming unemployment rate, people are finding various means to survive. One of them is being able to earn a living while staying in their own homes.


Work from home is a career that a lot of people want to have. Especially at a time when mounting debts have to be addressed and people were losing their jobs, consumers turned to small business ideas or freelancing. Any money-making idea that can be accomplished at home have cropped up everywhere.

One of the things that made work from home possible is the technological advancements that allowed people to produce output and coordinate over distances. This means one does not have to be present in the office to be able to accomplish tasks that can contribute to relevant business processes. Almost anything can be done online. The key to be successful as you work from home is to find a niche that you love to do.

Even if you are a housewife who wants to help her husband make ends meet or you are the breadwinner who recently lost his/her job due to an illness or the recession, your saving grace are work from home ideas. You can go to freelancing websites like Odesk, Elance or Freelancer to search for jobs. They have categorized job openings that eCommerce and even physical businesses need.

On top of the list are website related careers. You can be a website developer, graphic designer, writer or virtual assistant. If you know your way around social media networking sites, you can train to be a social media manager. Another career that is holding much ground are SEO managers. Both social media and SEO managers are not necessarily taught in school but they do have online courses. You can even research on your own to find out what they are all about and do a bit of self discovery to educate yourself.

If you came from the marketing or sales industry, you can enter into Affiliate or Internet Marketing. You have to be warned, though, online marketing is very different from the real world version so a bit of studying is also in order. Both basically involves the promotion of an online product that you can help advertise through blog sites, community forums, and social networking sites. You get to earn commissions for every successful sale that you brought on.

You can also try your hand at selling products online or what we call as eCommerce. Believe it or not, creating an online store and getting products to sell can be accomplished remotely. If you do it correctly, your website may sell products everyday even without you visiting or managing it day in and day out. You can arrange it so orders are consolidated automatically and sent to suppliers. There are suppliers willing to do all the manual handling of products and shipping too.

All types of fields have found their way online. If you are an accountant, bookkeeper or auditor, these are being outsourced by large companies and you can bid to work for them remotely. You can be a financial planner or adviser. Armed with a headset, you can take calls to communicate more effectively with your clients.

If you are a photographer, you can upload your photos and sell them online. If you are a teacher, you can earn more by tutoring online.

The list is endless and you only have to know the various tools available and how to use them. Remote work has never been more helpful and in fact, it is successfully sustaining a lot of households despite the dire economic times.

There are various aspects of a cake decorating business for those who have the interest in starting a cake business from home. Aside from the natural creativity of individuals, they also need to learn the best techniques that they can use in making wonderful designs that would delight customers. Doing any business is a serious matter if people would like to earn from it. It is vital that they are able to come up with a feasible business plan before starting this kind of business. The degree of preparation and the kind of plans that they make will guide them in every aspect of their cake decorating business until they are able to earn their projected profit.