How to Make Working for Yourself Work

With a Berkeley degree behind you and a great business idea in front of you, a self-employed future can look pretty good. You can look forward to being your own boss and working for yourself on your own terms. You’ll never have to worry about commuting with the masses or keeping the boss happy because you are the boss, and your commute is only a few steps down the hall to your home office.

It sounds idyllic, and it really can be, but this freedom still needs some rules or you’ll soon find yourself longing for the easy life of the traditional nine-to-five.

INSERT IMAGE HERE>>>>> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Summer_-_Nazareth_College_%288510602468%29.jpg>>>>> Source: Wikimedia

The most important thing is to set up your workspace. Everyone has this image of freelancers working on a laptop under a tree in the park, but often, the home office is the kitchen table, which is where the problems can start. The biggest issue for people who work from home is separating their work from their home life, and if you are working in the kitchen or in the living room in front of the TV, then you’re only making those boundaries more blurred.

You need to find yourself a space that is just for work, preferably somewhere with a door that you can shut at the end of the day. This will help you feel like you are going to work and help you get away from work in the evenings and on weekends. If work is always around, chances are you will always feel tempted to get on with it or feel guilty if you don’t. Even if you only have space for a tiny corner desk, make it your workplace and only go there during working hours.

This brings us to the second most important thing when it comes to working for yourself: setting your work hours. Working for yourself does give you the freedom to work when you want, whether that’s up with the lark or burning the midnight oil, but many freelancers simply don’t know when to stop. You need to set your hours and stick to them, whether that’s 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or noon to 10 p.m. Just because you can get paid for all the hours you want, doesn’t mean you have to.

INSERT IMAGE HERE>>>>> http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/80000/velka/closed-gone-fishing.jpg>>>>> Source: Public Domain Pictures