We all have bad habits, especially those of us who juggle working from home and managing a family. Here are the five worst habits I battle every day.
1. Rolling Work Over to Nights and Weekends
On the days when my kids are home, I get less done. It’s just a fact. So I pack my work-focused days to the brim in order to get ahead. Of course, it’s inevitable that something will come up that adds work to the week. Instead of pushing things off to the next week when they can be scheduled properly, I tend to want to take care of everything right away. This means I’m up late, up early and working weekends pretty regularly. Not only does this put me on the path to burnout, but it also takes away important family time and much needed down time.
2. Becoming a Hermit
When you have a growing to-do list and a limited amount of time to focus, it’s easy to become a shut-in in order to get it all done. I’ve had weeks that come Friday I realize I hadn’t left the house at all! Not giving myself a chance to get out of the work-at-home environment, even if it’s just running to the store with the kids for an hour, is a bad habit that can make me a bit crazed at the end of the week.
3. Not Taking Regular Breaks
Related to #2, when I am in the zone, I’m really in the zone. I love my work, so it’s not unheard of that I get so into what I’m doing that I forget the simple things, like eating and going to the bathroom. If I’m not consciously reminding myself to get up and take a break, I don’t. This is obviously a bad habit!
4. Giving In to Unplanned Interruptions
Doorbells, calls, TV, lunch requests, etc. It’s tempting to let the daily interruptions pull me off track, especially on those days when I am in hermit-mode. I have found that these interruptions are great for me because they force me to take breaks and get away from work. BUT, it doesn’t work if they’re spur of the moment and unplanned. Scheduled in advance and prioritized is the only way to make interruptions work for me.
5. Multitasking
I am frequently doing a handful of things at one time, especially when my kids are home. While I don’t believe multitasking is always bad, I do think I could be more productive if I tried focusing on only one thing at a time, at least sometimes. I bet I would not feel nearly as scattered at the end of the day!
What are some of your bad work-from-home habits?
Image credit: MJimages
Alyssa is the owner of avertua, LLC, author of VA Secrets Revealed, founder of the Virtual Assistant Hub, blogger at the Small Business Idea Generator, mom of three, and a whole bunch of other stuff!
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Alyssa Gregory
I'm a small business enthusiast, entrepreneur, writer, speaker, team builder and consultant who has a passion for learning, creating opportunities for collaboration, and sharing knowledge. On a typical day, you can find me sharing small business tips, advice and resources on About.com, the Small Business Bonfire, Twitter and Facebook, while juggling my three kids, ages 4, 3 and 1.
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