Get Your Home in Order

As an Internet marketer, you’ll have the freedom to work from anywhere in the world using your laptop. However, it’s still important to have your primary work center or home office.

Psychologically, it’s important to have a special area set aside where you can work every day. If you have an entire room you can use for this purpose - that’s great! Of course, sometimes it’s just not possible to secure a full room for your office space.

That’s perfectly fine, but you definitely need to organize whatever space you have for optimal performance. Organize your home the way it makes you feel comfortable – because this is where you’ll be spending a lot of your time and you want it to feel inviting to you.

Do Not Disturb

If at all possible, try to secure an area of the house where you can work without being disturbed.

This can be a bedroom, part of the living area, or your own private office. The key here is to have your own space where people understand you are working and should not be interrupted.

Doesn’t work in my house, but that’s the beauty of being a work at home mom!  I constantly have one of my three kids running in to ask a question, show me their artwork, or tell me a funny story. I like to be disturbed by my kids, but I can’t say what it’s like in your house. You might need peace and quiet.

My mom’s a writer and she needs a quiet zone to bring her ideas into fruition. Everyone’s different. Do what works best for you.

The Right Equipment

Obviously, you need a reliable computer - and for best results, you need a high-speed connection.

It’s fine to work with whatever you have in the beginning, but if you don’t have a good machine and a fast connection, you need to find the funds to upgrade as soon as possible. Your computer needs to have basic word processing applications and a sound card.

You may also find it useful to install an HTML editor, FTP software, and a few other advanced web tools as you find that you need them. What I use is Microsoft FrontPage, Excel, and Word.

You should have a printer and a phone in your work area as well. Scanners and fax machines are also nice, but don’t feel pressure to go out and buy these right away if you don’t already have them.

I have all of these, but the only time I’ve used a fax is when I join an affiliate program and need to fax my tax forms to the affiliate program manager, which is rare.

Stock the Proper Supplies

Every office needs basic supplies like pens, paper, staples, paper clips, etc. There’s no need to go out and spend a bunch of cash on these supplies, as most dollar stores carry quality items of this nature.

A calendar is another important tool, and you might even want an organizer. Other miscellaneous items like a calculator, index cards, sticky notes and so on might also be useful.

The idea is to have an environment that feels like work, and that holds all of the supplies you need to stay focused and productive. My favorite supplies are white legal notepads where I can jot down ideas and notes and a ton of pens!

I also have file folders where I separate my projects and print out and staple pages like sales copy I want to let sit for a while or emails from customers where, if they ask me a question, I can have a written record to remind me to add it into my product so the question will be answered for future customers.

Consistent Work Times

If you can manage to be in your designated work area around the same time on most days, you’ll feel more productive.

Creating a regular schedule will also make it easier to train friends and family to avoid interrupting you during work hours.

You don’t have to be extremely strict about when you start and stop working, but it does help once you get going to give yourself a carved-out amount of time for you to continue before taking a break.

A Clean Environment

It’s tough to concentrate in the middle of a mess. If you have to move a pile of clutter out of the way just to get to your desk each morning, it’s likely you’re going to encounter some motivation problems down the road.

If at all possible, you should create a neat, well-organized environment to work in. Make sure you know where everything is, and avoid leaving piles of unfinished work on your desk before logging off for the day.

Again, think of your home office as a place of business. Maintain a professional level of order and this will show up in the quality of your daily work. I myself have some clutter on my desk, but it’s organized clutter all the same!

You need to make sure your home environment is conducive for running a business. Trying to work with the wrong equipment, or in the midst of chaos, generally results in poor productivity and loss of motivation. Take the time to get your home in order and your business will run a lot more smoothly.