Working from home is not always as easy as it may seem. Many times people think that you’re not capable of having a real job just because you’re not doing what a regular corporation employee is doing. Wake up, dress up, coffee in the subway, morning talk with your colleagues, meetings and so on, this is what people expect from a responsible person.

However since I’ve seen so many stories with people earning lots of money doing it from home by combining business with pleasure, I can tell you a few tips you should take into consideration.

What should I do in the morning? This is a very good question and the answer is simple. Stay in pole-position and be the first to start.

1. Don’t oversleep. The human body, usually refreshes after 7-8 hours of sleep, that if you’re not losing your nights, going to sleep in the morning. Sleeping from 11 pm and waking up at 7 am always worked for me. I always wake up early in the morning just to breathe a less polluted air.
2. Exercise. You’re thinking how you can not properly exercise in the morning and decide not to do it, then you’re kidding yourself. I’m not talking about heavy lifting or a marathon, simple stretching positions, jogging or a dog walk will do.
3. Take a shower. Lots of people say that a shower in the morning ease their awakening and if you can alternate hot and cold water it will help strengthen and normalize the nervous, circulatory, endocrine and immune systems.
4. Eat a healthy breakfast. I’ve said it many times that it’s imperative to eat healthy so keep in mind that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The food you eat in the morning is what gives you the energy and power to work all day long.
5. Keep your room clean. Don’t think that after getting out of bed the room shouldn’t be cleaned. Make your bed and leave it in order, you’ll thank yourself when you get back to it for a nap or at night, to sleep. Make it a habit to keep everything clean from the beginning.
6. Change your clothes. You are starting a new day and you need all the energy you can get. Every day needs to be special, and you’ll give just about everything to “conquer the world”. Is this how you wanna do it, in your pajamas? Use comfortable clothes.
7. Head to your office. I am not sure how big your house or apartment is, or if you can afford to “sacrifice” a room for the office, but you may want to keep it away from your sleeping area (even from your eating area). You need fresh energy and you won’t get it in your bedroom. Just the idea of going to the office, be it at home or not, makes people think they are important and improves their focus.

How to improve your work day is just as important as the Formula1 start I was talking above, because it’s not enough to be the first, what’s more important is to keep your position.

1. Concentrate on your work. Being at home is most of the time associated with a combination of work and life at the same time. However, you should be aware that you should dedicate most of your attention to your business. Of course kids and house problem may occur from time to time, so solve, and get back to work.
2. Schedule your working hours. You’re ambitious and decided to work 9-10 hours a day. Sticking to it is the most important thing. Keep in mind that you need social life, too, make room for it.
3. Keep distractions away. You can put your cellphone on silent with visual alert only, disable any Instant Messaging programs and open your email every three hours. The days when I have email and IM on, are the least productive for me.
4. Prioritize. There you go, everything set and you see a bunch of papers on your table. First thing you should do is to prioritize everything, but make sure you have time to do get everything done by the end of the day. The things that need your immediate attention should be started first.
5. The one-hour break. If you’re doing great and feel like you shouldn’t stop in a million years, I advise you to do it. One hour for you to have lunch, some fun with your pet or a 20-minutes power nap could be an ideal break. Don’t worry you won’t lose your wave, you’ll just relax your muscles and your mind to have the power to sustain the flow.
6. Drink plenty of water. The body needs water to function just as it needs air. If you the air you breath as much as you need, same thing should apply for water and scientists have found that the human body needs 8 to 10 glasses of water each day. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty because, thirstiness is a sign that your body lost water and it needs it.
7. Keep your desk clean if you want to be productive during the day, and don’t if you want to search for your documents a few hours.
8. Find ways to relax. If you want my example then I tell you that I listen to music while I work, because it always gives me a more positive state of mind, and keeps stress away. I do have a habit of taking half a minute breaks when I lean back in my chair. Find yours!
9. Anger is useless. A business cannot be a real one if it won’t have negative points. One day you can lose a contract, and the next day you can get yourself a bigger one. The point is that anger won’t solve anything. No one will give your contract back just because you was angry, but persuading the person that you’re skills and your work are high quality might. Anger will only make you see the problem in low light and won’t get you any solutions.
10. Moderation. Being funny but also responsible is the key to a good business, therefore you should find the right recipe that suits you best.

I am not sure if you’re doing a few of those, all or none, but I know how it helped me so far. Now if you have anything to add to my small list then I would appreciate your comments below.

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