Being a Home Office Warrior comes with a lot of wonderful perks like flexible schedules, being your own boss and more.  But what many of us fail to share is that it can also come with a feeling of being alone, lack of motivation and fear.  Of course, traditional careers come with all of that too, but when you’re working for someone else, staying employed tends to motivate you when these type of situations arise.  When you’re self-employed , sometimes fear of failure can motivate, but it can also be paralyzing. We’ve all been there. We may call it anything from writers block to being stuck in a rut, but no matter what you want to call it, you’re going to need to do something to get past it.  Everyone is different, so I can’t say what will work for you, but I’d like to share the two things that I do when I feel paralyzed in any way.

I learn something new.

If you know what’s holding you back, find a book, blog or video by someone who obviously know what it takes to solve your dilemma.  For example,  a few months ago I didn’t know just what to do with my blog. I was posting on a regular basis, I had a small readership but my visitor stats were sitting still.  So I went to blog expert and friend Grant Griffiths and signed up for his “31 Days to Kick Your Blog in The Butt” and actually did the things he suggested.  Not only have I seen a steady increase in visitors, but it inspired me to share my own knowledge in my “Virtual Assistant Survival Series” which became the “Virtual Assistant Survival Guide“. But what if you just feel stuck, with no particular reason why you have lost focus?  You don’t just have to learn something business related.  Always wanted to play golf?  Make your own beaded jewelry?  Become a better amateur photographer?  Learn how.  Having a hobby to escape to can be an amazing inspiration for your business.  When we immerse ourselves in our businesses, as so many home office business owners tend to, it stands to reason that our brains go on business overload.  The simplicity of disconnecting and doing something enjoyable or creative often is just the thing to help you regain your business focus.

I read or watch something I find inspirational

Currently it’s Jeffery Gitomer’s ” Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude: How to Find, Build and Keep a YES! Attitude for a Lifetime of SUCCESS” that provides me with small chunks of inspiration in bite sized pieces.  Filled with ways to change negative thoughts and attitudes into positive ones, I can pick it up during a coffee break, lunch break or just when I’m feeling overwhelmed and it inspires me to change my way of thinking and reacting. When I was first embarking on this adventure (both my business and my move from Maine to North Carolina) when I started questioning my sanity I pulled out my copy of  “Under the Tuscan Sun” and watched as Diane Lane followed her heart , with all of the twists, turns, ups and downs along the way.  So maybe a chick flick like that doesn’t do it for you, but I’m sure there’s a book or movie somewhere that does.  Or maybe even a YouTube video. Seriously.  Have you seen the lecture by Dr. Randy Pausch, “Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”?  If not, you owe it to yourself to head over there and watch it now.  It could be the most inspirational hour you’ve spent on the computer…ever. All of the experts will tell you that when you hit a wall with your business you need to take a step back. Often times that’s easier said than done.  I’ve found that by using the two tips above it allows me to stop thinking so much about business and allows me to come back to it with a fresher outlook. Source :  Home Office Warrior

In your home office, do you find yourself buried by clutter? Do you feel unorganized and don’t know what to do to get organized? You’re not alone. Working from home can present unique challenges. Filing systems, both digital and tactile, are things that must be conquered early on in order to maintain and keep yourself productive. I can hear your thinking now, “HOW to I go about doing THAT?”. Let’s discuss. Having a filing system for paper is a key element in any office structure. But my suggestion to you would be to try to keep the paper flow to a minimum. Scan and digitally file documents that can be handled that way. For some of us, it is much easier to have documents accessible in digital format rather than having to search through paper files. Scanning can assist us in becoming free of the clutter of paper. But, (there is always a “but”) if you take all your data to digital format, be prepared to back up, and back up often. There are many services online that you can use to back up your important files. The one that I have been using for the longest time is Mozy. It allows unlimited backup for only $4.95 a month and has a “Home” version as well as a “Pro” version. There is also a “free” version that allows 3GB of space. Mozy is dependable and can be configured to back up anything on your computer. You can schedule your backups to occur daily or weekly: it’s completely up to you. Mozy runs in the background and silently backs sp a the times that you have designated. Going digital is a great way for getting out from under your clutter. In my next article, we’ll discuss what to do with those paper files that you must keep! Source : Home Office Warrior

While we run our businesses or telecommute for other companies from our homes, we may sometimes get overwhelmed by the task of just running the home. Not only that, but sometimes we have to decide between taking care of the home so we can take the time to run the home office. As Home Biz Notes mentions, we don’t hesitate outsourcing to professionals like attorneys and accountants. And like many, I take advantage of a virtual assistant to handle certain task for me as well. But, “outsourcing is equally valid when you”

• want or need more time to focus on other work tasks
• don’t have an interest in a specific area
• want to spend more time to relax
• want to spend more time with your family
• want to give yourself some “me” time
• Any others?

While we may not hesitate to outsource for “office task” or other business needs assistance. Why not outsource for other task as suggested by Home Biz Notes? And here is a list of other outsourcing we should consider from Home Biz Notes.

• personal chef (if you’re feeling indulgent)
• personal shopper
• personal home organizer
• personal concierge
• baby sitting
• virtual assistant
• home cleaner
• ironing assistance
• yard work

I have to mention one item here and that is this. I am one of the very lucky ones in that for the most part, all I have to be concerned with in my home office is just that. The home office. I work, run and can give almost all of my time to running the home office. My wife on the other hand does all of the other items listed above. So for me, I don’t have to worry about outsourcing. And before you email me or call and tell me what an awful husband I am, I do help do those things too. But, my point is I don’t have to worry about it. However, I do know there are some who do and that is one reason many don’t take the plunge and move their work to a home office. I visit with people daily about how do I, meaning them, do it. How do I move from working in a downtown office or for an employer to working from home? I just don’t have the time and there are too many distractions. Home Biz Notes has provided some help with that by providing this great list of things you can outsource. Take advantage of them or some of them. And don’t forget to check out Home Office Virtual Assistant, one of the blogs in the Home Office Warrior network for more ideas. Source: Home Office Warrior

Source: Home Office Warrior

Source: Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Ever pulled an all-nighter?

Maybe you had an exam to study for…maybe you had a presentation to create for your boss’ big meeting…or maybe you were just having too great a time to leave the club before 4 am. The next day, maybe you drank some coffee…or chugged a few RockBullMonster drinks to kick start it all over again.

Would you work drunk?

Though a few of us may be sleep mutants [see article] the rest of us all know we should get a solid 7 or 8 hours a night. But when there are other things to do sleep sometimes seems dispensable. And that’s when the trouble starts. Going without sleep for 24 hours—or getting only 5 hours a night for a week—can have the same effect as having a blood alcohol content of 0.1 percent according to research at Harvard University.

We don’t expect someone to get behind the wheel of a car impaired and perform effectively.  And yet, behaviors creating the same effect are often celebrated in the workplace or in school as demonstrating commitment and dedication.

And while no one suggests that hard work and dedication are the wrong things to celebrate, it may be that we overlook the downside of a commitment to being  ’on’ 24/7.

It seems clear from the work of Harvard’s Charles Czeisler and others that failing to get adequate sleep builds a cumulative imbalance that impairs performance and that makes much of the quantity of our work of inferior quality.

Sleep it off?

As in any behavior with potentially negative consequences, the first step is to recognize the issue.  If you find yourself having to stay up later than usual, or starting to get fewer hours of sleep than you know you should, that’s precisely the time to proactively make time for sleep.

If you find yourself having a hard time concentrating at work or making lots of small mistakes, you might already be working under the influence of sleepless nights. If you aren’t getting 7 to 8 hours a night consistently, the sleep imperative will only grow larger.

When the pressure’s on in these situations, several tactics might help:

• smart napping,
• modified nighttime routines, and sleep diaries
• attention to diet [for example avoiding extra caffeine, vending machine snacks and alcohol] and exercise [getting some]

These are all means to help you transcend the temporary temptation to forego sleep.

In the long term, though, there is no substitute for a taking control and dedicating yourself to healthy sleep habits. Research has shown a strong relationship between lack of sleep and health problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity…even death!  Your workplace will certainly be better if you are there healthy and alive.

Do you have a personal experience with chronic sleeplessness impacting your work or school? Please share it in the comments.

 

SOurce: blog.sleepingsimple.com

The reason why you aren't a millionaire (or on your way to becoming one) is really quite simple.  You probably assume it's because you aren't earning enough money, but the truth is that for most people, whether or not you become a millionaire has very little to do with the amount of money you make.  It's the way that you treat money in your daily life.  Here are 10 possible reasons you aren't a millionaire:

1. You Care What Your Neighbours Think: If you're competing against them and their material possessions, you're wasting your hard-earned money on toys to impress them instead of building your wealth.
2. You Aren't Patient: Until the era of credit cards, it was difficult to spend more than you had.  That is not the case today. If you have credit card debt because you couldn't wait until you had enough money to purchase something in cash, you are making others wealthy while keeping yourself in debt.
3. You Have Bad Habits: Whether it's smoking, drinking, gambling or some other bad habit, the habit is using up a lot of money that could go toward building wealth.  Most people don't realise that the cost of their bad habits extends far beyond the immediate cost.  Take smoking, for example: It costs a lot more than the pack of cigarettes purchased.  It also negatively affects your wealth in the form of higher insurance rates and decreased value of your home.
4. You Have No Goals: It's difficult to build wealth if you haven't taken the time to know what you want.  If you haven't set wealth goals, you aren't likely to attain them.  You need to do more than state, "I want to be a millionaire."  You need to take the time to set saving and investing goals on a yearly basis and come up with a plan for how to achieve those goals.
5. You Haven't Prepared: Bad things happen to the best of people from time to time, and if you haven't prepared for such a thing to happen to you through insurance, any wealth that you might have built can be gone in an instant.
6. You Try to Make a Quick Buck: For the vast majority of us, wealth doesn't come instantly.  You may believe that people winning the lottery are a dime a dozen, but the truth is you're far more likely to get struck by lightning than win the lottery.  This desire to get rich quickly likely extends into the way you invest, with similar results.
7. You Rely on Others to Take Care of Your Money: You believe that others have more knowledge about money matters and you rely exclusively on their judgment when deciding where you should invest your money.  Unfortunately, most people want to make money themselves, and this is their primary objective when they tell you how to invest your money.  Listen to other people's advice to get new ideas, but in the end you should know enough to make your own investing decisions.
8. You Invest in Things You Don't Understand: Your hear that Bob has made a lot of money doing it, and you want to get in on the gravy train.  If Bob really did make money, he did so because he understood how the investment worked.  Throwing in your money because someone else has made money without fully understanding how the investment works will keep you from being wealthy.
9. You're Financially Afraid: You are so scared of risk that you keep all your money in a savings account that is actually losing money when inflation is put into the equation, yet you refuse to move it to a place where higher rates of return are possible because you're afraid that you will lose money.
10. You Ignore Your Finances: You take the attitude that if you make enough, the finances will take care of themselves.  If you currently have debt, it will somehow resolve itself in the future.  Unfortunately, it takes planning to become wealthy.  It doesn't magically happen to the vast majority of people.

In reality, it is probably not just one of the above bad habits that has kept you from becoming a millionaire, but a combination of a few of them.  Take a hard look at the list, and do some reflecting.  If you want to be a millionaire, it's well within your power, but you'll have to face the issues that are currently keeping you from creating that wealth before you will have a chance to call yourself one.

Source: bumbinorn.ru