Archive for Working from Home
November 13, 2008· Filed under Shopping, Working from Home
If there is one thing I have a total weakness for, it is journals, notebooks and agendas. I have them in every shape and color. For someone who does a lot of writing, works from home, or wants to stay organized, journals are a perfect gift for any holiday! My favorites this year include:
Venetian Wrap Journal from Kiki James
Based in London, Kiki James carries an amazing selection of gorgeous leather journals, diaries, address books and gifts. I recently received the Venetian wrap journal and it is just gorgeous. The leather is buttery soft and feels rich. I love the wrap closure detail and the pages are a nice medium weight. The pages in this journal are unlined which makes it perfect for adding doodles, sketches, photos and momentos to journal entries. It comes in a variety of colors, but of course, I had to have red because we all know I have a little thing for RED.
2008-2009 momAgenda Personal Portfolio
It’s no secret that I love my momAgenda planners - I have sung their praises before (can you say sanity saver) - and I proudly advertise their products on my sidebar. They are that good. As a busy mom who juggles 3 kids’ sports and school schedules, my own business, and our family schedule, the momAgenda planners and organizational tools are created with me in mind - I’m sure of it.
The momAgenda Personal Portfolio is THE perfect gift for any Mom who likes to stay organized (or wants to make that a goal). The smart looking portfolio contains momAgenda’s unique weekly layout that lets you plan your week and the activities for up to 4 kids all at one glance. It also contains monthly calendar pages, an address book, organized notes areas for a variety of topics, a zipper pocket and places for business cards. I have one and I use it everyday.
See Jane Work
See Jane Work is like going into a candy store for hip office supplies. I could seriously buy everything for my office there! They have a great selection of journals and notebooks that range from fun to funky to classy beyond belief.
At $17, this Orla Kiely Pear notebook is affordable and fun.
Give Green
As we become more eco-concious, I know people will be looking for eco-friendly gifts this year. The Green Office carries a wide variety of paper products made from recycled materials, contain lower chemical levels and are biodegradable. Each product is marked based on its classification, too.
Personally, I really like the Casebound notebook that is made from 100% premium-grade recycled paper with 30% post-consumer material. Its 9-1/4 x 7-1/4 pages are permanently bound in lizard-look hardbound textured covers. The pages are ruled, too.
Right now they have a special deal, too -10% OFF Gift Cards at TheGreenOffice.com! Give Green, Save Green!
Moleskine
Moleskine is the legendary journal that has a community following of its own. Moleskine’s come in so many different sizes, paper styles and covers that you are bound to find one that will be a perfect match for the big thinker in your world.
Moleskine are especially great for capturing tales from travels, sketching out designs, keeping track of important data, and anything else you may be able to imagine.
I love the smaller versions which fit easily into a pocket or purse like this set Moleskine Museum Sketchbook - 6 pack: 6 Assorted Colors per pack.
Others We Love:
Truly Mom Leather Planner with its unique tri-fold design with pads including “my day”, “my list”, “a note to”, Post-it note pad, pull out spiral bound calendar. It also comes with pocket, pen, address booklet, and a heart clip.
Happy writing!
July 27, 2008· Filed under Working from Home
Guest post by Beth Pratt
With the price of gas rising infinitely, more and more companies are beginning to realize that they can get as much or more work from employees who work from their own homes. This new trend also seems to be encouraging parents to bring the kids home by way of home schooling. With the whole family together, at-home-workers are finding creative ways to make the arrangement work for the benefit of the entire family.
While there are some disadvantages to working from home, there are many more reasons to embrace the work-at-home life.
- Flexibility: There are no 9-5 schedules here. You can work ten hours one day, two hours the next, take the next day off or work for twelve hours straight. You can choose to focus on calling people, e-mailing, networking or researching on any given day, without asking for “permission” from a higher-up. While some companies do expect you to work between certain hours, this is the exception; most are quite willing to allow you to choose your own hours, even your level of commitment.
- Cost Efficiency: You don’t have to buy gas to go to and from work, you don’t have to buy snacks or pack a lunch or worry about the cost of eating fast food at lunch. You can forego buying work clothes, since you are free to work in pajamas if desired, and the cost of laundry is dramatically reduced because you don’t have to wear three suits of clothes in one day. You don’t have to hire a babysitter to watch the kids all the time, and can even pick up babysitting yourself to make some extra money. Finally, instead of battling traffic two or three times a day to get to work, drive your kids to soccer practice, pick up ingredients for dinner and drop off dry cleaning, you can incorporate everything into one painless trip.
- Health Benefits: You don’t have to go to work sick anymore. You can take a day off if you’re not feeling well, or work around low energy days. This can cut down on trips to the doctor, since you’re not thwarting the work of your immune system by forcing yourself to work sick. In addition, you can regulate the amount of sleep you get. No more getting up at a certain time each day regardless of how much sleep you got the night before. After those long nights of tossing and turning, you can sleep in or take it easier.
- Family/Emotional Health: There is no doubt of the importance of family time. Working from home allows parents to spend more time with their kids, to attend meetings and practices, and catch up with them on a daily basis. And kids seem to behave and learn better when around the consistent eye of supportive parents. Staying at home can also help kids and parents face emotional issues head on, avoiding the build-up of resentment and loneliness. Marriages also run more smoothly when couples aren’t rushed apart every morning and rushed into the night-time routine when they get home from a traditional job.
- Freedom to Choose: Most people don’t get to choose where they spend the rest of their lives working. Some college graduates actually end up in field that they have a passion for, but these are the lucky folks. Many more end up burnt out in the long run, either from working with people they can’t relate to or working a job that wasn’t all they thought it would be. Working from home is an individual venture, and unless you have employees, you can easily change the scope of your business anytime, even if that puts you into a different field altogether.
It can be hard to imagine that there are disadvantages to working from home, but as with everything else, working at home carries with it some negatives. These include instability, lack of structure, increased distractions and unpredictability. These can be fatal flaws to work-at-homers, but as with anything worthwhile, they don’t have to be. With courage and perseverance, working at home is no more a risk than keeping a job that costs you most of your paycheck on secondary necessities such as gas, childcare, fast food and clothing.
About our guest author: Beth Pratt is a work at home mom and editor for Its a WAHM Thing, a blog covering all aspects of balancing your home-based career and raising a family. Beth is the proud mother of two boisterous boys ages 5 and 2.
December 11, 2007· Filed under Shopping, Uncategorized, Working from Home
So I get to work from home in my slippers, that doesn’t mean my office doesn’t want to be chic!! Every year my family asks what I want for the holidays and every year they seem a bit astonished that I want stuff for my home office - after all, it is where I spend so much of my time!!
Here some items I have on my list this year:
See Jane Work - Okay Santa - anything from See Jane Work will be just fine with me. How about some yummy Pepper Pot file folders, desktop files, or an Internet Notes black book?
TheGreenOffice.com - I love the tree-free stationery - the Harvest Collection is so nice.
My laptop needs some spunk!! I would love a Pacific Design Kailo Chic Laptop Sleeve or a cool laptop skin (I could design my own) from Schtickers.
I am determined to get even more organized in the new year so a new Brother PT-1880 Advanced Deluxe Labeler for Home & Office would be very welcome.
How about some new essentials like the Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop (keyboard and mouse) or an ergonomic 3M Gel Wrist Support.
We don’t live very close to a Starbucks or coffee shop and I love to start my day with a perfect cup of coffee. A few years ago, my husband gave me the Keurig B60 Special Edition Gourmet Single-Cup Home-Brewing System and it makes the BEST coffee ever. More of the Newman’s Own Organics Extra Bold Special Blend, K-Cups would always be welcome, too.
Do you work from home? What is on your wish list?
September 27, 2007· Filed under Working from Home
Laura at Work from Home Momma wrote a great reminder post this week about the importance of making time for family when you work from home. I know this is something I struggle with constantly. I began working from home so I could spend more time with my family, however, as my business has grown I definitely have days and sometimes weeks where business takes priority.
Go check it out!
September 19, 2007· Filed under Organizing, Working from Home
Do you ever feel like you are running in circles, never really getting anything accomplished, and feeling stressed out? As part of Inspiration Bit’s group writing project on time management, here are my top time management strategies as a work at home Mom with three kids.
1. Sunday Night Strategy Session
Sometime each Sunday afternoon/evening I take about 30 minutes to check in with my MomAgenda and get my week in order. I put all the kids appointments/sports practices in on the calendar. Next I add in my appointments, conference calls and exercise. From there I take a few minutes to plan our dinner menu for the week based on what we have going on each evening. With those two big areas of my life organized, I can face the rest of the week with a lot less stress.
2. Get Up Before Anyone Else
Each morning I start my day about 45 minutes before the rest of the family. It allows me to get my thoughts together over a good cup of coffee and I start my day off prepared rather than crazy.
3. Daily Goals List
Split a piece of paper into two columns - label one side work and one side personal. On the work side I list out the highest paying, most urgent client tasks first followed by other tasks by priority. About half of my work is for clients and half is for blogging, I also keep a running list of blog topic ideas for each of my sites in a notebook. On the personal side of the paper I list phone calls I need to make, chores I need to get done, and any errands that have to be run. IMPORTANT - I always have more on my list than I could ever get done, but that’s okay. It helps me stay on top of things that way.
4. Block Your Time
Once I know what needs to be done, I usually block out time and estimate blocks of time per task. This allows me to have a realistic idea as to what I can get done in the day and to make sure I am maximizing my earnings for the day. Since I know that I work best in the morning, I schedule my highest priority and highest dollar tasks for the first 2-3 hours of my day. I save a lot of my blog reading, commenting, web maintenance tasks for later in the day when my mind needs a break, the kids are around, and my day becomes fragmented. You may find calendar software to be helpful.
5. Use A Timer
This kind of goes with #4 and blocking your time. Start your task and set the timer for your allotted time. You will be less distracted and the timer will let you know when it is time for a break. If it is a longer task, break it up into smaller time chunks. Reward yourself with a quick walk, a snack break, a phone call break or something once your timer goes off.
6. Create Work Hours
This is REALLY important if you work from home! Establish hours that work for you, your clients, and your family and stick with them. They don’t have to be the same everyday, but set them. If you have set your work hours for today to be from 9-12, then you don’t do housework during that time. Avoid the temptation to watch Oprah during this time - unless you schedule it into your day. (Of course, there is nothing wrong with running the dishwasher or dryer while you work - that is the ultimate benefit of working from home)
7. Outsource Where Possible
Make a list of the 10 biggest time wasters or energy drainers in your day and find a way to eliminate them! This topic could actually be a post of its own - and maybe it will be soon.
Create a carpool with a friend so that you aren’t doing all of the running back and forth with the kids to sports practices. Hire a cleaning service. Barter for administrative help. And the list goes on. With a little creativity, you can save yourself A LOT of time and stress.
8. Group Errands for Efficiency
Rather than popping out for this today and that tomorrow, schedule your errands for maximum efficiency. One way to do it is to tack on an errand to another scheduled event - like stopping in for groceries after soccer practice because they are in the same end of town. Another way to do it is to schedule one morning or afternoon a week just for errands and some time away.
There is no doubt that there will be some unexpected daily drama and the occasional day where you just can’t be bothered, but put these strategies into action and I guarantee your day will run smoother!
Now I’ve shared my tips with you, what are some of the time management strategies that work for you?
Related Posts:
Next entries »
What I Ate (Teal) Mini Journal
Subscribe via RSS
