We do a lot of chatting here in the Home Business Blog about the realities of running a business from home–lots of advice and suggestions and factual, useful information. But, this early morning as I struggle to get myself going (I like to get in a couple hours of work before anyone else gets up around here), my two frisky cats are chasing each other through the downstairs–frequently racing underneath my desk chair. Needless to say, it interrupts my focus just a bit. It gets me to wondering at all you other home business folk and I’m curious–what are YOUR biggest distractions to getting work done?
I know that many of you have wee little ones who are busy and demanding throughout the day–so that has to count as a major “reality” in running your business (I’m not sure I’d consider kids a distraction, so I was trying to choose a better word.)! But, for me, there are so many little things that call me away and make it tough for me to stay on track…
The kitchen can be a big distraction, I’ll wander in for a cup of coffee or a snack and find myself baking a cake or chopping vegetables for a soup or stew. Just walking through the house can be quite the distraction as I notice floors that need to be vacuumed, cobwebs in the corners, thirsty plants begging for a sip of water. If I don’t set specific time schedules for myself to stay at my desk, or take myself out to the bookstore or coffee shop to get work done, I can totally get sucked into domestic duties.
E-mail and phone calls can eat up a chunk of my day–and not the business sort of e-mail and phone calls either. The call to be social is pretty darn strong for me. I think I’ll just answer one little note and soon I’m sending e-cards and exchanging digital photos with far-away friends. So, I have to try to keep myself on a pretty tight regime when it comes to how much time I allot to personal e-mails and phone calls too.
That’s enough about my distractions–how about you? What are the biggies that pull you away from work and make it challenging to stay focused on your business?