Working from a home-based business means dealing with multiple interruptions throughout your work day. Whether it’s family, other work, friends, volunteer responsibilities, or general household tasks–most of us who work a home business don’t have the luxury of turning off all the distractions and focusing on work for an extended period of time.
My ability to cope and remain flexible amidst interruptions is somewhat variable. Some days, I seem to just roll and dodge and weave with every curveball that comes my way. On other days, I find the slightest intrusion to set my teeth on edge and make it tough for me to concentrate. My solution? Well, I try to organize my work and tasks based on whether I need uninterrupted focus, or I can come and go. This way, on days when the interruptions seem never-ending, I can still feel productive doing things that don’t require my undivided attention AND I can make the most of those longer stretches of time to accomplish tasks that need more devoted focus.
Of course, it would only be in a perfect world that I would have that much control. Still, planning for the inevitable interruptions does help me to keep from getting increasingly crabby and feeling like I’m wasting a day. Parents with young children under foot may find it helps to have special jobs and tasks for the children to do when they feel they absolutely HAVE to be near Mom or Dad. There’s something about knowing that you are really focused on something else that causes children to want to redirect your attention on to them.
I think it helps us to just know and acknowledge that interruptions are part of the reality of working from home. We don’t really have a buffer or a boundary that everyone understands that says “Work” and “Home” and while we may work to establish those boundaries ourselves, it can still be a bit murky. So, the next time you’re having one of those “interruption” days, remember to breathe, stay calm and TRY to roll with it!
See Also: The Top 6 Myths About Home Business and Thriving in Chaos