Staying Health While You Work at Home

A Home Business Article Contributed by Sharon Hill

Good Health is Crucial When You Work at Home

There are several issues to be looked at when talking about your work at home occupation. You want to make sure you're environment is hazard free and ergonomically correct; you also want to pace yourself to avoid burn-out, and to see that you take the time to refresh yourself with adequate outdoor activities, physical exercise, relaxation and fun time with others.

Hazards and Ergonomics - Work at Home Issues

A hazard free work at home environment is one without cords to trip over, frayed electrical wires, loose handrails. You need to have a readily available fire extinguisher as well as smoke detector that works. You need three-pronged electrical outlets; throw rugs on highly polished floors should be avoided.

Assuming you are working at a computer station in your home based work a great deal of the time - as are most of us - you need a comfortable chair at the right height to allow for the correct posture, hand and eye movements and reach. You need adequate lighting, and you may want to invest in wrist supports if you are going to be typing extensively. You definitely should invest in a headset if your job will entail talking on the phone will perusing the Internet or doing any word processing.

And for those of you who wear corrective lenses, a check up with your eye doctor prior to starting your work from home would be a wise move.

Pacing Yourself While Working at Home

While we all know it's true that not giving it your all - not working hard and striving constantly for success - is going to doom your home based work, the opposite can be true as well. Your work should not keep you from the things that make it all worthwhile - relaxation, physical exercise, time with friends and loved ones. The more you neglect your relaxation needs, the quicker you will burn out and the more apt you will be to give up on your home based work.

Some Tips on Motivation While You Work at Home

Of course, there's nothing more satisfying than that first good sale if you work at home. We've all seen mom and pop stores that proudly display their first dollar, framed and hung on the wall over the cash register. But what if the sales are slow in coming? What else serves as a reward?

There are four tried and true motivation tools any good sales manager knows - and you can use them on yourself as well. These four words are food, fun, money and recognition. Food's a tough one - you have to make sure you're not running to the refrigerator every ten minutes or your health problem becomes the extra 20 pounds you accrue.

But you could tell yourself that once you complete the first five pages of this report, or you make your tenth sales call this morning - or whatever might be a logical stopping point - you take a break to pour yourself a cup of coffee, put your feet up and read the paper. Perhaps you start your workday at 7am. You tell yourself that at 11am, if you have that article written, you will take time for some fun - a 3 mile run at the park. Money?

Well, if you haven't made a sale, you could get a money jar and reward yourself one quarter towards a coveted clothing item for each time you finished filing, or typing a report, or whatever. Recognition? Join a trade association, club, or some other group with common interests - a group of fellow florists, other accountants, buddy entrepreneurs. Go to the meeting and brag, nicely of course, about any success you've had. The camaraderie and the 'good jobs' will do wonders for your self esteem.

If you're working for someone else, call the office. Tell them the good news. Ask to be part of every conference call. Make sure your successes are part of the office newsletter, ezine and bulletin board. IM your buddies the good news. If you don't pat yourself on the back no one else will either.

Be good to yourself - and you'll be good to your job as well.