The Expert Guide to Working From Home

Working from home seems like heaven. The commute is minimal, there are no arguments about whose turn it is to make the tea round and you can even work in your pyjamas.

However, there can be problems working from home. It can be hard to manage client expectations. There are all those little distracting home chores, which you just need to go and sort before you get on with your client work.

There are also lots of issues that possibly haven’t crossed your mind. Can you send large files from home? Is your free graphic design software up to the task? Will you still know how to network after being stuck at home all day?

So, here are some tips to see if working from home could suit you.

1. Make your own space

The most important element for any creative work is to find a dedicated work space. If sharing with a partner or house mates, especially if kids are at home too, putting a laptop on the kitchen table and thinking that is an office, is not going to work for you or the people you live with as it is their home as well.

So try and find a space in the house, which is not a bedroom, that can be dedicated to work.

2. Give your clients access

Unlimited internet, Dropbox Pro and your smartphone can give you the ability to be available to your clients, through Zoom and screen sharing.

Keep your work files on Dropbox grouped by client, then share them with your clients, so that they can have immediate access to your work files, if they need. This system helps dispel any worry a client may have in not having direct involvement in the work that they are paying for.

Dropbox also keeps your computer in sync, which means if you’re travelling to meetings or you’re away from the house, you have access to all of your work files in the cloud, on any device.

3. Be disciplined

It may sound counter-intuitive but it’s useful to get ready for work, if you’re working from home. Get dressed in clothes that you would be happy to wear if you were working at a client’s studio and make sure you’re available to clients from 9am to 5pm, when you’re working from home.

If you do not have any billable work due on that specific work day, try not to make that a reason to switch on daytime TV. Instead, make yourself the client.

Update your website, check in with existing clients or potential new ones or spend some time doing training. If you spend that day on personal work, make sure it is in a format that can be used for self-publicity.

4. Work when it’s best for you

The payoff for this personal discipline and financial investment is that you can schedule your day for when you’re naturally at your most creative, as well as scheduling things at a time and location that suits you. The caveat is to make sure you’re not suddenly working a schedule that impacts on downtime.

Try to maintain the number of hours you would want to work, if you were working in a studio. The key reason for this is to avoid burnout but it also ensures you’re not losing money, if you’re working to an agreed day rate with your client.

5. Don’t become a hermit

Once you’ve managed to get yourself into a routine, where you are successfully working from home, it can be too easy to forget that there are actual benefits to working in a studio.

As much as we all hate the commute, at least the walk to the car or train is exercise. So try and get out of the house at least once a day, even if it is just to buy some lunch.

Conclusion

Working from home successfully is dependent on treating it as seriously as working in an office.

Designers and artists especially, can gain the most from working from home, as it allows the creation of a personal work environment and schedule suited to you and you alone.

Having the ability to work from home enables you to see much more of your family and also work with a wider range of clients than potentially are available, if you were just working as a studio freelance artist.

SOURCE: Creative Bloq