Working from Home

Okay, it is Sunday morning and I have been up for hours checking emails, updating twitter, and seriously debating if I really need the rest of those time sucking social networking sites before I get into research for a PR campaign.

Ideally I would be doing all of this from my fantastically tidy home office, which I imagine would look a lot like this . . . a magical place where my productivity slips into warp speed and my muse is always at the helm.

Realistically my home office looks more like Einsteins desk from Princeton. Not that I am saying my piles of papers are signs of genius mind you, but that Einstein and I share the same cleaning habits of our work space. . . none.

Working diligently on applying my '9 inches to success' theory to my workspace, I have been recycling, donating and throwing things away for the last week. All of this being done with the hope of reclaiming my home office, keeping my living room work free and decreasing my overall stress level.

Yesterday I came across a fantastic post on Wired, aptly titled, Actually Work From Home When You Work From Home. This post is for those of us who stay up until 2am working on a project and then get caught the next morning taking calls and answering emails in our PJ's, while we wait on a load of laundry to dry and the dishwasher to finish.

Building the firewall between work and home and creating a functioning home office is difficult to do. I know first hand and am trying to find that balance with the help of Michele Connoly's Getting Organized Blog.

To those of you who have mastered the art of work and home success - I admire your discipline to manage your time effectively and commitment to your long term goal of self employment. If you are considering starting your own home based business I recommend reading this article by Randy Duermyer.

List's and My '9 Inches to Success' Theory

I am a list person. I create list's for just about everything you can possibly think of. 

1. grocery list
   
2. Christmas/birthday cards list
3.  deadlines list
4. 'to do' list for home de junking
   
5. thank you notes/nice to meet you notes list
6. vacation/travel wish list
7. 'to do' today list
8. personal goals list
9. and the infamous 'why haven't you done this yet?!' list

This is just a short sample of my 'list'fulness. Often, when I begin to write, I let what needs to get done get away from me and add to my stress. No matter how many list's I create - inevitably there are rogue 'to dos' that end up congregating on #9 of the list above. 

Where is the that list you ask? . . . well, it's buried at the bottom of a stack of papers in my home office that looks more like a group home for wayward paper and junk than a viable office. 

Personally, I don't care if I ever see that list again. It intimidates me, and gives me ice cream before bed kind of nightmares. 

I have been trying to figure out a way to solve my perpetually growing list torture -  only adding to my lists and my frustration. Finally, I believe I have found my answer. 

While going through my office supplies yesterday, I found some interesting tape that has markings like a ruler. This tape has been

floating around for a few years - unopened until today. No doubt purchased for a project idea that was on one of my 'list's of no return'.  

This morning I took 9 inches of that tape and applied it to my laptop as a reminder to accomplish 9 things everyday. By focusing on 9 things that truly need my attention TODAY,  I am hopeful to accomplish more on a daily basis (one of my personal goals). 

This new theory of productivity I dubbed '9 inches to success'. 

This tag is a straight forward description of the visual reminder right?! Well, a friend of mine said that it sounds more like a 'how to' for an adult film star . . . not a PR/Marketing geek's list tamer theory . . . perv. I chose not to listen to him, seeing as the last list he made was for Thanksgiving dinner 2 years ago, which he admits he left at home. 

Now, for practical application.

1. Blog about it.     Check  /  1"