Working from home can be a great experience, if you do things the right way. However, if you try to work from the living room, with pets and excitable children underfoot, it can be an absolute nightmare. Setting up a cosy, comfortable, and distraction-free home office will go a long way towards turning your remote working experience into the productive, stress free work day that you’ve always dreamed of.

Give Yourself a Dedicated Workspace

Ideally, you should set aside a small room to use as your home office. If you can’t spare an entire room, devote a corner of your kitchen or living room to work. Make sure everyone knows that your office space cannot be used for any other purpose. When you’re in “the office”, don’t accept any distractions. This will help you to stay productive during the work day.

Have an Office Computer

Your employer may have provided you with a laptop or a desktop PC which you can use for remote working. Make sure that you only use this machine for work. Stay away from Facebook, Twitter, video games, and streaming TV while you’re at work – unless, of course, your work involves social media. In that case, use your work accounts on that PC. Save your social life for later, when you’re finished with work.

Watch Your Bills

One thing that many people overlook when they start working from home is the possibility of an increase in bills. If you are on a limited internet package, and massively increase your internet usage when you start working from home, then you may get some angry letters from your ISP. Consider asking your employer to sort out an ISP account that you will be able to use for work.

Your telephone bill might increase as well, if you need to make a lot of ‘phone calls. One solution to this would be IP telephony. If you have a broadband connection (even a slow one will do), then IP telephony could save you a lot of money on calls.  Computer-to-computer calling is far cheaper than standard phone calls (and in some cases is free). Some IP telephony services allow you to have a standard phone number for inbound calls, but it won’t look like a local telephone number. You might find you still need a dedicated phone line to take incoming calls.

Invest in a Good Chair

This may seem like it goes without saying, but if you’re going to be spending a lot of time in your home office, you should make sure that you’re comfortable. Get a good computer desk and a comfortable chair. You may also want to invest in a portable phone (for a fixed line) or a good headset to use with your IP telephony software.

Don’t try to skimp on your office – you’ll be spending eight hours a day in there, so trying to work using a rickety table and a dining room chair will get frustrating fast. Spending a little cash on improving your comfort will pay off many times over.

Article written by Amy Fowler on behalf of Maintel; remote working solutions experts. Photo by Jeremy Levine.

If you have poor ergonomics in your workspace, it could be diminishing your work capacity. If things were designed just a little better, you might be able to get more done. Also, poor ergonomics can lead to health problems such as arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, back and neck problems, chronic pain, and more ailments. If you have a home office, it’s important to pay attention to the ergonomics of its design. Here are some ways that you can improve the ergonomics of your home.

Feet

When sitting at your desk, which you probably do a great deal in your home office, your feet should be touching the floor, with your legs bent at a 90 degree angle. If you can’t touch the floor with your feet from your properly-adjusted desk chair, use a footrest.

Chair

You can purchase an ergonomically designed chair, and you should make sure that your desk chair follows certain characteristics. It should be adjustable so you can get your legs at the proper angle. The back should be large enough to support the natural curvature of your back and your lower back, and so that you are sitting with proper posture. The seatback should be at a 90 degree angle. It is recommended that the chair have armrests that are adjustable, also, so your arms can rest comfortably, close to your body and without additional strain on your shoulders. It should have wheels for easy movement. Overall, you should be comfortable sitting in it for long periods of time.

Arms

Your arms should also be held at a 90 degree angle, also. You should get a chair with adjustable armrests, so your arms can be supported close to your body and with no additional strain on your shoulders. However, you shouldn’t use your armrests while typing or using the mouse.

Wrists

When you are typing at your keyboard, your wrists should be straight. Adjust the height of your chair, and use a wrist rest pad in front of the keyboard to help elevate your wrists to a level position. If your arms are at the proper angle, it will be easier to find the correct alignment of your wrists.

Computer Monitor

Your face should be at least 20 inches away from your computer screen, and it should be about 15 degrees below your eye level. If you have a desk with adjustable shelves, it will be easier to achieve this.

Lighting

Your office should be properly lit to reduce eye strain while you’re working. Use a combination of natural and artificial light, and invest in a quality desk lamp. Also, reduce the glare from your computer monitor – you can put a glare filter on it if necessary.

Terry Ford loves her home office and is always looking for solutions to work better and have improved results. In addition to ergonomics she selects great web tools like Grammarly grammar checker.

There is no doubt that the efforts we put in our business or work comes with plenty of benefits for the family. But we should not forget that when we decided to have a family, we have the duty of care – give it the same time and attention we give our jobs.

As much as you crave success in your professional life, so should you in the family life. And the consequences of not doing so may be devastating, with relationships and home life adversely affected. But is it possible to achieve that balance? Many believe so and those who have claimed they were able to strike that situation are healthier, happier and more fulfilled.

Here are some tips on how to stop that guilt creeping and put an end to the battle between your work and family life.

Edit your life

Stop and think what is eating up your time in a day, in a week and in a month. Is it the regular meetings of being part of that team building committee at work? A book club? Volunteering is a good thing but if you are at the time of your life when you barely see your kids or  have a good chat with them about school, then you better shuffle your priorities real soon. Perhaps you can skip that golf game with workmates every weekend. Often, gaining that extra hours in your day makes a huge difference.

Use that time saved to have a picnic or watch a movie with family instead. Do not be afraid to edit your lifestyle. As the more you have on your plate, the more you get tired and stressed and the less time you have for family fun.

Schedule

Once you narrowed down the essential activities, schedule them properly and be sure to stick with them. Use one diary and avoid having a separate diary for work and personal. This way, you can see clearly what time and days are for family affairs.

Schedule your professional work and other extra curricular activities around that family time, and not the other way around. Be diligent and consistent. It may be torturous and inconvenient at first, but soon you’ll get used to the change and the way you move appointments around.

Be Incommunicado

One of the disadvantages of modern gadgets is they give you a false sense of needing to be accessible to workmates 24/7. Recall how our working parents and grandparents seem to have the time to dilly dally at home on weekends and evenings? Because they didn’t have mobile phones then that rings at the worst time nor emails that beg to be replied to. Do not let technology rule or ruin your life. Implement a no cellphone rule at family dinners and let business mates know.

This gesture will let your family and kids know that your utmost attention is with them at that time or day. Plus, it will help you relax and be less anxious about business matters even for a while.

Ask a mentor

Words of wisdom from people who you deem highly from work or personal relations are great to guide you in the process of finding the right balance in your life. Seek help and let them know your worries and ask them how they were able to manage family and work fairly. Recognize that it takes time to find the equilibrium you are looking for. Be patient and consistent with your goals and one day you’ll get there.

So strike the balance now. Remember that building a career or a business is as important as building your family relationships. And wouldn’t it be better if you can achieve two successes at the same time?

Jessy is a stay-at-home mom running a home-based business blogging for Dobovo.com, the travel resource to find kiev apartments and plan trip to Europe.

People who are focusing on shopping cart SEO or e-commerce SEO usually fall victim to these myths, because the so-called “gurus” know that those sites need to be high in the rankings to make any real money – and might be willing to listen to just about anything.

If you really want to see SEO success, you’ll need to see right through the following 4 myths:

1. “With hard work, you will rank #1 for all of your target keywords.”

This is a popular myth that less-than-honest SEO firms keep spreading. The truth is, the SEO world is a complex one. For the most part, search engines keep their algorithms a secret. And, there are so many factors that are used to rank sites that it’s impossible to even guess what they all are.

Bottom line – anyone who guarantees that your site can be #1 in the rankings is lying to you. In SEO, there are no guarantees.

2. “If you work really hard on your SEO for a few weeks, you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

This is something that many of the “gurus” like to say – so that you’ll think that SEO is a piece of cake and buy their product. However, good SEO is never “finished”. Even if you have the #1 ranking for all of your target keywords, you still have to fight to keep them. After all, there are millions of websites that are trying to overtake you!

Bottom line – a good SEO strategy is something that you will need to work on forever.

3. “Trading links boosts your ranking.”

In SEO, the goal is to have more inbound links that outbound links. When you trade links, you’re breaking even. And, if you start trading links with a bunch of random sites, the search engines might think you’re trying to cheat the system – and that’s never a good thing.

Bottom line – there are no shortcuts to quality link building. To get the quality links you need, you’re going to have to put in hard work.

4. “Services that register your website with hundreds of search engines are helpful.”

This myth keeps being spread by people who charge money to “register your site with the search engines”. But there is no need to register with the search engines; there spiders will find you.

Bottom line – anyone who tells you that you need to register with the search engines to get ranked is lying to you.

Kirsty LaVier is editor for Shopping Cart Reviews, the leading site dedicated to helping you find the Best Shopping Cart .

Starting your own business is expensive enough as it is, working from home helps reduce those costs as you don’t have to worry about paying for extra office space. You’ve also got the savings in time and cost you’re going to see from commuting, the average commute in the UK is just under an hour each day, that’s more than half a day you’ve added to your working week just by working from home.

If you are going to set your own business up working from home the most obvious question you’ve got to ask yourself is what are you going to sell? You need an idea and a good idea is like gold dust. There are three ways to go about finding your new business, the first one is to try and spot a gap in the market that’s big enough to support a business. The second way to find your business is to spot something someone else is already doing that you know you could do better, either by offering a more competitive or a more comprehensive service. The most popular way most people find their new business idea is by turning an existing skill or passion into a business, if there’s something you already love doing turn it into a business so you can do it everyday.

Once you’ve got your idea you need to turn it into a business which isn’t easy. Start by drafting up a business plan. This doesn’t have to be the scary one you need to send to the bank in an attempt to score an investment but rather a document that’s going to first and foremost help you. This document needs to state exactly what your idea is, you’re target audience, the resources you’re going to need to make this work and of course the finances; what do you need and where are you going to find them? Although you can modify this as your business progresses it’s always good to have as a reference to keep everything on track.

You need to keep your business all above board, tell the tax man as soon as you start trading. The second money starts entering or leaving your business you need to make sure the right people know. When it comes to making sure you do actually have money coming through your business a basic rule is to divide everything by three. The first third of your time needs to go on generating new business, finding your target audience and introducing them to your products or service and building those relationships. The second third needs to go on making sure your existing customers are happy and encouraging repeat business, once you’ve got those initial relationships you need to keep working at them. The remaining third needs to be spent on your admin, you need to make sure your books are in order and your actual business stays running smoothly.

One of the biggest challenges you’re going to find working from home is separating your work life from your home life. This is going to be even trickier if you have a family at home too. Unfortunately there is no magic way round this you have to train your way of thinking. Ideally you need to have your own office at home rather than just working from the kitchen table, if this isn’t possible you need to have a specific designated area for work. Buy a new desk (so you’re not actually working off the kitchen table) and make sure everyone knows this new desk is off limits. If you are able to have your own office at home get a lock installed more for symbolism than anything else so it’s clear this is not part of home life but rather that it’s your job. Also make sure you know when to call it a day, you might feel you need to work late but if you’ve got children running around and music blaring from various rooms you need to know when to call it a day. You can’t expect your family to be quiet all night after all it’s there home as well as your place of work.

Written by Guest Poster Kate who works from home as an SEO and is currently working on a site that sells bikinis and sandals