Badassery Magazine Issue 6 | Page 35

DON’T LET WORKING FROM HOME LOSE ITS SHINE by Kelli Stirrett Y ou’ve finally reached your goal of being a badass boss! You own your own business and no one tells you what to do! One of the best parts is that you get to work from home. No more office politics or pants for you. When you sit in front of a window, nature can inspire you.. If you really want to improve your view then add a window mount bird feeder and a flower box. Enjoy that office with the window and don’t relegate yourself to a homemade cubicle. At first, you start and end every day with a dance party in your PJ’s. Then reality starts to set in. You miss dressing up in your cute clothes, and you’d give up your favorite planner for a coffee break to gossip with other co-workers about who did what last weekend. Now that you’ve improved the view when you look outside your office, let’s improve your immediate view too. Find a few prints and pictures to hang on the wall surrounding your window. If you have room on your desk for a few little things that make you happy add them. I have a jar of seashells, a small globe, and a couple of sugar skulls. Don’t start searching for a part time office job just yet. I’ve got a few tips to help you fall back in love with working from home. Create A Relaxed Workspace I think when we start working from home we take the creation of our workspace for granted. When I first started working from home four years ago, I had a folding dinner tray and a dining room chair as my workspace. It didn’t take me long to figure out that set-up wasn’t going to work long term. When I bought a real desk I tried it in a few places around the room before deciding it needed to go right in front of the window. It’s not the most convenient spot for a big piece of furniture, but you don’t want to spend hour after hour facing a wall! Finally, invest in a big comfortable executive style chair. Don’t settle for those puny little home office chairs. You are going to be spending LOTS of time in this chair, so anything less than a big executive style chair will have your back and ass begging for mercy. Set Boundaries It’s easy to cross boundaries when you’re working from home. Your family sees you as “always at home” and you see yourself as “always at work”. It’s important to set boundaries for others as well as yourself. Let your family know that just because you’re home doesn’t mean you have time to make break34