Get Organized – 20 Tips for Working from Home

If you’re lucky enough to be able to work from home either occasionally or full time, you’re probably fully aware of the benefits. And if you want to keep those benefits, you’ll need to stay organized by keeping on top of a few best practices.

This list of tips and best practices is divided into two parts. The first part is for people who work from home full time. Most of the suggestions apply to both the self employed and those employed by some other organization, although a few tips are slightly more relevant to the latter.

The second part of the article contains tips specifically for people who work in an office setting most of the time but occasionally work from home. Reasons for working from home only part-time might range from needing a different environment to providing child care. Whatever the reason, occasional at-home employees have very different circumstances, needs, and objectives than full-time homebodies.

Here are 20 tips and best practices for working from home.

Best Practices for Full-Time Home Office Workers

1. Maintain regular hours. Set your schedule, and stick to it. The best way for most people to maintain a healthy work-life balance is to have clear cut guidelines for when it’s time to work and when it’s time to enjoy life.

2. Get dressed before work starts. Some people may see pajama pants as one of the perks of working from a home office, but plenty of successful at-home employees will tell you that getting dressed every morning changes their mindset for the better. Getting dressed also helps delineate working hours from home life time.

3. Set ground rules with family, pets, and other home life. Set clear boundaries and ground rules with anyone else who may be in your general space during office hours. That includes the pets.

4. Take scheduled breaks. Know your company’s policy on break times, and take them. If you’re self employed, give yourself adequate time during the day to walk away from the computer screen and phone. An hour for lunch and two 15-minute breaks seems to be the standard for 40-hour per week U.S. employees.

5. Take breaks in their entirety. Don’t short-change yourself during breaks, especially your lunch hour. You can use an app, such as TimeOut for Mac and Smart Break for Windows, to lock yourself out of your computer for 60 minutes. Or you can just launch a simple clock or timer on the screen when you take a break. If you return to your desk after only 40 minutes, walk away for another 20.

6. Leave during lunch. You don’t have to eat out every day, but do try to leave the house every day during your lunch hour. This is good advice for those working in office environments, too: leave the building at least once a day. Your body needs a little exercise, and the fresh air will do you good. Talk a walk. Go to the post office. Weed the garden. You get the picture.

7. Ask for what you need right away. If you’re employed by a company or organization that supports your work-from-home setup, request the equipment you need as soon as you start working from home, or within a day or two of when you realize you need something new. It’s extremely important to set precedents early that you will ask for what you need to get your job done comfortably, including the right monitor, keyboard, mouse, and chair supports.

8. Keep a dedicated office computer. If possible, buy a separate computer for personal use, especially if you would have your own computer if you worked in an office full time. Keeping separate computers for separate uses also helps establish that line between home and work life.

9. Keep a separate phone number. Keeping two computers might be a choice, but having a separate phone number for work is not. You need a dedicated office phone number.

10. Stay in frequent contact with colleagues. This bit of advice applies more to employees than the self-employed. Use instant messaging programs, email, phone, video-chat, social networks, or whatever makes the most sense for your organization, to communicate with your colleagues every day. This best practice becomes tricky if you work in a radically different time zone from your peers, but it’s not impossible. Asynchronous messages count for something, although real-time communication is best. Do your best to make small talk, too. Nurturing relationships can be as important as the work-focused talk.

11. “Show up” to meetings and be heard. Of course you’ll dial into mandatory meetings, but it’s a good idea to attend optional meetings sometimes, too. Be sure to speak during the meeting so everyone knows that you’re on the call. A simple, “Thanks, everyone. Bye!” at the close of a meeting will go a long way toward making your presence known.

12. Get face time. If your boss or employer is lax about calling you in to the office, ask to have an annual or semi-annual trip to headquarters worked into your contract. If you can time it with a yearly fiscal meeting or nearby conference or tradeshow, you’ll make a stronger case. Whatever you do, don’t wait too long for someone else to ask you to show up at the office. Be proactive.

13. Take the day off when you’re sick. When you’re ill, take a proper sick day.

14. Work from a different location occasionally. Café, libraries, and co-working spaces can help break up the tedium of being at home too long.

15. Seek out training and learning opportunities. Some of the office perks you’re missing by working from home probably include free coffee and the occasional lunch outing. Of course these little perks don’t really compare to not having to commute, being able to do light housework on your lunch hour, and so forth. It’s very easy to get over not having free coffee. But it’s much more difficult to justify missing out on more important office perks such as on-site training or the skills development that comes with being in close quarters with other employees–nor should you. If your employer doesn’t provide adequate e-learning for telecommuters, ask to attend (and get reimbursed for) the odd skills-development class or webinar.

Best Practices for Occasional Work-from-Home Employees

1. Define what you will accomplish at home. Write down or think through what you intend to accomplish at home ahead of time, like while you’re still in the office. The list could be different each time you work from home, or it might be the same. Whatever the task, make sure you’re clear about what it is before you get to work so that you can be diligent about doing it.

2. Silence the distractions. Turn off email, don’t take calls, or avoid whatever it is that prevents you from getting work done when you’re at the office.

3. Work diligently or record how you spend your time. If you’re not self-disciplined enough to get your work done at home, try tracking how you spend your time. A great desktop app called RescueTime lets you track how you spend your time on the computer, as well as remind you when you’ve dallied too long in apps or websites you deem distracting.

4. Communicate when you’ll be out and back. I once worked for a boss for six months before I learned that he worked from home every Friday. I just thought he was always in meetings! Tell your colleagues, more than once, when you’ll be home, when you’ll be back, as well as whether and how they should get in touch with you while you’re home.

5. Remind your boss that working from home works. When you finish the tasks you set out to complete from home, let your boss know—especially if you did the job faster or better at home than you would have in the office. Better yet, head into the office if it’s near enough to where you live. If your boss thinks your tasks will take you all day, and you can get them done in five hours while working at home, she or he will be more amendable to your requests to work from home in the future. Building that trust and confidence benefits both of you.

Jill Duffy

PC Magazine

Design a Home Office You’ll Actually Work In

I work from home. In some respects it’s great—wearing pajamas on conference calls, taking impromptu hour-long walks with the puppy, and not getting shifty-eyed stares from judgy co-workers when I spend 99% of my day snacking.

But not working in an office also has its challenges. Mentally leaving home mode and entering work mode can be a difficult—even downright futile—effort when you never actually leave the house and your bed is right there.

I’ve found that the secret, though, is creating a space that actually inspires you to get to work instead of back under the covers. How? By following three key interior design principles, you can create a space that means business, even within the cozy confines of your home.

Emphasize What the Space is For

First, make sure you have a designated “work space.” It can be a whole room, a corner of a room, or just a table. Got it? Good.

Now, consider that designers make very conscious decisions about what to emphasize in a space, because the objects that are used as focal points help immediately qualify its purpose. When it comes to your home office, it’s important to emphasize those objects that tell your brain “this is a space for work.” Visually, these items should command a majority of the attention.

Try it out:

• If you’re working from home, chances are your computer is your primary tool. So, it should always remain front and center on your desk, serving as a visual reminder that when you’re sitting at your desk, you’re doing so for work.
• Don’t let job-related things—like your phone or day planner—get buried under clutter. They should always be in plain sight, acting as reminders that you’re supposed to be getting stuff done.
• What’s better emphasis for important tasks than a bright yellow sticky note? Nothing. (Well, unless you have so many of them posted around that they distract instead of help.) Try having two colors of sticky notes available—a muted color for jotting down notes, and a bright color that you use (sparingly) for important reminders.

Set a Tone that Gets You Working 

Designers use proportion and scale to set a room’s tone. (In plain English, this means that the size and relationship of objects in a room affect how you feel when you’re in it.) Think about how a massive, relatively empty cathedral feels grand, or a small room full of couches feels cozy and warm.

Proportion and scale don’t solely refer to square footage, though—the way you organize and display objects are also important indicators of what a space should feel like. When you’re in your workspace, you want to feel productive and motivated, so think about how to set that tone. You’ll probably want to arrange objects in a way that feels inviting, yet still formal.

Try it out:

• Keep the clutter to a minimum. A room full of unrelated objects will make the space feel distracting, and an unorganized space will just feel cramped and busy.
• You should also make sure that there is plenty of “negative space” (empty spaces surrounding important objects) around you. Again, this is to keep the space from feeling cramped and claustrophobic—neither of which are very conducive to productivity.
• If you’re working in a small space, keep your desk small and streamlined, too, so it’s not overly invasive in the room. You want to feel driven, not trapped.

Create a Space You Want to Work In

The design idea of harmony—or everything working together to create the right vibe—is a little harder to define, because it’s really about creating a space that feels good to you. It’s about getting all the right components in all the right places (with a touch of personal flair) to create a room that will help you feel calm, confident, and (dare I say) happy while you’re working.

Try it out:

• Balance out the colors you’re using. If you love bright colors, use them! But offset them with some muted tones so that they’re not overly distracting.
• Go to Target or the Container Store and buy a cute matching set of desk organizers. Not only will they help you keep everything in its place and easy to locate, they’ll make the space feel cohesive and peaceful.
• Bring in some personal touches. Go beyond the simple desk lamp by hanging some string lights or mini lanterns, or fold a funky blanket over the back of your chair. Just make sure your flair isn’t too distracting—a life-size cardboard cutout ofJohnny Depp in Pirates 2 might be (a tad) too much.

By designating a certain area in your home as “work only,” and utilizing some basic design principles to make it productive and inspiring, you can make sure you actually work when you’re working from home.

Laura Drucker

Forbes Magazine

Ideas / Industry Tips from Brian Stevens – CEO / ConferenceDirect

ROOM BLOCK AUDITS KEEP MONEY IN YOUR POCKET

One of the best practices your organization or company can implement is the room block audit. Because audits prove their worth again and again, Lynn Golabowski, vice president/team director, and Bryan Croyle, CMP, director of global accounts, make sure to follow these best practices with their ConferenceDirect clients.

Put it in writing. Hotels are getting more aggressive in not allowing audits, so make sure that they are stipulated in the contract. “You don’t want to lose money either from attrition charges or loss of other contractual concessions like earned complimentary rooms and rebates,” Golabowski stressed. “Every room night counts, so everything must be in writing.”

Wipe away the fear of an audit. “Meeting planners and hotels cringe, visualizing countless hours spent in front of lists, cross-referencing,” said Croyle. “That doesn’t have to happen when you come to the table with the right tools.” Meanwhile, documenting the right history should result in the group booking more room nights in the future. “The booking process becomes a lot more efficient for all,” Golabowski noted.

Maintain control of group inventory as long as possible. Because of their numbers, large citywide meetings generally need to establish a cut-off date (30 days out) and a shut-off date (three to four days prior to scheduled arrival). While giving a hotel the initial rooming list on the contracted cut-off date, ConferenceDirect’s standard contract allows clients to continue to sell rooms to attendees at the group rate, so long as the hotel continues to have availability. By enabling this, groups can capture rooms from people who would otherwise book around the block.

Ensure efficiency and security for both parties. Just as hotels don’t want to provide you with their in-house lists, organizations and companies don’t want to share their full attendee list and all its valuable information with hotels. Automated audit systems, which can perform audits in a secure fashion, can bridge this divide. “Most convention hotels have such systems, and they are pretty accurate,” said Croyle. “We utilize them to make sure room matches are credited to the group’s overall pick-up.” This is especially critical for groups that receive rebates or concessions based on their room block numbers.

If no automated system is available, the most efficient and secure approach for Croyle is to format his group’s registration list into a Microsoft Excel program. It can be easily and quickly searched by name and by arrival date. The harder part is getting the hotel to produce its rooming lists for the nights in question. “You need to be forceful about what the contract allows you to do,” he said. If the registration list is 100 people, it’s easier to search Croyle’s file. “But if we’re talking thousands of names, it’s far better to work from the hotel’s list of people not coded to our group.” There is no direct exchange of information, as one reads a last name and the other shares a first name to see if there is a “match.”

Document the findings. During the audit, Croyle immediately annotates his digital list with the identified attendee’s hotel, arrival and departure dates, the number of room nights and the room rate, where possible. “Some hotels are not as free to give out that information,” he acknowledged, “but it makes even clearer what is commissionable and eligible for rebate, if applicable.” He makes sure his list includes the person’s city and state should there be a challenge to the name.

Find the international contingent. Meetings that draw global attendance pose a completely different challenge. Many companies outside of the United States still use travel agencies, especially for packages that combine air, hotel and other land services. “That makes the audit even more important,” Golabowski maintained. “We try our best to facilitate a system that is easy to book in advance, even when visitors don’t follow our procedures. It’s inevitable that everyone from Malaysia, for example, will be required to work through a travel agency and so may be paying a higher hotel rate than the meeting has contracted.”

ConferenceDirect… It’s ALL Good – Melissa Ronacher

After being with Marriott for over 16 years, the decision to taken a leap of faith and join ConferenceDirect was one that required thought and evaluation. It was important that I join a company that aligned with two of my personal values of integrity and reputation. After researching ConferenceDirect it was very evident that these values were a big part of CD’s foundation.
The other important qualities were would my perspective clients be attracted to what I could now offer them and meet all of their meeting needs? It was clear ConferenceDirect was a full service meeting planning company and I would be able to help my clients achieve all of their goals successfully.
Lastly, being a former educator, I have always placed a very high value on education and training. Establishing that ConferenceDirect placed a strong emphasis on training confirmed I would be well prepared for success. ConferenceDirect has an incredibly passionate trainer who is dedicated to training new and existing associates for success. CD immerses new associates in training first and foremost. The opportunity for continuous training is always present whether through new hire conference calls, the ability to re-visit ConferenceDirect University or the intensive training we receive at our Annual Partner Meeting.
My objectives and requirements were met and the decision to join was made with confidence. A few years in with CD…I honestly feel the sky is the limit!

Why Be Independent When You Can Work With ConferenceDirect? – Lynn Golabowski

1. You have an established brand behind you. ConferenceDirect has 290+ associates, a full service meeting planning division, housing & registration division and a corporate office for support. No matter what your client needs, we can help. You have instant credibility when you work with ConferenceDirect. We continually market the brand to the industry. Hotel companies know and respect the ConferenceDirect brand.  It takes years to establish this kind of reputation in the marketplace.

2. A process is in place for conducting site searches. The hotels are familiar with our leads and response forms and know how to work with us. Our established relationships with hotel companies are yours once you join us. You will not need to spend time finding your own contacts. Once you affiliate with the ConferenceDirect brand, the hotels understand your brand. They pay close attention to all your business.  ConferenceDirect Associates utilize our electronic rfp program to distribute leads.  This system is connected to the hotels and creates an complete report of the search.

3. You have an office staff for back up. When you are away on vacation, a business trip or are really busy, CD Sitepro will help you take care of your clients. Your clients do not have to wait for you to return to the office. You can book business even when you are out of the office!  Most importantly…there is a program in place to help serve your customers when you may not be in a position to do so yourself due to business (on site inspection as example) or personal (vacation) reasons.

4. There is a huge networking opportunity. You have over 290 associates to get assistance from. Maybe it is a question about site selection or how to negotiate a contract clause…a large network is at your fingertips. The networking is invaluable. In addition, annual conferences and customer events are other opportunities to network and improve your skills. Being part of a larger group has its benefits.  Additionally, all bookings in the history of ConferenceDirect are listed on the company intranet, by hotel with rate and roomnights information, to help ConferenceDirect Associates help their customers.

5. There is a full time staff dedicated to collecting your receivables. Your receivables are followed up on in a timely manner and you receive updates as to their status. You do not have to make contact with the hotel to get paid. It is all done for you.

6. Business supplies such as business cards, letterhead, brochures and a website are already created…turn key start up. No need to create your own. You also have access to letter templates, customer presentations and many other documents which all exist on ConferenceDirect Interactive, the company’s intranet. ConferenceDirect has created all of the forms you need to conduct business.

7. You have a Regional at your disposal. These people are available for training and will even go on sales calls with you. They can provide guidance on setting up your office and establishing your “business”.

8. Advance Hotel Commissions – ConferenceDirect has a program with most of the major brands and many of the independents where you can receive half of your anticipated commission at the time of the booking, the balance when it goes through the hotel.  When you have a booking less than 24 months out…you can be paid sooner versus later with ConferenceDirect.

9. Corporate Contracts / Pre negotiated terms – ConferenceDirect has pre-negotiated contracts at many of the major brands.  The terms we have negotiated are available to ConferenceDirect Associates when booking the participating brands immediately versus the “back and forth” that so often occurs between customer and hotel on issues such as attrition, cancellation, etc….additionally our terms on the standard agreements are terms most customers would not get on their own.

10. You share commissions for a very good reason. The sales process, marketing materials and an established brand is in place for you. No need to do it yourself. Once you get started, you will realize that affiliating with ConferenceDirect saves a lot of time and energy getting established in a business and is well worth the commission sharing. It gives you the opportunity to focus on sales and increase your revenue stream. You can focus on servicing your clients.

Lynn Golabowski – Vice President / Team Director, ConferenceDirect

Interesting read regarding benefit of working as Independent Contractor vs Employee

Interesting read regarding benefit of working as Independent Contractor versus Employment: http://ow.ly/5CS2T

We’ll Teach and You’ll Learn – Jim VanDevender, Vice President of Training, ConferenceDirect

“ What’s the best way to present ConferenceDirect to my customers?” and “Will I be able to answer all of their questions?” are among the various initial questions we hear from new professionals joining ConferenceDirect.

ConferenceDirect is committed to teaching and training. Our New Hire 101 program, usually held monthly, is a tree-day intensive session at which new associates learn everything they need to know about getting started . Customer targeting, overcoming objections, proven presentation techniques-we give new associates all the tools they need to achieve their first confirmed booking in the shortest time possible. In addition, new Associates emerge with a 30-60-90 –day game plan, prepared in coordination with our experienced leadership.

An Associate who recently completed training wrote: “ thanks to you for a terrific training session. I feel like I have a solid foundation to go forward and make this a very positive experience for me and the company .” Another wrote:” …. The class was absolutely wonderful and I can’t tell you how informative it was for me. I was very nervous taking this leap but now feel confident…”

Our proprietary, organized training is a stepping-stone to success at ConferenceDirect and we’re happy to offer one of the most dynamic training and new-joiner support programs in the industry.

Jim VanDevender

Should I Consider Becoming an Independent Contractor with ConferenceDirect? – Doug Baarman

Four years ago, I decided to pursue my dream of being in business for myself while remaining in the hospitality industry (which I know and enjoy). This was not an easy decision for me as I had worked for major corporations for over twenty years and enjoyed the ‘comfort level’ and ‘security’ it offers. However, the burning desire to be my own boss and create a better lifestyle and income drove me to pursue my dream.

I did my homework on who I could potentially partner with and ConferenceDirect rose to the top of the list for the following reasons:

• Being a part of an established brand
• The training and support that is provided to enable me to launch and grow my business
• The programs that are already in place (accounts receivable, advance commissions, corporate contracts, etc.)
• Ability to network and learn from others already working in this model (325 associates around the world)
• Being able to attract others to join me- my primary goal was to use my leadership experience and skills to build and lead a team

As luck would have it, I started my business during the Great Recession. Even facing this challenge, I have been able to build a successful business that continues to surpass my expectations. As we emerge from this economic downturn, it has turned out to be the best time ever to be an independent meeting professional. The statistics (according to The Economic Significance Study by the Convention Industry Council) validate the importance of meetings to our economy, and with all the changes going on in our industry; the need for organizations to outsource continues to grow. The following points are important to keep in mind:

• The Meetings Industry by the numbers- 1.8 million meetings/$263 billion in direct spending/1.7 million jobs
• The need to stay on top of all that is changing:
  • Face-to-Face meetings/Virtual Meetings/Hybrid Meetings
  • Mobile applications
  • Green Meetings
  • Strategic Meeting Management
  • Social Networking
• Organizations are being forced to do business differently by reducing staffs and budgets
• A recent Survey by Zentila shows- 72% of meeting planners are not a full time planner (meaning they have additional responsibilities that takes them away from meeting planning)

So you are probably asking, if being an independent meeting professional is so great, why do people decide not to become an independent contractor? I believe it boils down to the following four reasons:

• They do not fully understand the independent contractor business model
• They have not discovered why ConferenceDirect is the right match for them
• They do not believe in themselves and that they can be successful in business for themselves
• They do not believe they can afford to do it

As a Team Leader for ConferenceDirect, my focus is to walk individuals through the above points and to demonstrate how success is achievable. In addition, I share the story and results of our team. In the four years since joining, I have been able to achieve my objective of building a team of seasoned professionals that, like me, wanted to be in business for themselves. In just a few short years, our team has worked hard to accomplish our goal of creating a better lifestyle for each of us:

• In 2010, our team of 30 booked over $53 millionwhich made us the top producing team within the company.
  • The breakdown of revenue in 2010 was as follows:

i.     $1-3 million – 40% of the team

ii.     $4 -9 million – 15% of the team

iii.     $10+ million – 5% of the team

iv.     $25+ million – 1% of the team: One of our team members was recognized for being the 2010 Top Producer and Associate of the Year.

As someone that works both as an independent meeting professional and leads a team, the key takeaways from my last four years are:

• Follow your dream to be your own boss while creating a better lifestyle and income- yes you can be in business for yourself in the hospitality industry!
• Choose who you partner with very carefully- if you choose correctly, they can help ensure you reach your goal
• Put all of your knowledge and experience to work for YOU today.

Our team’s results and the continued growth of ConferenceDirect are living proof that you can be successful in the independent contractor model. What are you waiting for? Come join us today!

Doug Baarman – Senior Vice President

ConferenceDirect