Working at home is fun and trust me - my hubby and I would not have it any other way - but you also have to be very disciplined to make it work.
But if you are working at home with your spouse, then, some guidelines are important to make sure that you have some “divided” time between work and play.
1) Date nights are important for all couples - but even more so when you work at home together. Find time to enjoy each other without discussing business!
Work At Home Couples - 5 Survival Tips!When I first tell people that I work from home - they are so envious! But when I tell them I work from home with my husband…….they are so horrified! The usual comments range from “we would kill each other in less than a week” to “why not just get the divorce now and save the time?”……but the truth is we have been working side by side now for almost 6 years, and we actually still enjoy it! Bob and I spent years on the road in outside sales before we met and married, so staying home and actually being able to enjoy our home is a new treat for us both. Bob is 62, and I am 52 (soon 53….) and we love living a life that lets us ignore the alarm clock, enjoy the morning routine of coffee and paper on the deck, and in general, just simply enjoy life! Still, we have learned a few tips to working with your spouse that might come in handy if you and your partner are considering a work from home venture:1) Schedule regular meetings during the week, or even daily over morning coffee to discuss projects, goals and tasks. Be specific in descriptions!2) Assign the tasks to a specific person - don’t just expect your partner to know what needs to be done - don’t assume that because you are living under the same roof that your partner can read your mind3) Don’t keep asking your partner for “updates” all day - trust your partner to get done whatever is on her/his agenda……at least until he or she proves that they need to be nagged ;-)4) Know your strengths, your skill sets, your individual knowledgebases and make use of them! If you are better at techie stuff - you handle the web site - don’t force your partner to take on tasks that are uncomfortable for them early in the game. Ease into the new things - as time goes on and you both become more adept at things - tackling new challenges (such as learning to install that new database!) becomes fun…..not daunting!5) Don’t critique unless asked and never criticize. Make gentle suggestions, re-write and re-work together - you both have great ideas and you both have the same goal - to run a successful business and to have the best possible life together - so remember that when you think you need to make a negative statement about your partner’s work. This is the person you want to go to bed with tonight - gentle persuasion goes a lot farther than harsh criticism!! Working at home with your partner or spouse is a wonderful way to live!!