Working from home has grown even more important as even big corporate houses have started considering factors like energy consumption and the environment. Personally as a professional if executed earnestly it may address the most important factor of balancing your work and other essential aspects of life. Whether you’re an employee of a company or an independent professional working for yourself, you might have a chance to work from home.

At the same time I realised that working from home for company or as a self employed being brings so much of challenges..Here I have tried to compile some points which can help you overcome in building effective ways to be more productive while working from home.

Separate your office room

You probably could work on your dining table or in the family room. However, the chances of distractions and of lowered productivity increase significantly compared to working in your own separately defined home office.

The separate area might also be necessary to keep few co-workers however  official activities in residential premise are objectionable in certain parts. Check with your local government about your work arrangement. If you’re receiving visitors or receiving regular deliveries, the government might be concerned about traffic and parking. In any event, it’s always good to make sure.

If this is not so in your case the idea of creating a separate study-room is just awesome.

Keep a check on what you are wearing

No, you don’t have to be formal by wearing the three piece suit or the high heel shoes. But neither should you simply roll out of bed nor move to your desk, clad in your pajamas. Yes, it’s unlikely your co-workers or clients will see you dressed this way. Nonetheless, the way you dress can affect your attitude and your productivity. In addition, the act of changing can help you distinguish, psychologically, between work and home an important distinction.

Discipline yourself regarding break times & snacking

Yes, you can knock off work every 10 minutes to watch television or pop in a DVD. If you do, though, you might go through the day without accomplishing anything. The need for time management and discipline becomes even greater when you’re on your own. Establish those periods of time when you work and those times when you take a break and stick to them.

In the same way, watch what you eat. It’s easy to wander to the kitchen for a snack. Too much snacking will ruin your productivity and your waistline. Exercise discretion and discipline here as well.

Educate and set guidelines for the family

Do you have a spouse, children, or even parents living with you? Make sure they know about this arrangement. It might be difficult, but they need to realize that even though you’re at home, you’re still, at times, “at work.” Having a constant knocking on the door to handle this or that domestic emergency will prevent you from concentrating and completing your tasks. Establish guidelines for when you are available and stick to them.

Establish start and stop times

Many people think that working from home helps achieve work/life balance. Yes, it can, as long as you keep clear the distinction. If you don’t, your work/life balance actually could become even worse because you won’t know when to stop “working” and start “homing.” As with dress and with your office, set clear times when you start working and when you stop. When the latter time comes, really DO stop. Avoid going back to your home office “just to send one more e-mail or tweet.” That one tweet will become a second, and a third. Once the time comes, just stop until the next day.

Use a separate phone number

Regardless of whether you’re an employee or on your own, get a separate line for your business. Having your five-year-old answer the phone for relatives or friends might be cute, but it could mark you as unprofessional to others who might call. If you use an answering machine or service, call your own line and check the quality of your greeting. You don’t want to sound like you’re speaking from the wreckage of the Titanic.

Progress Updates

Out of sight out of mind, don’t let that happen to you. If you are working for your boss/client. Make sure he/she knows about your accomplishments. If your schedule calls for you to be physically at your “real” location once or twice a week, consider meeting with your boss about what you’ve been doing.

You might have noticed while installing some heavy software or OS you keep on waiting in front of your computer screen for hours. Imagine in case the progress status bar is missing from your screen you’ll feel like throwing the machine away. Our human tendency needs updates of all the small achievements.

Otherwise, make sure he knows about your projects and successes, either via phone or e-mail. While some time you land on place where a decision is required and it can also be handled smartly. You don’t want your lowered visibility to hurt your chances in case you encounter any disaster in the project.