Running your own business from home is a very freeing experience, especially after working for big companies most of your life.  While you still have deadlines to meet, you are now the boss and that means you can sit in your living room working in your fuzzy bathrobe all day if you want to.  However, working from home means that you still are working.  Someone has to pay the business loans and the utilities and produce quality work. 

Sometimes dealing with all of the aspects of working from home includes daily interruptions that you would prefer not to have.  Think about it.  You have a sink full of dishes.  The living room floor needs to be vacuumed.  The dog needs a walk.  You’re hungry.  The coffee in the kitchen smells heavenly.  The doorbell is ringing.  Your children won’t leave you alone.  It sounds like an advertisement for Calgon Bubble Bath, but this is the reality of working from home.  Â
How, exactly, do you avoid these home office interruptions and actually get anything accomplished?  Here are five tips to help you remain calm and focused while you build your business working from home. 

Make a to-do list and follow it.
Your to-do list is the best tool you have towards combating the chaos that comes with working from home.  It will give your day structure and will help you focus on the things that you have to accomplish before moving on.  You can make a list on a simple piece of paper, put it on your handheld PDA, or even enter everything you need to do in Microsoft Outlook for the rest of the month.  The point is, whenever you finish something on that list and check it off, you will feel good and organized. 

Make a daily schedule for yourself.
This is as important as your to-do list.  You want to make sure your time is organized so that you can utilize it more efficiently.  If you are a morning person, consider using this time of day to complete all of the phone calls you need to make.  If you find that you actually accomplish more by working at three in the morning then do it.  Keep to your schedule regardless of if you’re a morning sunshine or a night owl. 

Close your door.
Okay, you are going to have to get used to doing this.  You have boundaries.  That boundary is the threshold of the door to your office.  Close your door.  When you do this you are sending a clear message to your family that you are working and you do not have time for distractions.  You also need to resist the temptation of getting up and listening at the door to what is going on in the rest of the house.  If you think distractions of this nature will be a problem, sit down with your family and explain to them how important it is for you to be able to work in relative peace. 

Get a babysitter.
You can afford a babysitter and work from home at the same time.  It is understandable that you want to save money on child care, but it is not feasible sometimes.  You cannot accomplish anything of value while your children are napping, and as your business grows you will find yourself putting in more and more hours.  If a babysitter is financially unaffordable then talk to another home based parent you know to see if they could help you, work only on the weekends, or wait until your spouse comes home to watch the kids while you work.  None of these suggestions are the best, but when you are building your own home business you have to make compromises at times. 

Buy a good set of headphones.
Working at home will keep you from getting away from the noise of your home and the world around you.  Sometimes you just need to drown out the noise.  A good set of headphones will allow you to do that.  It will provide you with the buffeting you need from the chaos while you work.  Oh, and consider setting up a mirror on your desk or computer while wearing them so someone does alert you when they walk in.