So You Want To Work From Home
When I retired in order to concentrate on my art, I made some major mistakes that kept me from be as successful as I could have been. Believe it or not, working from your home has a few drawbacks if you aren’t disciplined about it.
I thought I would share a few tips that I’ve had to learn that might help my artisan friends.
1) Dress for success!
Is this you? 
Now I’ve never been one to stay in my jammies and robe all day, but I know some do. I think getting up and dressed right away puts us in the right frame of mind for the creating that we need to do each day. Being serious about our art, whether it’s sewing, knitting, creating jewelry or art, means treating it as though we’re going into an office each day.
2) Focus on you art.
This has been the hardest thing for me to accomplish. Working from home means that every time I go to the kitchen for more coffee or every time I look out my window, I see something that needs to be done. A dirty dish in the sink can literally set me in to a major cleaning mode. Before you know it, I have my coffee and my kitchen is sparkling clean, but I haven’t painted a thing. I can look out the window and see that my grass needs to be cut. Next thing you know, my lawn looks great, but I still haven’t created any art.
3) Set a Schedule and stick to it!
Creating is not our only job! We’ve all learned that it’s only part of the process of selling our creations. Writing a description, taking pics, listing, promoting, networking and blogging are all needed to be successful. And, if you’re successful, you can add packing and shipping to that list! Setting a schedule each day helps to keep it all organized. Decide how many hours each day you want to devote to your art and stick to it. For me, I’m learning that setting a definitive schedule each day for painting, works the best. I will paint from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. Many of you will probably have to work around your family’s schedule especially if you have kids. If that’s the case, try to carve out specific hours each day for creating….maybe while the kids are in school.
4) Give yourself a break.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of working every single day. We all need some time to renew our creative juices. Sometimes the best ideas come to me when I’m not painting.
5) Teaching our friends and families.
If you’re like me, you depend on your art to help support yourself. Sometimes our friends and families have to learn that just because we are at home all day, doesn’t mean we’re hanging on a hook, waiting for them to need something from us. This is your job, your livelihood. Helping them understand this, makes it easier for you concentrate on your art and still have lots of time for them.
Hope some of these suggestions can help you! If you have more suggestions, please share!
Written by MarilynKelleyArt
Tags: Handmade, Handmade Artists, promoting, selling online, work from home
Posted in Handmade, Selling Tips
12 Responses to “So You Want To Work From Home”
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Marilyn I think you said this very well, the key word is if we treat it like a job our families will learn to respect that. Great job!
Well done Marilyn! I still work full-time so my off-the-clock time is very valuable to me. It’s not just the housework,chores,running the necessary errands it is also working in that time for creating,producing,pics (and sizing those pics), writing descriptions, etc.. We all know the list goes on! However, I am a firm believer in budgeting ALL my time just like my checkbook. It is truly a matter of commitment, isn’t it? Mary
This is always a struggle. I’ve worked with many semi large private construction companies in my career. The owners work harder and than anyone I know, but for some reason not leaving to go to a job always seems to cause issues. It is very easy to be diverted when at the home and not stay on schedule. I know Kimberly makes nightly to do lists of what she wants to accomplish, she tells the children that she will need to work between these hours and not to disturb unless there is an emergency. Granted our children are older 11 and 13 so this is fairly easy to do most of the time, not so much when they were younger.
You have to constantly remind yourself that this is your business, and treat it like a full time job.
Number 5 is spot on for me. Ever since my husband retired and is now home all day it drives me nuts to hear him bellow for me a million times a day…for very insignificant things to boot…I’ve tried telling him to let me be for 4-6 hours a day at the very least…I think he’s untrainable
Nice post, thanks for sharing!
Great article. Thank you.
I often get distracted and clean,organize,etc. It’s important to have a schedule. If it’s going to be a hot day, I know I must work at the torch early in the morning. I’ve also accepted if the creativity isn’t flowing, I need a backup plan to continue being productive. Self discipline – always a struggle for an artist.
Very good article! I don’t have many full days at home, but I do try to make something everyday. I have one day a week devoted to household tasks like cleaning, laundry, etc. My other free day is spent in my workroom. I’ve never, ever stayed in pajamas and robe all day unless I’m really sick. This article does remind me that I should devote more time to the promoting part of this job. I do it so much for my B&M store, that I forget about this one.
I can see that training my family is going to be the hardest thing for me. I haven’t painted in a week because we were getting ready for my granddaughter’s baby shower. Yesterday after the shower, I thought finally I could get back on track. I get home from the shower and the first call I get is from my youngest grandson, needing a ride someplace Monday morning. sigh……
I agree about it being a struggle to keep at it. There is always something to do at home that will distract you, and sometimes you just need a break from it all. Between my full time job, the business, and the house (and my youngest still at home), I work seven days a week. I am usually good at time management, but sometimes I just get tired and need a break.
Working from home will always be a struggle. And yes, a schedule is very valuable. I agree that family and even sometimes friends have to be ‘trained’ to view this as your job and not a hobby you do in your spare time.
A timer works for me as most of my work is on the computer. I set the timer for the task and then stop and move on to the next item on my to do list.
I also take 5 minute ‘health’ breaks and to out to the garage and use the treadmill as I sit a lot.
I may have to print this and hang it in my home.
I forgot to ask, where did you get that picture of me for your article?
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