“The first thing you must do when working from home is set up a designated work space”, says Ronita Dutta, editor at iVillage.co.uk. “By having a designated work area, you are mentally putting yourself in an office environment even if you don’t have a separate room. This is especially important for women who work from home as they tend to want to multitask to save time”.

Ronita who worked from home as a journalist for two years is an expert on avoiding temptation; here are her tips for getting the job done:

Distraction: The kitchen

As you struggle with a tough work project, you manage to distract yourself by popping into the kitchen and eat six cheese sticks, five biscuits, one leftover piece of birthday cake, crisps, etc. And you never knew you were capable of drinking so much coffee!

Prevention:
Bring healthy treats into your work space to discourage frequent and fattening trips to the fridge. Crunchy cut-up veggies, whole-grain crackers and dried fruits help satisfy cravings when you’re in the mood to munch. Try to drink water. But if you can’t work without several cups of coffee or tea, stick to decaf or herbal teas, and bring a thermos into your office so you don’t have to venture near the kitchen.

Distraction: Your children
You started working at home to spend more time with them, but now you can’t get away from them. Even when you do manage to convince children that, ‘Mummy needs to work,’ the interruptions are endless. You abandon all business tasks until the kids are in bed and then pull an all-nighter trying to get everything done.

Prevention:
Set a work schedule and get some child care. A regular work routine helps you set boundaries between work and family life, so that you block out the time you want to spend with your children and keep it sacred. Having part-time child care will allow you to work uninterrupted. Soon, your children will learn to respect your work hours, and you’ll have plenty of planned times where you can play with them guilt-free.

Distraction: Calls and visits during work time
You’re at your desk when the phone rings and it’s mum telling you about uncle Bob. Then, the door bell rings, and it’s the neighbour, who thought this would be a good time for coffee.

Prevention:
Learn to say no. Have polite phrases at the ready to deter people from zapping your work time. For example, tell the neighbour: ‘I’m sorry, but today’s a work day and I really must get back to my desk. Let’s get together when I’m off duty.’

Distraction: Housework
You’re supposed to be making cold calls, finishing off a document or preparing a business plan, but instead you’ve done three loads of washing, cleaned out the kids’ cupboards and washed every window in the house.

Prevention:
Enlist family members to help with household chores outside of office hours.

Even young kids can help load the dishwasher or sort clothes for the laundry. Older children can be responsible for clearing the dinner table, taking out the rubbish and collecting recyclables. Also, talk with your spouse about sharing household chores, and designate the ones each of you will be responsible for.

Distraction: The skiving urge
You should be working at your desk, but you’d really rather be tinkering in the garden, popping out to the grocer for lunch. Before you know it, you’re out the door, with stacks of unfinished work projects left behind.

Prevention:
Hang ‘Not Now, I’m Working’ signs, in tempting areas to nudge you back to your desk. If gardening is your downfall, tack one of the signs to your gardening gloves or tape one to the steering wheel of your car to keep you from heading to the shops.

“It’s all about time management,” continues Dutta. “Especially when you’re working from home, it is important to plan ahead. Be sure to write into your diary upcoming school holidays so you complete important projects before the holidays sneak up on you.”

“Or before the kids get up, log in and send out any emails you didn’t finish the day before or complete easy work tasks that don’t need any concentration time”.

See www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk for more help working from home.

With input from Homefinder UK and The AA, Enterprise Nation reveals that a home office adds around £28,000 to the value of your home, and home working leads to travel savings of more than £2,000 each year. Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation said:

“When people ask if this is the right time to be starting a business from home, my response is ‘most definitely, yes!’ – not only do you start earning your own income but as these results show, you’ll also be profiting from the rise in value of your house and saving on fuel costs by keeping off the road. For anyone thinking of turning the spare room, cellar or attic into an office, this will surely offer yet more reasons as to why they should.”

At a time of rising fuel costs, many families are looking for reasons to keep off the roads. Working from home means doing just that – and it offers savings in time too. By avoiding a daily commute of just 60 minutes each way, you can earn one whole extra day each week. That’s extra time that can be spent on growing a new business or enjoying time with family and friends.   

The opportunity to make profit, and make savings, is encouraging thousands of people to start a business from home, whether that be through turning a hobby into a way of making a living or spotting a gap in the market and acting on it. This research shows there’s never been a better time to act. If you want some ideas and inspiration for a home business, check out www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk or try out the brand new e-course at www.themumpreneurguide.co.uk to help you start your own business.

1. Do something you love. Let your business idea be based on a passion, hobby or skill. That way it will never really feel like work!

3. Make the most of technology. Invest in tools that make you super-efficient (there are plenty that can be bought on a budget) and use the web to promote you and the business.

4. Get out of the home office. Meet new people – including customers and suppliers – by attending meetings, shows and events. Or just pop to your local coffee shop when in need of a little human interaction!

5. Enjoy! Your commute to work takes 60 seconds and you get more done in the hours you have. That frees up time to do all the other things you like to do. Enjoy each day of being a Spare Room Start Up.

New guidance in HMRC manuals, published on their website, contain examples of the level and nature of home expenses that can be claimed. There are two areas of particular interest: specific expenses and mixed use of premises.

A new element is termed ‘fixed costs’ and includes mortgage interest, Council tax and home insurance, and for the first time HMRC are allowing a proportion of these costs to be claimed against the income of your business if certain criteria are met, such as:

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“This is news to celebrate over, because it is a firm indication that the powers that be are getting behind the WAH trend in the UK and beginning to try and help. The rise in fuel prices, job insecurity, the credit crunch and an increasing sense of a loss of community are all pushing increasing amounts of mums, dads and other members of the family to decide to work from home.”