If you have a family or a partner. Just because
you are at home does not mean "can you just put on
a wash". Build rules into engaging with the family.
You are working. You are not to be disturbed. If
you choose to 'come out' of your office and engage
with the family then that is your choice. Emergencies
are acceptable interruptions ;)
One thing that somewhat worked was asking her to consider the following before interrupting me: "If I was working in a 'normal' office job, would you pick up the phone and call me about this?"
If the answer was "yes" then it was okay to interrupt me. If the answer was "no" then it was probably something that could wait until my next bathroom break or dog-walking break.
Most partners understand that they can't phone into your workplace for every little thing ("whoa, the store is having a crazy sale on rutabegas this week!") that pops into their heads.
On my part, I had to understand that in many senses just as she was intruding on my work life, I was intruding on her home life by bringing work into it. She had never worked from home and home was always a place of relaxation and family togetherness, and I had to understand that I was asking her to shift her notions of that.
I was seriously considering getting an "ON AIR" light -- you know, like a DJ would use at a radio station to signal nobody should come into the room -- at one point. Had I not transitioned back into a more standard office job we probably would have!
My university's library was quite loud, and had a university-owned Taco Bell inside of it, complete with cashiers yelling out names of people to pick up their orders.
Top-100 ranked by US News...
http://www.library.drexel.edu/blogs/newsevents/2010/01/08/ta...
Also here: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/03/rubber-duck-problem...
Morning person? Evening person? Put small and easy tasks in the non-productive time of the day (or break out, see point 4) and get the big ones in your best time of the day.
Example: I am not a morning person. I have also found that if my apartment is messy I get distracted. So I started doing chores in the morning right after getting up. I clean up the place while I'm still half-asleep, and when I am ready to work there is less messiness that would side-track me. Doing this regularly also means I don't have to dedicate a Saturday afternoon to cleaning.
Boy do I get motivated when I'm looking at not being able to pay my bills and end up just ignoring #1-16. I don't feel much happy, although I know, and my partner keeps telling me the importance of #1-16.
The 5) dog thing is a good point, but I feel I need to be able to be responsible and therefor be able to maintain a proper schedule on my own.
You're also talking about routines in 4) But probably like the OP, I sometimes get up at 9, sometimes noon, sometimes even later. Often my most productive work is in the evening hours, which is a bit meh.
I would love to be able to be productive again during daytime.
If I look at OP's post I'm reading my own book :(
Not mad at all. The advice to talk with your dog on technical projects and general problem solving goes for cats. At least you don't talk to your deceased cat (I know I do). He and his two successors are responsible for solutions to non-trivial mathematical and programming problems. The solutions have to be non-trivial and interesting, otherwise the cat will listen but choose to ignore the discussion.
I now have a dog. Dogs are good for fresh air and exercise too and you meet other humans too.
I also run an app that helps with writing freelance contracts and the ability to specify payments is a primary feature. Check it out if you have trouble with this: https://properapp.com.
Asana is pretty awesome for most uses. For software dev, sometimes go with JIRA on-prem because of its customizability with plugins.
I try to trial a decent app before running with it for a while and not jump ship too often.
:(
My company pays 100% of my personal apartment rent, and I receive an additional W2 for the percentage of non-office space as personally taxable income. This means that 100% of the money paid is a corporate tax deduction, and the parts paid for my office never hit my personal income.
I recently learned that because my flat is a 2 bathroom, one of those bathrooms can be included in the "office space" calculation as well, as offices require bathrooms.
Standard disclaimer: I am not an accountant or a lawyer, so this is layperson advice. Consult with a professional.
As mentioned above, make sure it has a door, and close it. Train your housemates/family/partner/SO/whatever to leave you alone while you're "at work".
As an added bonus in the US, a dedicated work-only workspace can be eligible for a Home Office tax deduction.
1) This http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGg1567fzTY (almost posted anonymously). Deal with it :)
2) If you have a family or a partner. Just because you are at home does not mean "can you just put on a wash". Build rules into engaging with the family. You are working. You are not to be disturbed. If you choose to 'come out' of your office and engage with the family then that is your choice. Emergencies are acceptable interruptions ;)
3) Make an office. The kitchen table is not a great space. A spare room, an office in the garden. Some place where you can just be professional. Avoid having the office in your bedroom. You need a room you can lock.
4) Exercise. Seriously this is huge. Too easy to slob out. If you get up and work at 6am, then go to the gym at 9. Do something. Make sure people you work with KNOW this is your routine. Make it a routine. Get out of the house and do something. Do not buy an exercise machine and stay locked in the house. Clear your mind, stay fit, and go out and see the world around you. Don't like Gyms? Go running, swimming or, my favourite, cycling (it clears the mind and you can easily cover 10 miles while solving a difficult problem).
5) Get a dog :) Best decision I ever made. Get's you out and walking. You meet other people and mine keeps my feet warm. Oh and she's very good at solving technical issues. Sounds mad, but sometimes just talking about a problem to her makes it work for me (and makes me look less stupid when I have to discuss the problem with work colleagues).
6) Eat well. You have the time to make great food. Use it. Learn to cook great food.
7) Pomodoro method. Some like it some don't. (I'm not a fan.) I prefer things like coffitivity. If things start going south, try it. It's a decent rule system.
8) Skype. If there is a group of you working together, just skype each other and carry on working.
9) Socialise. Suddenly this is huge. Find local interest groups. Go to meetups. Get involved. You won't realise it, but you can get your head down and 3 months later you haven't seen anyone recently, cos y'know, work. Join clubs. Do stuff. Give yourself a reason to not be working in the evenings.
10) Monthly team days. Once a month get together and have a hackathon. Go get drunk. Be a team.
11) Use trello. I mean REALLY use it. A complicated example here http://community.uservoice.com/blog/trello-google-docs-produ... but build your own work flows that work with your team. Don't be afraid to tear down your process and start again AND most importantly, EVERYBODY buys in. Don't be the only person using a project tool. You will fail.
12) If you end up doing a 16 hour day, recognise you've done two days work. Have a reward. Go see a museum. Have a long lie in. Finish early and go for a ride. See (1) ;).
13) Have fun. Be comfortable in working on your own. Give it 6 months. See how it feels. Don't like it, then move on.
14) I may have mentioned this...exercise. Get out and do some every day. No excuse.
15) Requirements management. It's a pain to do, but clients try and be sneaky. Avoid fixed price unless you KNOW exactly what it is they want. Most don't and even those that do, change their minds. Your fixed price contract MUST include a change in requirements clause and what happens when they do. You will invoke it.
16) If your client is haggling over local sales tax....walk away. Imagine the pain you will go through haggling over signing each feature off.
17) Have payment milestones.
Right must go walk the dog :)