There are a number of considerations that one must go through to buy a new home, particularly one you work in. Anyone who has been through a house sale while living in the house knows about something called “staging.” Space requirements in the new house aside, one issue that may come up is the fact you probably have to sell the house you currently live in while continuing to earn a living.

Part of that process involves removing the excess stuff from your home to make it appear spacious and inviting to potential buyers. This, unfortunately, includes work-related stuff. For some people, work-related material may be a laptop and some paperwork. For me, however, it’s a good portion of the contents of my office! And that’s just the start of uncertainty.

In addition, once the house is actually listed, I will have to be able to vacate the premises at a moment’s notice so potential buyers can come through the house. I suppose it’s a bit like when you work in a coffee shop and the proprietor shoos you away because you’re using the bandwidth and not buying enough coffee. Except in this case, I will be going to find the coffee shop. Fortunately, there’s a Starbucks nearby and my employer pays for T-Mobile Hotspot access.

This kind of unstable home-working situation is, in most cases, likely to be temporary. That being said, here are a few tips for coping with this situation:

1. Know what you can do in what circumstances. Given that you could be interrupted at any point in time and have to move your work location, understand what in your current workload can be done and be prepared to shift to those things when necessary.

2. Try to work only with tools that can be packed up and ready to go at a moment’s notice. That means using your laptop, cell phones, and other portable devices.

3. Have your laptop bag ready to go at a moment’s notice. Have it pre-packed with the essentials–chargers for your laptop and mobile phone, portable peripherals, a power strip–Monster makes this great travel one–and anything else you might need. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to stuff your laptop in there and be ready to go.

4. Consider taking some time off. It’s likely you’ll need some to actually do the move anyway, but if you can, why not take off a little more?
Have you tried working at home while your house is being sold? What kinds of issues did you run into doing this? Post your thoughts and questions in the comments.

Today is the second annual National Work from Home Day, where employers are encouraged to transform their homes into offices for the day.
In addition to making employees happier and therefore more productive through aiding the work/life balance, the ability to work away from the office – even occasionally – lessens the burden on our roads and public transport networks, believes Work Wise UK.

‘Although some would suggest this could be an excuse to skive, or to extend the weekend, it has been demonstrated that enabling staff to work from home, even occasionally, increases productivity,’ said Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK, the not-for-profit organisation behind National Work from Home Day and Work Wise Week, which kicked off on Wednesday and runs until next Tuesday.

‘BT currently employs 64,000 flexible workers and 11,500 contracted full time home workers. Where it has introduced these "smarter" working practices, it has seen a 20 per cent increase in productivity. Although a real win-win situation is rare in life, working from home, and other similar smarter working practices, do not have a downside. They benefit all parties: more productivity for businesses,  

better work-life balance for staff, less congestion for drivers and less over-crowding for public transport users.’

However, despite many companies going public about their positive attitudes towards more home and flexible working, there are still many employers who have failed to see the light.

‘Home working isn’t a new concept, and whilst European companies have embraced it, British organisations still seem reluctant to go the whole hog and make it widely available,’ said Alistair McKinnon, a senior product manager for ntl: Telewest Business.

‘Part of the problem is that home working still has a stigma attached to it – employers fear that staff will watch daytime TV rather than crack on with their work. This is a misconception and the fact is that the home generally offers a more productive working environment, free from the distractions of the office.’

McKinnon added: ‘Staff should be encouraged to work a regular day when they work from home, and the vast changes in communications technology in recent years means that it is perfectly feasible to do so. We believe that National Working from Home day is an excellent initiative and hopefully as a result more businesses will see how home working can benefit both their organisation and their staff.’

What are your views? Are flexible working practices obviously a good thing, or is it unrealistic for companies to support everyone having the option of working from home? Leave your comments via the link below.

 1.    ESTABLISH BOUNDARIES BETWEEN WORK AND HOME
 
  Schedule how many hours you will spend at work and stay focused on achieving your three or four most important work goals for the week or day. Work hard at work but know when to go home and when you get there, be at home. Spend quality time engaged in self-renewing activities with people you care about. Women who are well-balanced thrive more in both environments. 
 
2.    PREPARE THE NIGHT BEFORE
 
  For busy moms and women, every minute in the morning is precious. Get out the door faster by preparing the night before. Pre-pack lunches, backpacks and purses; coordinate bathroom schedules; plan and lay out clothes; and review the following day’s schedule before going to bed at a good time.  
   
3.    TAKE TIME FOR WEEKLY AND DAILY PLANNING
 
  Set aside 20 minutes each week and 10 minutes each day to plan your time and schedule, including the most important goals, tasks and appointments. Reviewing your week and day can also give you added insight as to how you can better manage your time. 
 
   
4.    WRITE IT DOWN
 
  Remembering everything without recording it is a challenge that eludes even the brightest minds. Use a planning tool, either a paper planner or planning software and a handheld device, to enter your goals, tasks, appointments and contacts. 
     
5.    GROUP LIKE TASKS
 
  Grouping similar tasks or tasks that can be completed together will maximize your time. If you have to revisit the same store multiple times for things that could have been purchased the first trip, you are spending not saving time. 
     
6.    SAY "NO"
 
  When presented with a new opportunity on which to spend your time, ask yourself, "What is the wisest and best use of my time right now and what do I have to remove from my schedule in order to make time for this?" If the given opportunity does not meet that criterion, appropriately and graciously say, "No." 
     
7.    ESTIMATE YOUR TIME
 
  The easiest way to get overwhelmed is by being unrealistic about how long it takes to complete certain tasks. Realistically estimate how long each of your goals or tasks will take to complete and schedule the appropriate amount of time into your planning system. 
     
8.    BE FLEXIBLE
 
  Circumstances change, and new opportunities can be both urgent and important. Be flexible and willing to change your schedule and reprioritize it to accomplish something that is most important. 
    
9.    ESTABLISH ROUTINES
 
  Guarantee that you make time for what is important by creating routines. Set aside a regular time in the day to spend time with your spouse, kids, or on those activities that are important to you in your life. For example, spend time each night talking with your family about their day or time exercising. 
     
10.    MAKE "ME-TIME" A PRIORITY – RENEW YOURSELF
 
  One of the number one complaints women have about their over-packed schedule is the lack of time for self. Self-renewal leads to having a more balanced life. Make time in your schedule for activities (physical health, escape and people) which are renewing and re-energizing.