The Life I Knew I Didn’t Want
If you’re thinking about running a business from home, one of the first things you’ll need to figure out is how to actually structure your day.
But first, let me tell you about my very first job…
When I was 14 I got a job for the school holidays working full time sorting files for my parents’ friends’ business. I’d catch the bus into the city, walk 20 minutes through downtown Auckland to their small electrical business, and sort files all day. There had been a fire and everything needed cleaning and refiling.
I started dreading going to bed at night because it meant waking up and doing it all again. A sad state for a 14 year old.
That was when I decided full time work was not for me. (Ironically, I also declared I would never work for myself either – but that’s a story for another blog.)
I’ve had a few full time jobs since then. Some I loved. Some bored me to tears. And some had my whole being internally screaming “I do not want to live like this” while my brain worked overtime trying to figure a way out.
It’s Your Life. You Get a Say
I read somewhere that couples spend enormous amounts of time and energy preparing for the wedding but very little preparing for their life after it. That idea stuck with me and it’s the premise behind Your Handpicked Life. It’s your life. You get to have a say in how it turns out.
Running my own business from home has given me that say. We decided early on, one of us would stay home with the kids. Starting my own business afforded me the opportunity to still contribute to the family finances, and as our kids grew, enabled me to stay at home during all their teen years.
5 Tips for Running a Business From Home
If you’re ready to start building that kind of flexibility into your own life, here are five tips for structuring your days when you’re running a business from home.
Avoid task switching
This one has a massive mental impact and I don’t think we talk about it enough.
For years I watched my husband start a task and just… keep going until it was finished. Meanwhile I’d been interrupted by kids and life so many times that jumping around felt normal. I’ll be honest – I resented his focus a little.
But here’s the thing: just because you’re at home doesn’t mean housework needs to be slotted in between everything. Finish your work task first. Then hang the washing, make a coffee, take a break. Then come back to work.
The mental cost of switching back and forth is real. Every time you stop and restart, it takes effort to get back into flow – and that adds up across a day. Protect your focus like it’s your most valuable resource, because when you’re building a business from home, it genuinely is.
Stick to set hours
Honestly? This one I still struggle with.
I tried starting at 9am after the school drop, but once I added morning exercise and a prayer call with a friend, my husband is home for morning tea at 10.30 and I feel like I’ve barely started. Not great for motivation.
So my real advice here is to experiment and find what actually works for your life. Maybe that’s getting up early and doing an hour before the kids wake up. Maybe it’s during nap time, or after bedtime if you still have energy. There’s no right or wrong – just more or less efficient for you personally.
What I have figured out is where my energy goes. I’m sharper in the mornings so I protect that time for thinking work – writing, planning, creating. Client interviews happen after lunch when I don’t need to be at my creative best. I’ve also learned that too much time with people drains me, so I cap myself at one client interview per day. Two in a day and I’m horizontal on the couch all evening.
Know your energy, protect it, and build your hours around that.
Create themed workdays
Taking the previous tip one step further – once you know your energy patterns, you can start theming whole days around them.
For me, knowing that people can drain my energy meant Mondays became a no-client day. Marketing Monday was born – content, posting, admin, planning the week ahead. Starting my week at home, on my own terms, sets me up well for everything else.
If you’re naturally social and love people, your version might look completely different – maybe Monday is your client day and Friday is your admin day. The specifics don’t matter. What matters is that each day has a purpose, so you’re not making a hundred small decisions about what to work on next.
Batch similar tasks together
This one is gold when you actually do it. Sitting down and knocking out 10 Pinterest pins in one session, then not having to touch it for a week? That’s the kind of efficiency that makes a real difference.
I used to log every expense and payment as it came in. It only took five minutes each time, but it meant constantly opening and closing spreadsheets, filing receipts, checking my bank account. Now I have a drawer for things to be actioned and a set time in the week to deal with all of it at once. I open the accounts once, sort everything, close it off. Done.
Go through all the tasks in your business and group the similar ones together. Then slot them into your week based on your energy levels. Paying bills and logging income doesn’t require much brain power, so that happens late afternoon. It saves both time and mental energy.
Use a time tracker
This one is less about productivity in general and more about getting through the tasks you’d rather avoid.
Set a timer, put your head down, and just do the thing. Knowing there’s a cup of tea waiting at the end makes the grind more bearable than you’d think.
It’s a simple tactic but an effective one. And if you find yourself dreading the same task week after week, that’s useful information – it might be time to offload it. Hire an accountant, outsource your bookkeeping, find a VA for admin. Your time and energy are better spent on the parts of your business only you can do.
These tips are useful whether you’re already running your business or still in the planning stage. Either way, knowing how you’ll structure your days before you start running a business from home is half the battle.
If you’re still in the thinking stage, come to my free class first. It’s the clearest starting point I know.