The Home Office — Defeat Those Distractions and Time Thieves!

The Home Office — Defeat Those Distractions and Time Thieves!

Ahh, those Bluebirds — a BIG DISTRACTION…loving every minute of them. To me, the first sign of Spring is when I see the males around February 1st, and then those pretty daffodils!

Welcome back, Blues. “Mr. Bluebird on my Shoulder!”

Please read on below for the Bluebird Trail Update!

Bluebird Trail Installation — Mission Accomplished!

My new Bluebird Trail is installed!

Woo-Hoo for Blue! Excitement Exists Waiting For These Beautiful Feathered Friends.

Thanks to neighbor, Carl, for helping build and install the nestboxes. The boxes are doubled-up in pairs to keep Tree Swallows in our area and the Eastern Bluebirds from fighting and to live peacefully as neighbors. I hope you enjoy some pictures of the building and installation. Now we wait….the males will find and court their new mates and show her where he thinks a good nest location can take place. She will “approve” and then start the nest building — takes about a week. I am a member of the North American Bluebird Society and the Virginia Bluebird Society — a new volunteer as a County Coordinator! I’ve seen “courtship” activity on three nestboxes so far! How exciting! I hope you enjoy the Wendell Long photos here as well as artist Susan Bourdet!

Please click on the thumbnails below to view larger picture and captions. Total 14 Nextboxes Installed! These boxes will be monitored weekly and the statistics reported to the Virginia Bluebird Society and North American Bluebird Society. The goal: As many healthy hatchlings and fledglings, bringing more beautiful Bluebirds to Southwest Virginia — Patrick County.

 

 

Please check back soon for the Trail Update!

 

 

 

Roosting Time!

The other day, I watched several male Bluebirds having a “discussion” with some Purple Finches who will get the one available nestbox I have to roost for the winter. This is a reminder of how quickly Spring and Summer has flown by and now our gorgeous Autumn has come once again. I believe our fall foliage peak will be arriving in the next few days. Soon, we will be closing out 2007. I am presently in the works of installing a Bluebird Trail on my property so that I may monitor the Blues and many other cavity nester as new residents starting around February 2008. This will be when the hunt is on where to build nests. This monitoring and the stats accompanying my visits will be collected on spreadsheet format and sent to the Virginia Bluebird Society (VBS) and the North American Bluebird Society (NABS). I look forward to my new hobby of monitoring a Bluebird Trail — my very own right here next to my home office! I will start small — about 10 nestboxes. They will be built, numbered, and installed with predator guards between now and February 1, 2008.

Technology in the Country

 

To me, living in the Blue Ridge Highlands of Southwest Virginia brings me solitude and an appreciation for the wildlife here. Bluebirds are plentiful (lucky me), and I’ve enjoyed my new hobby of monitoring Bluebirds and the joy they bring to an afternoon office break. I witnessed my first ever nest building, laying of eggs, incubation, and hatching, and watching those nestlings grow and be fed by their parents from a mealworm feeder in our back yard. The diligence I witnessed of both parents of these 5 nestlings has taught me what hard work is all about! I have witnessed the excitement of watching the nestlings gear up to fledging and moving on to fly to the Poplar tree above with Mom and Pop Blue attending to their safety and to their survival out of the nestbox. This office I work in at home reminds me of a nestbox….as I learn and grow from the Internet as the world comes to me and feeds me as I develop. In February, I moved my office to an upstairs room in the house, purchased new office furniture, and created an ambience conducive to deep concentration. Now that the nestbox of my first Bluebirds has been cleaned out, a new nest has been built and the female is incubating again. Life goes on, and with pure determination, the Bluebirds live and bring a pleasantry to our home and to Virginia. My business is very much like watching the Bluebirds.

Working At Home and Those Darn Distractions! You CAN Conquer Them.

            Thoughts shared about working virtually by Christine Boran. 

 

Those Double D’s of Your Home Office — Demon Distractions.

Are you a “work-at-home” human, either a teleworker (like me), or you have your own home business with a home office (also like me)? What timewasters and time thieves come across your computers’ monitors, through your telephone line or anything that either bangs you on the head <thud!> or filters slowly into your house and throughout your rooms like incense, almost intoxicating you to leave your desk? What are those challenges that keep you from being totally focused on your important work? Is there one eye on the TV and one eye on the monitor at the same time?  OH, you say, “I am  multi-tasking!”  Is that multi-tasking or is that a distraction? How do you fight those nasty little monkeys that you have sitting on your shoulder saying, “Hey you!” that is plagueing you from getting your work done faster and with less errors?

After 33 years working in big cities, in big offices, and for big people and having my own office paid for by my employer where I can turn it off and leave it, I now work from my home. I am a senior level Executive Assistant by an employer and owner of my new home-based business as a Virtual Assistant. This is such a big change in my life. More doors have opened that I could have ever imagined! Living with my supportive husband, who is retired, and with a very active and very cute Tibetan Terrier who expects me to be there for her at all times, I have received a taste of what it is like to have my dream home AND dream job, which includes no more long commutes to an outside office! After moving from a city to a remote area and not being in the rat race of commuting anymore, this is by far the sweetest taste of all. However, I had no idea what I was in for as far as learning to manage my time in the home environment. I can say after doing this since since March 2006, I have indeed learned a great deal what it means to “work at home”. Housewives know what I’m talking about, even if they didn’t sit at a desk! Consider them the experts at this. As I write this, I know there are some home chores waiting just for me to be tackled and conquered. But, alas!   I am NOT distracted!  Those chores (case in point–dishwasher waiting to be emptied and refilled again) in said room called The Kitchen indeed waits just for me. I will not let that “distraction” make me feel guilty. As my new home business, Virtual ProjectPoint, continues in the growing stage, I have leaerned what I can do to conquer those distractions each day.  By the way, I have no children. Many can work from home and manage the kids. They are truly gifted!  So….this is what I’ve learned thus far:

1. Move my office to a more secluded part of the house.   Not everyone can have a computer by the kitchen, which seems to be the center of most homes.  Not only is there less distraction but less snacking will unnecessarily take place.

2. Take said very cute dog and put her in her place for awhile (her bed and den, the crate).  It is just more professional not having a barking dog at the UPS or FedEx delivery man when I’m on the telephone.

3. Deliver fascinating reading material to said supportive (retired) spouse or send him shopping.  Better yet — give supportive spouse a “honey, please-do” list — hey, more productivity all around!   Seriously, though, it’s not just about me– support him back by acknowledging his accomplishments and his own agenda what a day should be.

4. Read and answer Emails in chunks of time and in an organized manner…but be timely and reply soon to important communications!  Leave the rest for tomorrow. 

5. Prioritize daily tasks…from small to large or vice-versa, as needed.  Tasks seem to be neverending, so it is best to be realistic what I can actually do in one day.

6. Keep to-do lists and cross off accomplishments when completed.  Keep it organized, not a collage of post-it notes — the less clutter, the less to be cleaned up later.

7. Take breaks!  This is very important.  How can I expect to be productive when I don’t refresh? 

8. Attend online training classes and do them often — this is an excellent “focus” priority.  When I learn, my brain is stronger and I get motivated to get back to daily tasks again.

9. At the end of the day, think what I can do a little better tomorrow; then write it down so I don’t forget that thought at the end of my workday.  It should be the first thing I see the next morning.

10. Before shutting the computer down, pat myself on the back for a good job done TODAY!   Self-acknowledge and self-praise!   I am the boss of me.

Well, I snagged you this far.  I have plenty more to add here, but now I ask you, my dear reader:  What are your “Double D’s” (Demon Distractions) in your home office and how do you handle them?  I want to get feedback on what other teleworkers and work-at-home entrepreneurs do to conquer the sneaky time thieves.  This article below from the Galt Global Review has generated my interest in blogging on this topic. In addition, Entrepreneur ran this excellent article by this author with the question, “Do You Have What It Takes To Work From Home?”

Go to and read:

http://www.galtglobalreview.com/business/home_working.html

Article: “Do You Have What It Takes To Work From Home?”, Authored by Rosalind Resnick

By myself here I sit, but I know I am not alone!  Oh, I have one more thought to add:  This is my first blog, and it has been a very pleasant distraction!