I’ve been working from home since the early summer of 2007, after having telecommuted on and off, here and there, for about 10 years. I live several states away from the company I work for – I’m lucky that my company is very remote-work-friendly. But I am someone who is more nocturnal than early-rising, and I’ve also found that I do best and am most effective when my life/time is pretty structured and really packed. So, echoing many other sentiments already expressed, here are my suggestions:

Get up at the same time each work day and get dressed. I don’t wear a suit everyday, obviously – just jeans and a sweater – but I find working in pajamas a real bad idea and a real slouch-inducer.

Keep separate office space, and let your partner/kids/dog/etc. know that they can’t invade it. When I’m working, I’m working. Don’t bother me. I wouldn’t bust into your office at corporate headquarters whining about something trivial, so don’t bust into my home office doing so.

If you have kids (I’m a new step-parent), I’ve found that it’s hard to get them to understand that even though you work at home, you really are working, not watching soaps and eating ice cream and occasionally firing off an email. My step-kids were calling me randomly during the day, asking me to pick them up early when they didn’t feel like waiting for the city bus, or to take them to a friend’s house, etc. I recently put a moratorium on that. Call me during the day while I’m working at home if you’re in an emergency or crisis; otherwise, I’m working and don’t bug me. My partner and his ex both have office jobs and the kids don’t bug them during the day, so I try to make the parallel.

I am strange and like housework and errands – the immediate gratification of doing laundry, cleaning up, etc. I also hate that my weekends are generally consumed with these activities. It is a daily temptation for me to clean, run errands, finish painting the bathroom, etc., during work hours I have made a rule for myself to deal with this: no errands/housework/bill-paying/etc. unless it’s my “lunch (half) hour.” If something non-work-related desperately needs to get done during my work time, it can happen on my lunch time, but otherwise it has to wait.

No answering our family’s home line during work hours, unless the caller ID reveals a potential urgent need or the President calling.

Check in and check out. Our company uses instant messaging more than email, so I log on in the AM to keep accountable and let them know I’m there, and I log off about the same time each day with a quick goodbye to key managers, colleagues, etc.

Don’t work during your non-work hours. Despite my nocturnal tendencies, I am of course expected to be “on” (at least) 9 to 5. I generally keep myself available to my company from 9-ish to 6-ish, and after that, all my time on the computer is for stuff I want to do. Though it is often very tempting to check work email at night or on weekends, I try to stop myself. I am never happy when I spent time I would otherwise have devoted to myself or my family working, even if it gets me ahead at work in the short-term.

I really love working at home, for the most part. Sometime I feel like an anti-social cretin who only leaves to go out for groceries or wine – :) – but mostly I find that I am a gazillion times more productive working from home that I was in the office, and that has really helped me to maintain a better work/life/family/self-care/fun balance. I find I spend less of my lifeworking now, and more of my life living and enjoying

Congrats again, Leo!

As someone who needs structure, I definitely have a morning routine. I also have to check in with my office so that other people know when I am available (and a “check-out”). Knowing that someone is expecting a “check” helps me to start and stop on a consistent basis.

Duplicating your office at home is the best way to feel like your “at work”. Using the same Post-it notes, pens, etc. helped me to keep that consistency (assuming that you liked how your office looked).

Congratulations! Welcome to the world of self-discipline!

I enjoyed Christian’s comment — I used to feel the same way when I first started working from home, but lately I notice I work too much when my husband is out of town — balance is so important!

I found that when my wife was home (and she usually was), it was much easier to concentrate on the work. When she would leave to run errands, I would sometime find myself watching TV. When the project I was working on was interesting, I would not need any help.

My tip is that you should get someone to watch over you. If you family members cannot do that, maybe a webcam will help you.

Love your site and congratulations on your new status!