For the past 18 months, I’ve worked from my 500 square foot apartment on a tree-lined street in Washington, D.C. Most days are fine, but I’ve been challenged. Below are a few tips I’ve learned along the way:

MAINTAIN A ROUTINE

Get Showered and Dressed

Before I sit down to work, I take a shower and put on a decent outfit. (The definition of decent is an ensemble that I’m not embarrassed to wear outside.) Sometimes I throw on workout clothes, but often I wear a dress.

Map Out the Day

I work for several clients throughout the month. I break up my day into morning and afternoon segments. The hard stuff is completed in the morning. Lunch is my largest meal of the day. Afterwards, I go on a walk and then work on less complicated tasks.

Time Tracking

My billable and non-billable time is tracked in 15 minute increments. When you’re self-employed, there are so many tasks that can’t be billed to clients. (Like writing this blog article…) Since I began tracking my time in this manner, my income has increased. A myriad of apps have been invented for this purpose, but I use a basic excel spreadsheet.

Maintain A Consistent “End of the Work Day”

By 5pm, I stop working. I’m tired. (I also stop checking email around 8pm each night.) I’ve maintained the evening schedule I adopted when I worked full-time at an office downtown.

MIND / BODY / SPIRIT

Daylight Access

Set up your workspace to take advantage of the most daylight exposure. Natural light boosts vitamin D (which prevents bone loss and reduces the risk of heart disease and weight gain), wards off seasonal depression, and improves sleep.

Stretch

Every 30 minutes, get up and stretch. Every hour, I rotate around my tiny space. (With a laptop, orbiting is easy.)

Acknowledge Your Body Clock

Everyone is productive at different points in the day. I do my best work before 11am. If I’m on a deadline, I often wake up at 5:30 to get going. Plan work around your body clock. If you are a night owl, plan your schedule around the evenings. If afternoons are your jam, take advantage of that time of day.

Go Outside

With the exception of a cold windy day, I take a 30-minute walk after lunch. (I walk in the rain with a golf umbrella and during the winter in a parka.) Nature impacts our health. Going outside (even on cloudy days) helps set our natural circadian rhythm. Often, I think about tackling a certain assignment while I’m walking, and it comes together when I return to my laptop.

Eat Whole Foods / Drink H2O

I prepare most of my meals. Eating seasonally to vary my diet is my primary goal, and I try to eat foods that aren’t processed. To stay hydrated, I drink one-half of my body weight in ounces of water.

WILD CARD

Sounds of the City

Filtering noise is my biggest challenge. My neighborhood is lovely, but so noisy. On a given day, I hear a combination of traffic, sirens, helicopters, lawn mowers, weed wackers, residential construction sounds, and furiously barking dogs. During conference calls, I often use the mute feature. When I’m writing, I put on earphones and listen to music – just like I did when I worked in an open plan office.

Overall, I prefer working at home. It takes discipline, but the pros outweigh the cons. I belong to Hera Hub DC, a coworking space and community for female entrepreneurs. Workshops and networking opportunities are offered. I also can rent meeting space. I encourage anyone who works from home full-time to find a similar resource in your area. As our current reality illustrates, social interaction is very important, and a necessity to the solopreneur.

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