March 8th is national Organize Your Home Office Day, promoting efficient work at home.
We caught up with Bucks County businesswoman and author Judy Smith at her home in Holland, Pennsylvania.
27 years ago, as a divorced mother with two school-age children, Smith needed to start a business so she could support her family without putting parental duties on hold.
Since then, her kids have grown.In those intervening years, Smith made a "go" of her first business, a bulk mailing company.
She also started three more enterprises and all four are succeeding.
Smith says the secret lies not so much in organizing your office as in organizing yourself.
She says you must discipline yourself to keep meaningful, regular work hours.
Just to underscore the fact, she begins her work day by going out the door and taking a brief walk in her neighborhood.
She then re-enters her house and goes to her office. She typically spends eight hours there.
At the end of her day, she takes another walk and comes back into the residential portion of the house. She tries not to re-visit the office until the next work day.
When her children were in school, her hours, of necessity, were more flexible.
This arrangement allowed her time to get them to and from school, take them to their sports practices, care for them when sick, etc.
But along the way, her children learned how to help her with simple office tasks.
Today, a daughter works in one of her businesses.
She suggests that you might need to consider day care during work hours if demands get too pressing.
At one point about ten years ago, Smith bought a building to house her enterprises, and it still does. But she left that site and came back to her in-home office because she finds she does better work in the more-peaceful surroundings she created there.
She also enjoys the reduced stress level.
Smith and her brother Dan, who's also self-employed, co-authored the book "Business Mojo", featuring accounts of their own business experience and advice on everything from the importance ot staying fit to decorating your office...even tips on painting the walls!
It's available on amazon.com