A lot of eCommerce entrepreneurs work from home. Despite the benefits of working from home, it is no less challenging than an office job. In fact, I’d argue that working from home is more difficult because it’s not always easy to alienate your family from your work. If you’re working from home, chances are you’re a freelancer, consultant, or small business owner. This means your ability to get paid is directly tied to how productive you are. As a freelancer, wasting time equals wasting money. Here are 8 strategies that will help you work from home more efficiently:

Comfort can be our biggest enemy:
We all have our own comfort zones and I am not talking about the recliner in front of the TV. I am talking about behavior and activities that we are comfortable doing. It is like doing the same job for a while, you get used to what you have to do and it becomes comfortable. When you are trying to find your idea or work, your comfort zone can be your worst enemy! It holds you back from doing things that may actually help you find your creativity. That is why you have to step out of your comfort zone and start taking risks and chances.

Take your deadlines seriously:
Deadlines are important — stressful, but important. This means giving each deadline top priority and committing yourself to beating every one of them, no matter what. The key is to set tough but realistic deadlines and then aim to complete the work 3-4 days ahead of schedule. This gives everyone breathing space to assess and review the work which will lead to better outcomes.

Never start working without having an agenda:
Ideally, you want something with a specific amount of estimated time allocated to each item. This makes it easy for you to identify things that are starting to drag on longer than they should.  Use the agenda to make sure you stay on track. The agenda helps tell you where you should pick back up if you get side-tracked. Having an agenda also helps show that you are organized and have a plan. It sets the expectation that your project isn’t going to be a waste of time.

Pick a day to push yourself:
To inspire, encourage and motivate people to make a difference. “Push Yourself” is the act of stepping outside of your comfort zone to stir and cultivate a movement that changes the world. Decide on a day of the week when you will push your limits and work harder and longer than usual.

Hold yourself to high standards:
When you hold yourself to a higher standard, you really then stand out and take advantage of the opportunities that will inevitably be presented to you. When you start holding yourself to a higher standard, you operate on an entirely different level and you begin to activate and improve the qualities of creativity, persistence, determination, and action – little by little. You engage your creativity to think of new ideas to meet your higher standards.

Know when to take a break:
Sometimes knowing when to take a break is just as important as knowing when to work, even more important than knowing when to work. Taking a break can grant new vision. Having clarity of mind about the present and the past, our accomplishments and our progresses, can unlock the clarity needed to realize our ambitions.  Taking a break can be a vital tool for just that.

Keep your optimism:
Optimism works in conjunction with your life energy, strengthening your roots and keeping you grounded, stimulating the growth of new shoots and the development of new branches that form your life. Optimism is not just a way of spinning bad events to make them sound better. When you take on an attitude of disciplined optimism, you determine that you are in control of your fate and you can, through you own efforts, turn a dirty stick into a useful tool.

Change the scenery:
It might be a good idea to change the scenery every once in a while because it will keep you from getting bored. By changing your location, atmosphere, tools, and even clothing, you can change the way you work. Experience a change of scenery – it may change more than just that.