When you choose home-based medical transcription, you are thinking about the many benefits you will reap as a result of your decision. However, home-based work is not all about benefits; it has its share of challenges. One of the biggest challenges is handling distractions. Everything at home has the power to take your mind off work. How do you keep distractions at bay? Here are some guidelines I have come up with.

• Don’t attend to domestic chores when you are working. Let the kitchen sink sulk with a heap of utensils in it. Don’t prioritize anything else over your work.
• Make a work routine and stick to it. Inform everyone at home about your working hours and ask them not to disturb you.
• Put your phone on answering mode. You can check your messages when you take a logical break. Make sure your business phone is active though.
• Don’t make personal calls during your work hours. You may be tempted to call family and friends, but your calls may get extended for a long time, disrupting your routine.
• Don’t prolong your breaks for a sneak peak into the latest issue of your favorite magazine. Prolonging breaks can disturb the flow of work.
• Don’t switch on the television during your working hours. If you have your favorite show coming on during your working hours, either record it to watch later or adjust your work hours so that you are done with your work when your show starts.
• Inform your family, friends, and neighbors about your work timings and tell them that you will be unavailable during that time.
• Don’t get online unless your work demands. When you are online, stay away from networking sites.

Please share your ways of keeping distractions at bay.