One of the biggest hazards of running a home business is overworking. Believe me I know and I’ve done it many a time. But would you believe I’ve found myself more productive when I have deliberately taken time away from working?

I’m probably a fairly typical home business owner. Married, two kids. I work a lot at home and my husband works outside the home.

I do spend a lot of my day working on the computer. Since I do best at article writing I spend quite a bit of time each day on that task and probably not enough time on marketing or figuring out more ways to earn money. As I said, probably pretty typical, at least in the sense that I work most on my favorite parts and not enough in other areas.

My kids obviously pull me away from the desk quite regularly. My basic rule is that stories can be demanded at just about any time, as can playtime. Some exceptions, but mostly I’m pretty available.

But that’s not really much of a break, especially if I keep thinking about work.

I often have to remind myself that I do best when I really take time to enjoy life away from my computer. If I take the time to go exercise with my kids, help with a project, play for an extended period, I can come back much more refreshed and ready to work than if I run back and forth.

Better yet, the kids are happier and more willing to play with each other rather than just vie for my attention.

Since my kids are young, I do work a lot more in the evenings than many people would like. That’s just because it would be impossible for me to get the kind of hours I need for working in during the day. It just doesn’t work that way with young children.

On the other hand, if that isn’t your problem it may well work better for you to have more standard working hours and take the evenings to relax and enjoy life. It just depends on when you work best and how you want to live your life.

Treat your home business just as you would any other job. That includes keeping to a reasonable schedule, stopping work appropriately, taking breaks as necessary and yes, working overtime when you need it. But most of all, have a life beyond your business.

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