When most people start contemplating the idea of working at home, they envision living without the stress and hectic pace we’ve become used to when we work in Cubicle World. (I can hear the laughter coming from all of you work at home people all the way out here in Omaha!)

Even when I started out working at home for another company and I had set hours and a supervisor telling me what to do, it was still stressful. Working in an office allowed me to forget about all of the stuff I needed to do at home. I could sit at my desk without seeing the pile of dishes that needed to be done. I wasn’t distracted by the TV or tempted by my cozy blanket and paperback book on the couch next to me.

Then when I decided to work for myself instead of someone else, it became even more stressful. That security of a steady income meant I had to constantly worry about being able to pay rent or buy groceries for the week and finding enough clients to make that happen. And we won’t even talk about those days when the kids are out of school or, for some of you, having kids who aren’t yet school age.

Those visions of work at home bliss sure don’t last very long. Over the past year and a half, I’ve learned that you have to make a conscious effort to reduce and maybe even eliminate some of the chaos that goes along with working at home.

Here are five ways to hang on to your sanity while working at home:

Automate – There are so many tools out there to help you automate some of your tasks, whether they’re business related or domestic. Let’s take the TV distraction as an example. I admit, I’m one of those people that needs background noise so my TV stays on almost all day even if I’m not paying attention to it. However, I have gotten hooked on some daytime shows. Instead of letting my mind wander off, I got into the habit of using a DVR to record the shows and I watch them when I’m not working.  As far as business, take advantage of tools that will allow you to automatically schedule blog posts to publish on specific days. Do most or all of your writing in one shot then spread them out so that you’re not having to remember to go back and publish them.

Outsource – My business is built on outsourcing. I started out as a Virtual Assistant, handling tasks that my clients didn’t need to do themselves. I still make my living from people who are outsourcing tasks that they don’t know how to do or that they just don’t have the time to do. For example, through Rock Star Blog Design, I build and customize Word Press sites for people who aren’t technically inclined and have no desire (or the time) to do it themselves. So instead of wasting their valuable time trying to figure it out, they’ll hire someone like me to do it. And we all know how stressful technology can be, even for us tech geeks out there!

Take a break – It’s very easy to get sucked into the Internet all day long. I know I’m not the only at-home worker out there who has looked at the clock and realized it’s 10 pm and I haven’t showered all day. I’ll also confess to spending an entire day in my pajamas. And, yes, I’ve even forgotten to eat which is pretty bad considering how much I LOVE food. So I finally scheduled a break into my day, sometimes 2 or 3. During the day, I’ll play around on Facebook apps (Farmville anyone??) or on the game site, Pogo. At night, I’ll read a NON-BUSINESS RELATED (very important!!) book or magazine. (Just picked up the 4th Sookie Stackhouse book a few days ago!)

Be sociable – Just because so many people are using Twitter and Facebook for business doesn’t mean you can’t use it to socialize too. In fact, some of that socializing can lead to finding new clients or partners, but don’t let that become the motive for your friendly interactions. While I do have a lot of business acquaintances on my Facebook list, I also have family members, old friends, and local people on there too and I sometimes I’ll just hang out and chat with them.

Do something – It’s really easy to become a hermit when you work at home and you’re also going to find yourself facing bouts of laziness. The best way to avoid that is physical activity. In a recent post at Web Worker Daily, the author Dawn Foster talks about 4 tips for holiday season stress reduction. One of the tips she mentions is exercise. Even something as simple as a 30 minute walk around the block will make a big difference.

I’ll admit, I don’t always do these myself so I know how hard they can be. Just remind yourself to do it, schedule it into your calendar, and keep at it until it becomes a habit. (Here’s a great write-up about a service called Habitforge that will show you how to do just that, based upon the idea that it takes at least 21 days to create a new habit or break an old one.)

I’d love to hear about your own stress reduction tips! What are you doing to hang on to your sanity? Leave a comment and let me know.

Related posts:

1. Questions about working at home
2. Tips and Hints: Hosting for Home Office Warrior
3. Expect quality work