Importance of a seperate work space

According to a Harris poll conducted, 72% of all American households are thinking about starting a home business. With the people that actually do, most of them have a separate room in their house for an ‘office’. Why exactly is it important to have a separate room for your office-related work?

The first, and one of the most important, reason using a separate room is beneficial is the IRS policy. They clearly state that you can not use a space for both personal and business reasons, and still receive deductions on your taxes for home business expenses. The costs you run setting up your home office will pay off, as you will be able to take advantage of such deductions available to home office owners. Be carefully, however, for if you are audited, you will have to prove to the IRS that you do have a separate room solely for business. (Some try to get by with dividers or curtains sectioning to divide a personal room, this is not acceptable)

A second reason you would want to have a separate room is professionalism. If you have distractions such as a television, spouse, child, or radio in the background while you are on the phone, this will not give your business a very good reputation for being professional. With having a separate room, you will benefit from the serenity and lack of noise that usually fills other rooms of a household.

Thirdly, it is important to distinguish between work and home life. Separate rooms help do this since you will only use this room for one reason only- to work. Psychologists agree that mixing work and home life can lead to complicated stress-related problems. To protect your mental sanity, it is a good idea to use a separate room for office work.

Lastly, a separate room will allow you to keep your office items, documents, and supplies out of reach from things such as the family pet or children. The first time your important documents get destroyed by the family dog, or your child, you will wish you would have followed through with the separate room after all. Having a separate office items such as pencils or a computer will also ensure that your work will not be interrupted by unnecessary things like your child’s favorite computer game or unwanted viruses.

Having a separate room for you office is almost vital. The money you save from deductions, make it worth it alone. The peace of mind and stress you save will help ensure your sanity. The professionalism and serenity will create a good reputation for you when dealing with clients, not to mention help you with your office work and prevent distractions. The next time you think about setting up a small cubicle, or throw a curtain up in your living room, consider these ideas. If no room is available, doing this is a second-best decision. Otherwise, you are better off starting your home business off the right way.

 

 

March 7, 2007 | Filed Under Tips 

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One Response to “Importance of a seperate work space”

  1. Self Discipline : Andreas Bard on May 24th, 2007 10:53 am

    […] As I discussed in my article, Importance of a seperate work space it is very important to find a place to work at where a minmum of distractions are available. This includes family members, TVs and other stuff keeping you from 100% focus on your task. […]

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