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I love The Office. So, if you have 10 minutes to waste (and even if you don't) I hope that you enjoy these funny moments from Seasons three and four.

Happy Friday!

Yesterday, we had a look at some of the psychological advantages of having a separate home business workspace. But there are more than just psychological advantages. There are also very real financial advantages to keeping your home office separate from the rest of your home.

Financial advantages of a home office

When you have a separate home office, you have specific tax advantages. My home office is in its own room. Because of that, we can figure out how much each of the following can be deducted from our taxes:

* Portion of the mortgage payment.
* Portion of utilities.
* Depreciation for computer.
* Depreciation on the printer/fax
* Monthly Internet usage

It is important to note, however, that in order for you to take advantage of a separate home office space, you need to keep things strictly business. For example, half of my home office is taken up by storage. So I actually measure the 5 x 7 area that counts as my actually home office space (rather than the entire 10 x 14 room) and take that square footage as a percentage of the home.

Also, we bought my computer specifically for use in the home office. My husband doesn't use it for anything. He has his own laptop for his needs. Our Internet usage is determined by the fact that 85% of the time the Internet is used at home, it is for my business.

You can see how keeping business separate from home life, you can reap certain financial rewards.

You've probably heard plenty of times how important it is to have a separate home business workspace. And it is important. Indeed, Amy Fontinelle at Investopedia points out that there are two main category advantages to having a separate home business workspace:

1. Psychological
2. Financial

Psychological advantages of a home office

The psychological advantages of a home office that is clearly designated as such draws a clear line between your work life and your family/home life. Sometimes you have to know when to quit. When you have a home office, it is easier to leave that work behind. Sometimes I even shut the home office door so that I am not tempted to head back in and do more work.

Another psychological line is one that works on other people. My husband started taking my work from home job much more seriously once I had an office with my own computer. When we could point to a room, and I could outfit it as a home office, the whole thing seemed much more "real" to him. It also helps me with neighbors and relatives to have a place I can call my office.

Tomorrow we will look at the financial advantages of having a separate home business workspace.

If you have a home business, you know how important it is to have a printer. And an all-in-one printer that can scan and fax as well is a definite bonus.

Over at Biz Chicks Rule, there is a contest for a brand new Epson all-in-one printer. Actually, there are two printers up for grabs. You have until Monday to head on over there and enter the contest.

Last Thursday, I mentioned some of the benefits of exercising in your home office. Today I'd like to offer some tips for exercising while in your home office.

1. Take a break. Take a 10 minute break every couple of hours to do something active: walk up and down the stairs in your house, get up and do some jumping jacks, go through the sun salutation (yoga), play on the Wii with your kids. Find some activity that you can do. This will not only help you boost your metabolism, but it will also get your blood flowing and help out with the problems that can come with prolonged sitting.

2. Start your day with exercise. Get up 15 - 20 minutes earlier and start your day with exercise. This will get you going in the morning. Sometimes I just do five minutes (I like the sun salutation) before I get started with work. It usually helps me be more productive right off.

3. Exercise in the evening. This is actually what I do. If you do this, it should be done at least three hours before you go to bed. I exercise for half an hour right after my son goes to bed. My husband is either doing schoolwork, watching a game on TV or playing video games. So he does that for half an hour and I exercise. Sometimes, I ride the stationary bike while we both watch TV.

4. Incorporate exercise into your routine. Sometimes I put ankle weights on and do little leglifts under my desk. Another thing I do every now and then is take the bus to a cafe with Internet. I walk to and from the bus stop, and I do my work in a different place. Another thing I do is swim twice a week at the university. Afterward, I just set up with the wifi access.

Do you have exercise tips for the home office?

Today and Monday we are going to look at exercising in your home office. Today I offer a brief of the importance of exercise when you work from home.

Benefits of exercising when you work from home

I love being a work from home mom. However, it's a busy life when you have to take care of kids and make sure you get all your work done. And you need time for your partner, if you have one. This can mean that sometimes exercise falls to the wayside. However, if you want to be healthier, it is important take a few minutes each day to do some exercise -- even though you work from home.

Here are some of the benefits you can get from exercising:

* Improve alertness.
* Sleep better.
* Have more energy.
* Increase productivity.
* Deal with sickness better.

Can you think of any other benefits of regular exercise?

Make sure you check in Monday for some helpful tips on exercising in your home office.

One of the downsides of working from home is that there can be a sense of isolation. However, there is a trend toward socializing. It's called co-working. You can get together with other telecommuters and home workers and have a good opportunity to beat back feelings of isolation by banding together with others.

Back in "the day" when my husband and I both jobs outside the home, it was easy to save money on heating bills in the winter: Keep the heat turned down while we were at work.

Now, though, things are more complicated. I work at home, we have a son who is at home half the day and my husband comes home to study some days. So we need a new plan. Happily, over at My Two Dollars, there are some great tips on how to save money on heating bills in the winter:

1. Programmable thermostat, so you don't have to remember to keep resetting it. We have our heat turned down at night.

2. Install storm windows and doors. Do it in stages, instead of all at once.

3. Open the curtains and blinds during the day to let the sun in to warm things up.

4. Make sure your furnace is serviced and in proper working order.

5. Insulation for ducts exposed to the cold.

6. Seal your attic door temporarily.

7. Close the ducts in rooms that don't need heat. We do this in the guest room, and then open them up the day before guests arrive.

8. Make sure the temperature on your water heater is reasonable.

9. Seal an unused fireplace.

10. Fans on low speed can move warm air through the house.

Do you have tips for saving money on heating bills?

Telecommuting is becoming increasingly popular -- and not just for people who own their own home business. Around the world, more companies are allowing their workers to stay at home for a portion -- sometimes all -- of the work week. Indeed, nearly half of employers (4 out of 10) in the U.S. offer the option to telecommute, according to a World at Work survey.

And this work from home trend is only expected to intensify, I think, with all the economic troubles. Just paying for the gas needed to get to work is taking a toll on many household budgets. Management Issues reports on the savings from gasoline alone:

Similarly, a survey by the public-private teleworking partnership Telework Exchange in June argued that allowing employees to work from home just two days a week could save the U.S economy more than $38bn a year in reduced gas bills.

On top of this, employees are more likely to be happy when working at home, since it allows more time with the family (rather than commuting) and can help with the work-life balance.

Do you telecommute? Would you like to telecommute?

What a difference a chair can make! You can see it to the left -- it's the black one. I recently got a new chair for my home office (paid for from my separate business checking account). This chair is much better than my old one. I am more comfortable, and more productive. And my arms and shoulders hurt much less (read: not at all).

Here are some of the great things about the new chair for my home office:

* Better padding/more comfortable.
* Better back support.
* Sits higher, so that my arms and shoulders are in a more ergonomic position.
* Puts me in a better place to view my computer screen.
* Has wheels, so I can get to my files more easily.

Have you recently acquired some home office furniture that makes your life easier?

One of the great things that technology has provided us with is the option to engage in working from home...while not at home.

Right now I am in New York for two weeks, visiting my husband's family. And thanks to the wonder of the laptop, and wireless Internet, I can get my work done while sitting on the couch at my in-laws'. It works pretty slick. I can still "visit" to a certain extent, and I'll get my work done, even though I'm not in my home office.

Do you use technology when working from home while away from home?

Lately, I've really enjoyed the videos about office life. Gives you more reason to get into the whole working from home thing :)

Happy Friday!

I don't know about you, but summertime wreaks havoc with my work from home schedule. My son is home all day, and I want him to have fun summer-y experiences -- like swimming lessons and day camp. So this means that I need to rearrange my schedule while trying not to go crazy.

One of the suggestions for the work from home schedule is to create a routine. Brandie Kajino writes this over at Sparkplugging:

Routines can help the body, mind and business stay on its rails. Leave a little wiggle room for a spontaneous day trip to the beach, it is summer after all.

Just because it's summertime doesn't mean that everything has to go out the window. We still have "wake up time" and "bed time." My son still does workbook and has reading time. We try to do certain activities in the morning, and others in the afternoon.

And my routine changes as well. I do a little more work in the evening, after my son goes to bed. And sometimes I get up a little earlier on Saturday morning to squeeze in a little more work.

Figure out what works for you, and do your best. You loved summertime as a kid, and your children need to love it, too.

This is a great video promoting telecommuting. A funny way to spread bet work from home message.

Happy Friday!

One of the problems that I have in my home office is that the paper clutter tends to stack up. I mean really stack up. You get a file, or a paper, or a report and add it to the pile. Sometimes you just shuffle things from one pile to another, or from one area of your home office to another.

Over at MyOrganizedBiz, Jennifer Hoffman offers a suggestion: Make sure you keep an expiration date on your files. The idea is to keep your paper flowing through your home office, rather than stopping there and gathering dust.

I'm thinking that setting a certain time each day to look at your files and Get Things Done. Or, at least go through your piles once a week. The idea is to keep paper clutter to a minimum, and make sure that you address what's in the files.

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I'd share some tips on conserving energy with your home office computer. These energy saving tips come from The Simple Dollar, and many of them are fairly easy to implement:

1. Use a SmartStrip for your computer and its peripherals. You plug the computer into the main "outlet" and when the computer is on, everything else on the strip gets energy. When the computer is off, everything else is as well.

2. Change the energy settings on your computer.

3. Put chargers (including your laptop charger) on a timer so that they only come on for a limited time.

4. When you replace home office equipment, do star with EnergyStar 4.0 equipment.

5. Dim your computer monitor's brightness.

Every little bit helps.

Happy Earth Day!

Sometimes it is worth it to have a home office, just to escape some of the weirdness that is possible in office decorating. (Or maybe you embrace the weirdness in your home office.)

At any rate, Kathy over at Shak & Jill sent me a link to 10 interesting offices from PoPFi. Really, this is some great stuff.

Does this stimulate your creativity? Or stymie it?

Your environment can actually affect your productivity. This means that it is important to set up your home office in such a way as to allow you to maximize your productivity. This is especially important if you are a work at home mom or a work at home dad. I know that every minute of productivity counts for me.

There are some great tips on increasing productivity with home office design from Darrell Zahorsky. Here are five things he suggests:

*Create a home office that matches the "brand" that you offer -- even if no clients ever see it.

*Limit the amount of noise that enters your home office while you work. (This is why I do most of my work early in the morning and while my son is at preschool.)

*Add nature to your home office. A window, plants and pictures can be soothing and helpful.

*Make sure there is a barrier between your home office and the rest of the house.

*Think of ergonomics when you are setting up and furnishing your home office.

Not too long ago, I posted a video showing my messy home office. And today, Jennifer Hofmann, an expert over at My Organized Biz has provided me with some great suggestions for cleaning things up around the home office. Some of her suggestions include:

*Moving my printer
*Getting a dog leg
*Adding shelving above my desk

I never really considered moving the printer, and I can see how much space it would free up. So I think that will be the first thing that I do...

This is a silent video about a home office that comes to life. It's short and sweet, and I really kind of enjoyed it. Sometimes that's how I feel in my home office. Happy Friday!

Planning a Leap Day party? Here are some "tips" for a Leap Day Party. Happy Friday!

When it comes to home business taxes, it is possible to deduct the space used for your home office. This can be a big help, since in some cases it can amount to quite a bit.

You figure your home office deduction by calculating how much space your home office takes up. This can be an entire room, or even a portion of a room. Then you figure out the percentage of the total square footage of your home that the office takes up. You deduct the percentage of your mortgage payment that goes toward your home office.

This even works for renting. You can deduct a portion of your rent check. And the proportional deduction also applies to utilities, since your home office uses power and heat. For more details, visit the IRS Web site or talk to a tax attorney or accountant.

Are you a good home office worker? This Friday Fun Video compares rather extreme versions of home office worker. Although I disagree quite a bit about the "pajamas" part. I love getting up and starting work in my jammies. :0)

I think the refrigerator qualifies as the vending machine for a home office. However, there are times when the stock in your refrigerator does not match up to what a vending machine has to offer.

Medical Transcription: What's in it for you? tells us about "Hanging around the water cooler" in her home office. She has some great ideas.... especially the part about George Clooney. Yum!

'Oh, but I just thought of something else my home office needs now...a vending machine. I'll start small, maybe buy a bubble gum machine from the toy store, and then work my way up to a full-fledged vending machine with badonkadonk butt candy bars, little packs of musty potato chips, squishy sandwiches, maybe even packs of over-priced cigarettes for my husband. The vending machine would need someone to come and restock it regularly; I picture a handsome man, tall, a full head of wavy dark hair, a twinkle in his eyes. Yes, George Clooney would come by regularly to restock my vending machine. I'll put this on my goal-setting worksheet for the year."

This was done for a contest run forever ago by The Office (which I love) for fan promos. This was great, since it set it up as a "home" office. Enjoy, and Happy Friday!

As Kelly so aptly pointed out, today it's back to the home business grind. I've been thinking about how hard it is to get going after a nice break. After all, this morning I stayed in bed an hour longer than I should have. It's just so hard to get back to things after a vacation. Especially since I took full advantage of yesterday to do absolutely nothing.

The last week or so I've been taking things easy, with future blog posts and other such arrangements of my working from home schedule. So I've been sleeping in. And I've adjusted. I think the only thing that got me up at even a semblance of a decent time is the fact that my son had to go back to school.

So, it's back to early rising. Hopefully by tomorrow I will back into the swing of things.