Transition to Home Office

Happy Day! 🥳

2005: “There’s just not that many videos I want to watch.” — Steve Chen, CTO and co-founder of YouTube expressing concerns about his company’s long term viability.

By now you have guessed my number one rule… don’t hire anyone until absolutely necessary and even then question the decision. My number 2 rule is do not open an office or facility of any kind unless you absolutely have to and even then question the decision.

Both rules will save you a lot of cash at the outset. Both rules keep you adaptable while you learn what business you are actually in. Later on you can do what you want, but you need to reserve cash so that there is actually a “later-on.”

This means starting your company from a home office. It might not always be that way (mine have) but it should be at the start. A separate office costs you money. A home-based office saves you money as it is tax deductible from your income.

The transition to home can be challenging for those who have spent a long time working in a traditional office or for those who have used home as a homemaker for a length of time. Thinking of home in the same professional manner as an office takes a bit of adjustment. In these activities I will offer a lot of advice to help you get the transition right.

Adopting to a home office environment has the added benefit that you set your own schedule. It can be a double-edged sword as the following case study shows.

C.S. Lewis relied on a steadfast daily routine as he worked from home on his writing projects and business affairs. “I would choose always to breakfast at exactly eight and to be at my desk by nine, there to read or write till one. If a cup of good tea or coffee could be brought me about eleven, so much the better. A step or so out of doors for a pint of beer would not do quite so well; for a man does not want to drink alone and if you meet a friend in the taproom, the break is likely to be extended beyond its ten minutes. At one precisely, lunch should be on the table; and by two at the latest I would be on the road. Not, except at rare intervals, with a friend. Walking and talking are two very great pleasures, but it is a mistake to combine them. Our own noise blots out the sounds and silences of the outdoor world; and talking leads almost inevitably to smoking, and then farewell to nature as far as one of our senses is concerned. The return from the walk, and the arrival of tea, should be exactly coincident, and not later than a quarter past four. Tea should be taken in solitude. For eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably. At five a man should be at work again, and at it till seven. Then, at the evening meal and after, comes the time for talk, or, failing that, for lighter reading; and unless you are making a night of it with your cronies there is no reason why you should ever be in bed later than eleven.”

What a relaxing, inspiring routine that all sounds. Few of you reading this will have the luxury of time to take walks, or to have food and drink brought to you exactly as you need it, but the key message here is the importance of setting up a strict daily routine for your home office. No two routines would be alike, and perhaps you would also like to consider the quite remarkable daily schedule observed by Winston Churchill?

According to The Churchill Center and Museum at The Churchill War Rooms, Chartwell Manor, London, in the 1930’s, when Churchill was a prolific writer, he awoke at 7:30 a.m. on the dot. He insisted on a regimented routine and organized his staff to abide by it. He remained in bed for a substantial breakfast and reading of mail and all the national newspapers. For the next two hours, precisely, still in bed, he worked, dictating to his secretaries.

At 11:00 a.m., he arose, bathed, and took a walk around the garden. Then he took a weak whisky and soda to his study where he worked on his books for two hours.

At 1:00 p.m. he joined guests and family for a three-course lunch. Clementine drank claret, Winston champagne; preferably Pol Roger served at a specific temperature, port brandy and cigars. When lunch ended, about 3:30 p.m., he returned to his study to work.

At 5:00 p.m., after another weak whiskey and soda, he went to bed for an hour and a half. He said this siesta, a habit gained in Cuba, allowed him to work 1 1/2 days in every 24 hours. At 6:30 p.m. he awoke, bathed again, and dressed for dinner at 8:00 p.m. After his guests retired, Churchill returned to his study for another hour of work.

I doubt that my liver could tolerate that Churchill regimen, but it is fun to read nonetheless.

When you work outside of the home you typically have a routine that is almost on automatic pilot. You know what time you need to wake up, what time you need to leave the house, when your first meeting is scheduled, when it is acceptable to take lunch etc. When you transition to home you need to set a new routine, and one you can easily stick to.

Now, I would be a hypocrite if I said I follow routines like a robot might. A start-up is a world of surprises and that is one of the pleasures. No two days are the same. The downside of that is that at times running a start-up can feel like running around putting out fires. It can be stressful. So, we have to build into our crazy world routine events and breaks that allow us to take a breather, lower stress, and feel mentally strong.

Despite their remarkable routines, CS Lewis and Churchill had a balance to their typical day. They took walks with fresh air, enjoyed the arts, ate and drank all set in routine around their core activity.

When you transition to home you need to set a schedule with almost religious vigor. Here is my typical entrepreneur schedule. It has served me well so I suggest you do likewise at least until you feel confident and successful enough to make changes without jeopardizing that. I will add notes and intimate detail… no not that intimate… so you can see there is method to my madness. Writing it down might make it seem obsessive, but it is routine done for a reason and with a smile.

06:55 Wake up (No need for alarm as this has been my wake up time for decades now. Also I find alarms well, alarming, and it is not a positive way to start the day). I jump out of bed without hesitation (I think has to do with military training). I make myself smile no matter how sleepy I still feel. I stretch. Note there are no phones or computers in the bedroom as the temptation to check email or voice-mail is just too great. They are locked away in my office area. TV or radio stay in the off position. Once you switch on and allow all that negative junk in your head you might as well quit for the day.

As I get dressed, I quietly speak several affirmations to myself. I make them up daily such as; “Good morning life. I feel fantastic today and I know we will do some great things together. I am Trevor G Blake and I am… then I reel off my current Intentions (see Three Simple Steps), which take about a minute and I always finish with an Amen sound (not for religious reasons but because it is the sound of creating (see Transformation course). At this point many of you will think me a nutcase. I am not. I am 3 for 3 as a start-up success, and everything I do is simply what I observed in dozens of biographies of successful men and women through history. henry Ford used to wake up this way. I tried it for myself years ago. I felt a bit weird at first, but then realized that all my wife saw and heard was her husband getting out of bed.

Dress in comfortable clothes. Drink large glass of water. At this point I have been awake five minutes and have heard no other sounds than my own breathing and mental chat. Fortunately for me my wife can sleep through (and has) a hurricane.

Go to private room to:

07:00 Take Quiet Time.

07:30 My wife rises. We go downstairs. Go get the dogs and take them for a walk. This is not just a routine walk. Other than loving and having fun with my dogs I mentally go through a “connection” routine as we walk (see Transformation). It is important to be sure that when I start “work” my mind is clear and connected. The walk does not have a regular duration, but is usually around 30 minutes.

08:00 While the wife gets the dogs fed I do a short workout using a R.O.M machine (www.fastexercise.com). I have used this machine for the last decade. I don’t enjoy working out and I don’t like the amount of time it takes. The ROM does for me in 4 minutes what I used to take an hour to achieve. They cost $15,000 but they work. (The science behind them is solid.) We take breakfast as a family and I catch-up on my soccer, investments and hobby news. Note I have deliberately stopped myself checking anything work related. I have not checked email or vmx or wechat. This is not at all easy, but getting into this habit early on in your business will help with the stress load. We must build balance and avoid the temptation to simply wake up and check messages or wake up and go into the home office.

09:00 (ish) Dogs actually start yapping and looking toward my office. They like routine too.

Into my office, the very first thing I do is to read my white board (see later activity) and do whatever item I placed as priority 1 the evening before I left the office. This is essential discipline. Note I have still not checked messages even though I know there are many waiting from other time zones. This takes discipline, but if I do that first I will likely never get to the priority list on my white board. At least this way I have guaranteed getting one thing done.

11:00 I take a break no matter how busy I am. No matter the weather, dogs and I go outside for 30 minutes. I leave all electronics behind. It is essential chill time.

11:30 Back to work.

12:30 lunch. It is vital to make yourself stop to eat. We go downstairs and gather in the kitchen. Often we all go out for lunch nearby. I find it useful and healthy to change environment for an hour or so and get out to connect so we go out for lunch about 4 times a week.

14.00 Nap (see later. Napping is essential for the brain peak performance)

15:00- 16:30 Work period

My work day is done. Because I do some work with Asian partners I will cut into my evenings on rare occasions between 17:30 and 18:00 which is early morning their time.

After that my wife and I prepare dinner together. Nothing work related infringes on our evening. My work messages are locked away in the office.

You’ll note that I only have 5 hours for work. That is more than enough because without the constant interruptions of meetings, human resource issues, visitors at the office door etc. I get as much done in that time as I used to get done in 3 days in a traditional office. I believe any more than 5 hours risks burnout.

I do not under any circumstances work on weekend days and usually my office door remains closed the whole time.