1 Get the important things done first

By setting a timetable for your working week. It doesn’t have to be the same routine every week, but plan the following week’s schedule so that personal and business commitments are separated and you allow sufficient, uninterrupted working hours each day. This ensures that when meetings are arranged, professionally or socially, you won’t let anyone down. More importantly, it also means that you can relax, knowing you have an effective schedule, can take proper breaks and end your working day at a reasonable time. If you live with a partner or family scheduling is particularly important if you are to maintain a balance between your personal and work lives.

2 Create a separate workspace where possible

Working from home often means having to consider others, but your schedule won’t remain intact if you have kids demanding your attention or housemates bringing home friends and walking into your workspace. If possible, your workspace should be in a quiet part of the house. A sign on the door letting people know if you can be interrupted is also useful. At the very least have somewhere to shut away your work things at the end of the day. Packing up is an excellent way of signalling to yourself and others that your working day is over.

3 Have at least three external meetings each week

Building meetings outside of your home into your working week means you actually get out and speak to people. It also means that you are engaged in building your professional network and promoting your business. A great way to do this is to use a co-working space. These are open-plan, shared workspaces where you can hire a desk by the day or half day. They often have social cafeterias and business events that you can attend to learn new things and make new connections.

4 Make sure you love what you do

This might sound obvious, but you have to really love something about your business if you are to get through more demanding days. Whether it’s being your own boss, loving what you make or the service you deliver, or simply engaging with people to promote and sell your product or service. The more you like something the better you tend to be at it. And it makes the things you don’t like easier to tolerate.

5 Deactivate notifications on mobile devices when you’re not working

It’s tempting to have every work-related email and social network app notification pinging just in case you miss something really important, but whether you’re in working hours or not, this can be incredibly distracting, diverting your attention away from your well-planned day or critical objectives. If your business does not need you to be available 24/7, turn off the automatic notifications on your devices out of working hours.

6 Find yourself a mentor

A good mentor can help you succeed. They’re usually someone who has been in business, having started from exactly your position; someone who has overcome similar challenges. They may have specialist knowledge or networks you can tap into and will ask you questions to test your thinking. It’s good to be challenged in this way. A good mentor will help you see things from an external, impartial perspective, which can be incredibly valuable when you’re working from home, mostly by yourself. Equally important, a good business mentor also brings compassion and empathy and cares about your long-term success.

This article is taken from http://www.startupdonut.co.uk/blog/2014/10/six-top-tips-making-your-home-based-business-success