Maintain a good work schedule, and stick to it

This does not mean that you should have a 9am to 5pm "I'm at work, no one can talk to me!" rule with 'do not disturb' signs n the door, the kids chased away, pets locked outside, and your spouse forced to communicate via e-mail or calling your phone. Emerging from a home office at 6 pm like someone that has just walked in the front door after a day of work at a job outside the home may, on the surface, sound like a good idea, but realistically it won't work for most of the people working from home.

People want to interact with their family. They choose the working from home lifestyle because it allowed them to be there and be a part of their own family rather than a stranger that only sees the rest of the family for a few hours before dinner then straight to bed and do it all over the next day. Most work at homes work longer hours than others anyway, so if you locked yourself away for all the time you are working you may as well divorce your spouse, leave them the kids, and come visit them all on evenings and weekends.

A good work schedule means that you know when you can not be disturbed. For me, I have to be working from 6am to 9am, Monday through Friday. I *should* be working as well from 7pm to 9pm on those same days, but I usually do not lock myself away during that time unless I have to. Otherwise if someone comes over I have no problem dropping my work and going to visit, I can drop what I'm up to and chat with a friend on the phone most of the time, or pause work in the middle of the morning to take a long nap.

Don't let the kids get in the habit of playing with their Transformers collection on your office carpet if it is going to disturb you, but don't feel afraid to let one of them come in and have you help them get the robot to morph back into a dragon properly.

Find your own personal balance between work and family life and you and your family will reap more of the benefits of working from home.