The best way to start compartmentalizing work and home life is to set aside an area that you will be doing your work in. This can be an office, or even a room that is used for other things, but it needs to be a quiet peaceful room in order for you to be able to work. An office is a great way to have a tax break also. If there is not a room for you to be able to separate the work area from the home area, you can put up a separator of types to help provide some sort of barrier between home and work. You will be able to claim a percent of your bills due to that room being part of the small business.

There are many things that can come up and will disrupt the work that needs to be completed when you work at home. This is one of the major challenges when you are trying to compartmentalize your home and business at home. When you are working on your work, you will need to plan out what needs to be completed on a daily basis. You will need to treat this the same as you would if you were at work in a conventional office.

Set the same time every day that you will be completing your work. Even if things come up, try to set expectations of what you have to complete and ask others to work around your work just like it was a regular job that you would have in a regular office. If things come up, just like any other job, you will have to use the available sick time in your mind, but you will have to make up the work at a time that may be less convenient. This can be on the weekend or in the evening.

Make your office and office. This means even if you just use a desk, computer, closet and phone that you remain professional and remove clutter daily from these areas. It is important that you organize the work world you are in so that you are not appearing cluttered with your customers. A cluttered environment is not easy to maintain your focus in for completing tasks.

Just like with a conventional job, try to plan out activities that will interfere with work. This means planning days off or partial days off to handle family activities, Doctor appointments, car repairs etc. This way you will not be trying to juggle so many activities at one time, leaving your work to not be completed.
Home-based businesses are often worked with people who have children and want to be able to be home with those children. That is no wonder with all the confusion, negativity and child abuse in many day care situations.

Running a home business if very rewarding, and can be a great way to make money for your family, while still taking care of your home life. However it is up to you, to make sure that the balance and completion of each of these parts of your life are successful. A little organization and expectations will go a long way when you are going to compartmentalize your home life with your work life.