One of the hardest things about working from home is the fact that there are so many distractions. And, of course, no matter where you work, your computer is an endless source of distractions. You can help cut down on distractions when working from home if you try to have a set time to work (preferably when the kids are at school or down for a nap), and by having a dedicated space for your home office.

But what can you do about distractions on your computer? Freelance Folder offers some insight into freelance writing tools that can help you increase your productivity, many of them by making adjustments to your screen so that you can only see what you are typing, or that limits you to accessing one application at a time.

1. WriteMonkey (Windows)
2. WriteRoom (Mac)
3. Dark Room (Windows)
4. Think (Mac)

You can also use something called RescueTime that tracks the type of web browsing that you do, logging your visits and helping you pinpoint the biggest time wasters. Then you can focus for a certain amount of time, while RescueTime blocks out the distracting sites.

These are interesting productivity tools, and they can help your reduce distractions and get more done.

When you have a home business, it can be very helpful to have a blog. This can serve as a way to draw traffic, and to help you build a loyal community. Easton at Visionary Blogging offers some helpful hints on improving your blog community:

1. Create something worthy of interest: Have good content, a good product or some other draw. You want your community to be interested in, well, becoming your blog community.

2. Get people to use your blog: Invite people to stop by. This includes asking friends to “fan” your home business blog’s page on Facebook, among other things.

3. Ask people to share: You can ask your followers and current community to share your blog with others.

4. Reward: There needs to be some sort of reward, from praise to freebies to some other sort of kudos, you need to let your blog community know that you appreciate them.

Its time to begin another year, and I hope that you are set for a more successful 2010. Good luck with your home business resolutions, and may you find a little more prosperity and happiness in the coming year.

Image source: onemonkeyshow

Yesterday was an interesting day for me. I have a client who has a very small regular order, and he is one of my oldest clients, so re-negotiations have been few and far between. But this client also expects quite a lot from me, asking for more and more, even though he is my smallest client. After I got off a 30 minute phone call with someone he wanted me to interview for a longer piece that we didn’t negotiate beyond the usual monthly quota, I asked myself: What am I doing? Does this guy even value my time, or value my work as a professional?

It struck me that those that pay the least often expect the most from you.

Then, a couple hours later, I received an Amazon gift code for a rather substantial sum in my email inbox. This was from a different client (for whom I do a different sort of work) — one of my biggest. These guys have a lot of regular, good-paying work for me. And they sent me a very nice Christmas bonus on top of everything. This company truly values me and my time and wants to establish a very positive working relationship with me.

It made me wonder if I should raise my rate for the other guy. Would he value me more if he had pay more for my services? Or would he dump me? After yesterday, I’m not sure that I would mind.

It’s true: when you work from home or own a home business, you find that you rarely get a true vacation. People in traditional jobs get holidays off, but when you are freelancing, you may not get that same time off. If you do want time off, it requires advance planning. For instance, I have been planning my workload for the holidays for the last month, in the hopes that I can enjoy some time off. Here are some things you can do to help you get ready for the holidays:

* Work a little extra: I normally do not work weekends. However, I have been working a couple of hours on Saturday lately to get some extra work done. Those two hours, added up over a few weeks, are really showing some advantages. I’ll be able to take Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day totally off. And I’ll have shortened days on Black Friday and Christmas Eve.

* Pre-post: Along with working a little extra ahead of time, I find that the magic of technology can be immensely helpful. Yes, some of my blogs will post up on Thursday. But I won’t be doing it. Nope. I’ll be scheduling the posts ahead of time to post automatically, so I don’t have to do it the day of. The same thing will happen on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

* Cut back on projects: I limit the number of new projects I take on during the holiday season. In some cases, I just let people know that my availability starts in January. This can alleviate some of the pressure, especially since I schedule most major projects to end prior to Thanksgiving. This allows me a more relaxed holiday season, and the chance to be more comfortable throughout.

* Prepare your finances: Obviously, if you are going to cut back on projects during the holidays, you have to be prepared. I take advantage of windfall months to set money aside for use during the holidays so that I have the resources to take it a little easier.

What do you do to prepare your freelancing business for the holidays?

In these times of economic turmoil, with concerns of a double-dip recession, it is little surprise that people are looking for ways to work from home. And one of the ways people do this is by making money online. There are a number of home business ideas based around the Internet. Money Ning offers an overview of some of the routes you can take if you are interested in making money online:

* Create web content: You can do this through blogging, creating articles for other sites or doing some other type of web writing. This can also include creating and selling an ebook.

* Build an online storefront: You can do this through other sites, or create your own store. Sell products and services. Some of these can even be homemade, such as creating crafts to sell.

* Affiliate programs: You can join affiliate programs and get a commission when people you refer buy something from a site. There are a number of affiliate programs you can join, and you can put badges up on your web site to increase your revenue.

In the end, there are a number of ways for making money online. But you should be warned: It takes work and dedication to get started.

You’ve probably heard about how Twitter can be a great tool. And it can. It’s a good way to spread the word about a particularly interesting post. (Or to regularly update via some sort of something like Twitterfeed.) Easton at Visionary Blogging sent some helpful Twitter tips for increasing traffic to your web site. Here are 3 ideas that I especially liked:

1. Place Twitter buttons on your articles.

2. Share original in your tweets, not just RTs of other people’s stuff.

3. Share useful links to your web site regularly.

Of course, there is such a thing as overkill, and you want to be careful. No-one likes Twitter spam. But you can use moderation and share helpful tweets and interesting posts from your home business blog. And find new followers and maybe get a little extra traffic.

One always wonders how to continually come up with content for blog posts. Indeed, when you are trying to find inspiration for your home business blog, it can be frustrating to draw a blank. The good news is that there are some places you can turn to find a little help in getting started. Some of the places I like to look include:

* News reader: This can collect up news and the latest posts and headlines from your favorite sites. News sites, industry sites and other blogs. It is easy to skim the news reader for good topics.

* Email alerts: You can receive alerts in your email inbox when something is published on a topic you have interest in. Email subscriptions to your favorite newsletters can serve the same purpose.

* Your life: Look at what is happening in your daily life, and use that for inspiration for blog posts. If you have giveaways and contests, that can also make a good subject for a blog post.

It you’re still stuck for blog post ideas, you can head to GregWolejko.com and see this list of lists containing blog post ideas.

When you work from home as a freelancer, it is vital to look for opportunities. If you want more opportunities, you might want to look in more places. Laura Spencer, at Freelance Folder, has some great suggestions for increasing your chances of finding more freelancing opportunities:

* Follow instructions: You are more likely to get a look if you follow the instructions on the job posting.

* Be first: You want to be one of the first to respond to a job posting. Spencer says that Monday morning is the best time to look for freelancing opportunities.

* Consider the source: Instead of going to a job aggregator site, look at the original posting site. You might get a jump on things before the job is aggregrated — and seen by more people.

* Use social media: It sounds funny, but it’s true. An active social media presence can help you find freelancing opportunities. I have received gigs via LinkedIn, Twitter and StumbleUpon.

* Have a web site: A web site allows you to be found more easily, and provides contact information and a resume. You can also have a blog on your web site to draw even more traffic.

With Twitter getting so much play these days, it isn’t surprising to find that some think that blogging is dead. However, your home business should probably still have a blog. Adam Singer, at The Future Buzz, points out that a blog can be very helpful to a small business. He reports the following numbers from Technorati’s annual report on what’s going on in the blogosphere, in terms of professionals who have blogs:

1. Those with blogs have 71% greater visibility in their industry.

2. 63% of businesses claim that clients purchases products and services after being drawn to the site by the blog.

3. More than half (56%) of small businesses say that their companies are considered thought leaders now that they have blogs.

4. 40% of business owners with blogs have been asked to speak at conferences.

One of the biggest advantages to having a blog for your home business — especially one that is frequently updated with useful and well-written content — is visibility. You are easier to find, and it provides you with a professional image, and with the reputation as an expert in your field. And you can use blogging as an effective communication tool. So, while business blogging may take an investment of time and even a little money, in the end, the dividends it pays can be pretty substantial.