Although bloggers can work from anywhere because the laptop and ubiquitous Internet connectivity makes it unnecessary to work from an office, it may not always be the best lifestyle choice.
While it is always pleasant to work from a coffee shop or on the beach, does this really help you to be a top-rate blogger in your niche? After all, without a dedicated place to work, a blogger is less likely to stay focused and develop a cogent, original and insightful post.
In other words, lifestyle choices may interfere with work ethic. Without a dedicated office space, there are just too many distractions to stay focused on the task of blogging.
Here are 5 reasons why bloggers may benefit from setting up a dedicated office, within your own home.
Significantly Increased Productivity
Although it is not as much fun to work as it is to play, the more successful your business becomes the better your lifestyle choices. When sitting at a desk in a quiet room it becomes obvious when you are working and when you are not working.
Alternatively, sitting on a park bench or in a library, it is easy to get distracted by unfolding events and lured into casual conversations. When you’re looking around or chatting, you’re not aware of wasting time.
Assuming that you’re interested in making your blog a success, it is well worth getting organized and productive. A dedicated home office space is much more likely to help you achieve business goals, as well as lifestyle goals.
Improved Focus on Work
There are numerous benefits to working in a home office:
If you need to meet with clients, you will have a place to talk other than a coffee shop. If you are outsourcing your blogging needs, you may need privacy and quality time going over your plans with local writers and designers.If you have daily goals that you want to get accomplished, an office will allow you to get organized and stay on top of your task list.
Working in an office will give you enough time to research and psychological space to develop original themes. This is especially important if your blog is monetized and requires a steady flow of traffic to it.
The better researched your blog posts, the better your readership.You can organize all your paperwork and not worry about your documents getting moved or lost.
Develop a More Professional Image
If you are a freelance blogger, interested in helping other people set up their blogs either as a designer, marketing consultant, coach, or writer you need to project a professional image.
Clients will feel reassured by a physical location when they come to visit you. If you are sharing an office building or office space with other independent consultants or professionals, you will get a chance to spend your time writing leadership articles and improve your business network.
Additionally, if you are sharing office expenses with others, you may be able to afford the services of an administrative support staff.
Take Advantage of Tax Breaks
While you may be able to turn in your cafe receipts as office expenses, it makes much more sense to turn in receipts related to the business aspect of repairs, painting, insurance, utilities, rent, mortgage, or real estate taxes. Moreover, you can even claim depreciation costs of your office equipment.
However, in order to be eligible for home office tax deductions, the room you use has to be dedicated business office space. If your computer is also used by your spouse to surf the net and catch up on emails and for your children to do their homework, the IRS will not consider it an office, however a spare bedroom.
Fewer Distractions and Defined Boundaries
While a portable laptop and a blogging business may appear to be the ultimate career choice for an independent professional, it actually has numerous disadvantages. In order to fully appreciate the benefits of a dedicated office space, let us take at two things that often happen without one. First, you will be distracted if working on a blog in the kitchen or living room.
Your family will be preparing food, turning on the TV, or conversing about topics that will engage your interest. Second, you will not have set up clear boundaries with family members and will not get any privacy.
An office tells people when you are at work. A closed door makes this message even more obvious. Your family will understand that you don’t want to be disturbed.
Without sufficient privacy, it is difficult to finish your work or even think creatively about how you want to develop your blog themes or what marketing software you should create. What’s more, your family will not know when you are available for family time and when you are at work.
Simply having your laptop open is not sufficient to convince them that you are at work because they have caught you surfing the net many times when you were supposed to be blogging.
Summary
When you consider the advantages of having a dedicated home office space, it appears to far outweigh the benefits of simply enjoying a more carefree blogging career.
Ultimately, without organizing your work, planning your blog, and dedicating time to writing outstanding blog posts, you are not likely to make an impact on the blogosphere.
