There is a simple code that I abide by to help ensure peace and balance in life, and that is what happens at work stays at work there, and what happens at home stays at home. Mixing the two worlds often can have troubling effects on both areas of your life. This can be especially difficult for people that work from their homes and be even more difficult to manage.

Of course after I say that I need to clarify. I also believe that your job takes at least eight hours of your day, and that being able to share that time with your spouse is important. Talking about it is one thing, coming home and taking it out on your family is something else.

Strategy One: Use the drive home to focus on coming home.

This strategy is more geared for people who work outside of the house, it’s important. However long your commute from work to home is, use that time to work through work issues somewhat and then focus on what you have to look forward to at home. Think about your loved ones and what their day might have been like.

Tip Two: Make a Schedule

This tip is for people that work from home, where keeping work and family separate is even more of a challenge. You might need to think outside of the box. There’s a great tendency to put in alot more work hours when you work from home, simply because you’re there. Perhaps you can work after the kids have gone to bed, or down for a nap. But look at the needs of your family and see if you can carve out times when their needs are less to use that for work hours.

Tip Three: Separate Your Phone lines

Fortunately for me, with my business I rarely have to be on the phone, almost all communication with clients is done via email. But if you are finding that you are getting business phone calls at all hours, having a separate number for them to call is great. You also have the option of making your cell phone your business phone and the home phone is personal. This way when your work day is done you can put the phone down and walk away from it. You can also separate the rings for people you know personally and business so you don’t accidentally answer a business call after working hours.

Four: Make a designated place for business transactions.

I know this isn’t always realistic, but try your best to create a work space. Is there a spare room? There are beautiful little room partitions that you can get to help make a workspace. It’s important for you to be able to get up and walk away from work, plus it helps in keeping family members out of the work area.