I’ve been writing a whole lot lately about how hard it is to work from home. I’ve been thinking about productivity and how to make it better in the home office. I’ve been wondering if multi-tasking helps or hinders these goals. And I’ve been putting together tips for increasing home office productivity. All of these things are based on my own experiences working from home for so many years.

But the truth is that I don’t always do what I recommend that others should do. And yes, my productivity probably falters because of it. Some of the things that I do wrong when it comes to working from home:

• I turn on the TV at lunchtime. It’s supposed to be a quick distraction but usually I get sucked in and leave it on for several hours in the background while I try to do my work which tends to mean that I’m only half paying attention to what I need to be working on.
• I check my social networking sites and IM throughout the day. This means that I’m regularly getting distracted by non-work conversations during my work hours.
• I often work from bed. I don’t have a good work space in my house and I frequently spend hours working from my bed even though I don’t think this is healthy for the mind or body.

However, there’s a lot I do right which is why I can make things work as a full-time freelancers. Things I’ve gotten down include:

• Scheduling. I’ve learned to create a schedule that works for me and I’ve learned how to adapt that schedule as needed when other things come up.
• Setting boundaries. When I don’t want to be bothered during working hours I have no problem letting people know that.
• Getting up and dressed. Even though I work from bed a lot, I always get up first and shower and put on clothes that are nice and make the bed before getting back into it.

Learning to work well from home takes time. I’m getting there.

Tags: advice, business, freelance, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, productivity, small business, work, work from home, working for yourself, writing

I’ve been busy answering questions over at Yahoo! Answers again. One of my favorite things about being a web writer is the diversity of the topics that I get a chance to learn about and become an expert in. The fact that two of my Yahoo! Answers were recently chosen as “best answers” even though they are from widely different topic areas is a testament to the fact that web writers really get to know their stuff across a diverse range of interest areas.

On the one hand, I answered a question about which is the best city to live in. I’m certain that no one is surprised that I argued for San Francisco since we all know that this city has my heart. But I tried to be thorough in my answer so that others could see why I feel that way. This answer came from the hands-on personal experience of living here as well as the research I’ve done about the area since I write about it so frequently. I also made sure to cover the highlights of other great cities and to emphasize that ultimately the answer to this question is a really personal one.

The other topic I answered a question about was completely different. Someone asked how to pay for shipping. I think I answered that completely but also went on to try to explain some of the pros and cons of shopping when it comes to shipping fees as well as to offer tips for reducing shipping costs. I figured that people looking into shipping anything would want that money-saving information!

So hopefully that was helpful.

Tags: advice, answers, cities, how to, kathryn vercillo, Personal Finance, questions, Travel, Yahoo Answers

DayTipper is a really cool site where people provide short tips on all sorts of different topics. It’s easy to sign up to contribute there. I like to participate there so that I can share some of the things that I’m learning about in my research around the web.

Take a look at some of the tips that I’ve recently had published there:

• How to be a Great Friend to Other Women.
• Natural Treatments for Fibromyalgia.
• Make your Boyfriend Feel Sexy.
• Wear Red Shoes without Looking Ridiculous.
• Travel Without Leaving Home.
• Choose an Electric Car.
• Cost of Owning a Pet.
• Simple Chocolate Mousse Alternative.

Would love to know your thoughts on any of those tips!

Tags: advice, day tipper, how to, links, smartchick, tips, websites

I’ve been busy answering questions over on Yahoo Answers. I think it’s a great way to connect with other people, share information about the things that I’m knowledgeable about and explore my thoughts on different topics. And apparently I’m not half-bad at giving advice because three of my recent Yahoo Answers were chosen as the “best answer” in their respective topics.

Take a look:

• I provided a detailed answer to a question about where to travel in the West or Southwest for Spring Break. Mostly I suggested cities in Arizona because the asker was really interested in doing photography on the trip and Arizona is such a beautiful state. However, I did note that there are several other great spring break destinations in that area.
• I gave a resounding yes answer to the question on whether yoga as anger management is a good idea. I believe that yoga is a great tool for stress reduction and for getting to know yourself which are two definite keys for reducing the feelings of anger in your life.
• I offered what I hope was helpful advice to someone seeking to find a way to get over a breakup without turning to friends. Basically what I said is that there are several things that you can do to get over a break up including finding things you enjoy to occupy your time. However, I pointed out that friends can really be a great support system in times like this and that the key is to choose the right friends for that support.

So I write about a lot of different things but I try to make sure that I know what I’m talking about before giving advice on any of them. I do my research, think it through and try to provide a complete answer to the question before me.

Tags: advice, break up, kathryn vercillo, questions, Relationships, spring break, writing, Yahoo Answers, yoga

I have a confession to make. I have written tons of articles on parenting and yet I am not a parent. So, what do I know about parenting? A lot actually. You see, I worked in the field of child welfare for several years which allowed me to take numerous parenting classes, interact with many different types of parents and family counselors and even be a (foster) parent for two years.

I actually think that every single parent out there should take parenting classes. I believe that my ability to do any kind of parenting at all was heightened by the fact that I took these classes and studied up on the topic. There aren’t any exact things that you can do to be a good parent, of course, but the more that you learn about different parenting styles and parenting options, the better equipped you’re going to be to make the right choices for you as a parent.

So, yes, I offer parenting advice now and then. For example, I’ve got an article over at HubPages today with ten tips for single parents who want to start dating again but who have teenage children that are taking issue with that. I’m not saying that these tips are the right answers for every person in this situation. I’m just saying that these are some of the things I’ve seen work for people in that situation over the years so they could be a good place to start if it’s a problem that you have.

Tags: advice, child welfare, dating, foster care, Parenting, parents dating, single parent, teens