Whether you work from your home’s living room, a closet-turned-office, or an office in an apartment, you can minimize interruptions. How? Below are some boundaries to set with others. Don’t forget to raise your standards, too.

Interruptions cause you to work twice as hard, so it’s important to eliminate or reduce the interruptions you can control. See which ones you can “fix” right now.

* Keep your office and house as separate as possible. Create an office that you really enjoy walking into and that has everything you want in one area. Organization books call it a “zone” – an area of the house having one purpose.

* Schedule your work hours and publicize the schedule on your web site or in your newsletter. Stick to your schedule no matter what!

* Do not answer the door when you’re on the phone (unless you know someone is coming to the office, of course).

* Hang a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your office door and set boundaries with family and friends.

* Outside your front door, place a special small box (or personal mailbox) for people to leave you messages. Or, leave a note pad and pencil on or near your door.

* If you have only one phone, consider screening your calls using your answering machine. A time management class I attended at the American Management Association, NYC, suggested that phone messages be taken and calls returned at your convenience. As a home business owner, you can do the same thing by using your answering machine to screen your calls.

* The online programs or hardware devices listed below can help you continue to use one phone line with your computer. AOL, Mac and Linux users check the system requirements before purchasing. For phone resources visit http://www.TheResourceQueen.com

* Purchase a second phone or cell phone for work. Or, consider adding a custom ring number to your phone line. This will give you two numbers for about $5 more a month. The new number will ring differently than the main number – usually two short rings compared with one long one – so you can tell when a call is business or personal. Let your personal calls wait until after your scheduled work hours!

* Bring water or something to drink into your office when you start work, and may be a small snack as well. If you enjoy tea or coffee, make sure you have it close by.

* Do not allow others to walk on your business boundaries. Learn to say no without feeling guilty or giving long-winded explanations. Ask someone who is calling about business to call you back on a workday if they call you on a leisure day.