Thanks to the massive growth of the internet and an improvement in technology, many of us are now able to escape the rat race and working for big corporations and instead work for themselves instead. Whether you’re a blogger, freelancer or run a business from home– you get the benefit of having no commute, working on something you’re passionate about and being your own boss.

And of course, there’s all of the flexibility that brings. But there’s one key thing that can be the difference between success and failure when you work for yourself, and surprisingly it’s a simple home office. Here are some of the reasons why having a good home office is so important.

It Separates Work From Home

Working for yourself can be incredibly freeing, you don’t have to answer to anyone but yourself, and you can work your business around other commitments. However, when you and you alone are responsible for success or failure, it’s easy for your work day to turn into every minute you’re not asleep. This of course isn’t healthy, and can quickly lead to burnout. It’s far better to set your working day and stick to it.

Having an office helps to separate ‘work’ and ‘home’ which can be tricky to do otherwise. At the end of each working day, close the door to your office and be done with it until the next. Experiencelife.com suggest that people who set their own working hours report better job satisfaction, so while this can be tricky to get right in the beginning it’s a definite benefit to self employment. You’ll find that when you give yourself chance to rest and recuperate you go back to work feeling far more productive.

It Allows You To Stay Organised

Staying organised is crucial when you work for yourself. You need to keep good records for tax purposes, you need to ensure paperwork is filed correctly so you can access it when needed and you need your equipment to be tidy, so your working day runs as smoothly as possible. Having your own separate office helps to keep all of your work related documents and equipment separate from your personal life.

Nothing gets damaged or lost as it’s kept away from everyone else in the family and it prevents you from making costly mistakes due to misplaced information. Organizing expert Peter Walsh on oprah.com states the best file systems are color-coded as we recognize visual clues faster than labels, so something to bear in mind when you’re setting up your storage.

It Means You Have a Professional Place For Meetings

Does your work involve collaborating with others? In the case of tutoring, you might have customers come directly to your home. Either way, having your own office space looks more professional and means you can invite people in without any distractions. Maintaining a professional image is crucial when you run your own business, even a small home business.

If you don’t have people coming directly to your home for your work, one way you can look more credible is to set up a mailing address; companies like physicaladdress.com can provide you with a real office address as well as a mail forwarding service. Since all of your mail can be scanned, uploaded and sent to you, it means you’re not being bogged down with excessive paperwork too.

It Gives You a Quiet Space to Work

Finally, a quiet space to work is always going to be necessary when you work for yourself. Without distractions, you can power through and get through all of your tasks as quickly and efficiently as possible.