Whether you telecommute or run a business from your home like we do, there are so many ways you can find yourself pulled off track. Here are three myths and three reality checks to help you draw some boundaries around your home and office life for a more productive business week:

Myth 1: An advantage to working at home is you can juggle mutiple tasks at once, like doing the laundry and making sales calls.

Reality: Mixing chores and office work accomplishes one thing: a clean house and a poor business day. I have a rule that when I am in the office, I am working. If I choose to take a break, I acknowledge it as such and maybe empty the dishwasher or make a bed. After all, in any work environment you have to get up from your desk now and then! But trying to do two things at once is distracting. Not to mention a great way to keep from doing some of the more challenging tasks of a home-based business, such as filing or cold calling!

Myth 2: Working at home means I can stay in my jammies or sweats all day.

Reality: Would you show up at your worksite in jammies or sweats? Why not treat yourself at home with the same respect as you would in the presence of others? At first the temptation to be ultra-comfortable (jammie-comfortable) is hard to resist. After all, who's watching? And what's the big deal anyway? Well, it's a mind thing.

Ultra-comfortable clothes are associated with time off, not time at work. And what if one of your calls developed into an immediate appointment or you had to run out to the store for a printer cartridge? How much time would you lose during the workday getting yourself together? A woman I work with has had her own advertising and design business in her home for the last ten years. I go to her office twice a month to do her books and I never fail to find her at her computer, dressed in casual-Friday style (or better) by 8:00 each day. Sound too rigid for you? Try it and see how much you accomplish when you start taking yourself and your workplace seriously.

Myth 3: Your day can begin and end as your energy level dictates.

Reality: This myth is true, as long as your workday includes eight hours, like any other. I am a morning person, no doubt about it. Most of my e-mails are answered before 6:00 AM each morning; however, I don't feel my real workday starts until I get cleaned up, have breakfast and sit at my desk. What I have found is that if I put in a good morning's work, break for lunch (meaning I actually go sit down at the table or outside for a half hour and eat) I have the energy for a pretty good afternoon, which for me ends at 3:00 PM. If you are not a morning person, be sure no matter what time you begin, you have enough time during the day for a full day's work before the kids and the spouse show up and demand your attention.

Give yourself a week with this new frame of mind. Just because you work out of your home doesn't mean your workplace or your attitude should be any less professional than in a downtown office. Try it and see if you don't feel more organized and less likely to be pulled in 27 directions when you place structure around your home/work environment.