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Travel Counsellors top tips for working at home

Travel Counsellors was one of the first companies in the travel industry to enable experienced travel professionals with an entrepreneurial spirit, and a passion for customer care, to launch corporate and leisure travel businesses from home or shared offices, with the aim to work flexibly around their clients. With more than 26 years of working from home experience we believe our Travel Counsellor franchisees are well placed to share their tips... this is what they had to say;

1. Routine is key to staying motivated

Johannesburg based Travel Counsellor Angela Symons says, “Routine is the key to staying motivated,” adding, “Every day brings different challenges, but you need do your best to be consistent and disciplined – don’t be tempted to stay in your PJs all day.”

2. Start the day with breakfast and exercise

Fuelling your day the right way is top of Johanesburg-based Travel Counsellor’s ‘to-do’ list. Chantel says, “Start every day with breakfast, and if you can, do some exercise! It sets me up for the day with a positive mindset.”

3. Set clear goals

White River based Travel Counsellor Anna Dalrymple emphasises the importance of setting clear goals for your working day. Anna says, “For me, the goal is to clear the desk every night, even if that is later in the evening!” However, it’s not always about burning the midnight oil, and as the Beatles famously sang, we ‘get by with a little help from (our) friends’. Anna takes the time to keep in touch with her fellow Travel Counsellors and colleagues, who are also working from home and ‘in the same boat’.

4. Surround yourself with a support system

“We all face issues and having a support system of colleagues we feel we can be totally honest with about anything, whether it be personal, financial or business-wise, is key to boosting mental wellbeing when working remotely.”

5. Go for a walk: fresh air, fresh mind

Getting into the right headspace is something Worcester based Travel Counsellor Lynde Opperman says is key to keeping on track. Lynde says, “I try to take a lunch or just a break to get out for a run or walk for fresh air, and it helps you come back with a fresh mind.”

6. Balancing workload and managing expectations

With schools closed across the country, many homeworkers will now also be balancing their workload with their children’s schoolwork and keeping the kids entertained. When it comes to homeschooling, Pretoria based Travel Counsellor Marijke Davel says it’s all about managing expectations.

“(Customers) don't mind that you work from home and sometimes have to work around the kids. Our customers often have kids too, and they love the fact that I can work around them as well, plus I can call them during the evenings or weekends at a time when we can talk without the kids interrupting!”

Travel Counsellor Nicci Hayden also manages her workload by managing expectations. Setting realistic deadlines for when work will be done, and “by communicating that clearly and honestly to both customers and colleagues, it helps them to manage their own time at home effectively too.”

7. Create a comfortable working environment

Centurion based Travel Counsellor Roslyn de la Hunt admits that when she first launched her business from home over eleven years ago, she “found it a novelty and was easily distracted. However, like many people at the moment, her husband also works from home which has helped her to get into a routine!”

Ros also recommends having “a dedicated office space with a proper desk, rather than working at the kitchen table, or on my lap.”

If you’re working away from the office for the first time, why not contact us and we can put you in touch with a local Travel Counsellor located close to you for even more hints and tips on the best ways of working happily at home?

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