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Welcome to Part 2 of the series in working from home. This time I’ll talk about taking vacations, and managing your day.

Take vacations
Even a stay-at home vacation can work if you plan ahead and take it seriously. First you have to recognize that you need to take the occasional vacation. You'll be far more productive afterward and any resentment you've bottled up about the job has a wonderful way of dissipating.

If you'll be staying at home here are some things you can do to ensure some privacy:

• Make sure your clients know you will be closed
• Change your phone message at least a week ahead saying when you will be unavailable. Once you're in official vacation-mode update the message to say when you'll be "back"
• Add a line to your email signatures and website letting people know of the closure
• Identify clients or projects that are likely to become a problem while you're checked out, and try to deal with them ahead of time, or at least be sure clients understand when you can resume your work with them. That way you won't be worried during your vacation time, and won't feel the temptation to do "just a little bit of work".
• Once you're free, don't answer the phone under any circumstances. Remember that what you do is not a matter of life and death and know that as long as everyone has been informed of the closure, you have a right to make them wait a little.
• Resist the urge to work. Turn off your computer or even have your spouse put a password on your business files so you can't cheat.
• If you do get trapped into working, don't feel guilty. Do the job then get back to some top-quality relaxation as soon as possible.

Take lunch breaks
Obviously you don't need to take an hour when you don't want to, but a short brain-break can be totally revitalizing. Go for a walk, read a book, or even do the dishes; anything that doesn't fall into your self-made job description.

Teach your friends about your schedule
A friend of mine worked from home for years as an hourly employee. One of the biggest problems she found was making her friends understand that she wasn't at their beck and call. Well-meaning people assume that if you're home you're free, and surely you could just make up the work at some other time. Since she was paid by the hour, if a friend compromised her time she ended up working late into the night and over the weekend to make up the lost hours.

Even if you’re not on an hourly schedule, most of us feel that built in responsibility to fulfill a certain number of hours over the course of the week. Being able to set a schedule and stick to it will help create a sharper divide between work and play, and make it easier to get the most out of leisure time. If you've lost half the day because someone called to chat, chances are you'll push well into the evening because you feel guilty about the lost time. Sure, the hours might balance out, but it's not a healthy way to function.

More to follow.