Stress-free strategies for your home office

Stress-free strategies for your home office: "Stress-free strategies for your home office
Create a balance between work and play
By Cheryl Embrett

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While working from home has its benefits — flexible hours and an escape from office politics for starters — it's no guarantee against stress. In fact, it can be more stressful to work at home than to work in a structured environment because you have so many competing demands and responsibilities, says Jane Bal, a stress management counselor at Don Mills Counselling and Consulting Centre in Don Mills, Ont.
While a certain amount of stress can make you more productive, too much can have a negative effect on your work — and your health. 'You want to create that balance in your home office of productivity and calm,' says Estelle Gee, the owner of Orderly Lives, a professional organizing service for the home and office, based in Toronto.
Microsoft Home Magazine asked design, organizational and stress experts, as well as women who work at home, for their best stress-free strategies."