The business of design

So, this title is totally misleading. I'm no businesswoman. I didn't take any business classes in college. I failed (my only failing grade - but I STILL failed) economics (micro and macro... so maybe that's TWO failing grades - whatever) and only took enough math to suffice for my fine arts degree.

For 15+ years I worked in the corporate design world and my schedule was all laid out for me. Fast forward to the summer of 2016 - I decided to branch out on my own... become my own boss... be a business owner. And not just any business - I wanted to be a work-from-home artist! 

It's incredibly rewarding, but I had no idea how hard it would be to WORK at home.

At least if you go into a place of business, it's understood that you're there to work. When I go into my office at home, there are 50,000,000 (that's a lot of zeros... but totally accurate) distractions throughout the day. The dog needs to go out. The dryer just buzzed. Dinner needs making. The neighbor's dog got out of the backyard fence AGAIN and I've got to go take her home. Oh look - there's the mailman. Dad calls to chat. One of the kids wants a popsicle. I've gotta make lunch. Someone ran through the sprinkler (again) and I need to cover the wood floor in towels so they can change clothes. 

Needless to say, my productivity hasn't been quite what it should've been. 

2 years later - here we are. I'm now in a place where I understand where I'm going wrong and I'm taking baby-steps toward a more productive business model. I'm still no business-virtuoso, but I'm working on it... slowly but surely. One thing I did today was open up my first business checking account. YAY ME! Next, my plan is to get all my business expenses (capital, licenses, software, office supplies, etc.) captured into a financial program like quickbooks or something. I think I'm going to set aside some time this afternoon to research those (as well as the one that I can sign up for through my bank). Any suggestions would be helpful.

I've also been thinking a lot about how to increase productivity. Here are a few things I've written down in my bullet journal (sorry I can't remember where these came from, so I can't credit the OP): 

What other productivity tips-and-tricks do you have? Maybe MY #1 should be to schedule out my ideal day. That way I can account for design time, drawing time, business time (instead of putting THAT part off 'til I've got a mountain of stuff to sift through), and housework time.