Do you answer the door?

I don't have an issue with saying you're prepping for a conference call or working against a deadline, but the phone thing was a bit much. It would be really funny if it started ringing during one of his performances.

It's nice to ignore niggling problems like neighbors at the door when you want to keep your nose to the grindstone in your home office - but what if it is the neighbor going out of their way to tell you there is a fire? Maybe you should be answering the door as a policy with a strong, simple and polite way of getting rid of unwanted callers. That is what you would do in a professional context, in an office building. Why wouldn't you do the same thing in your home office? Then there is the issue of your personal security and home security. What if it's someone who has targeted you as a home-alone work-at-home person? Are your doors and windows set up to allow communication and air flow while restricting access to you and your home? Security doors, window alarms and plain old common sense come into play. If you are interested in more options here, take a look at this article for the home based business person: http://www.SurveillanceEquipmentandPersonalSecurity.com/hbs1 ...

Well, I am with you in always believing that honesty is the best policy. I don't have many neighbors that come knocking but as a work at home mom with nearby kid and parent neighbors who regularly stop for a visit I do sometimes have visitors or phone calls when I am working. I just tell the truth-I'm in the middle of a project-or I call back or stop by later when I'm no longer working. But answering the door while pretending to be on the phone seems a bit much. Why not just ignore the knocks or tell the truth? And it sure would be funny if the phone rang during one of the performances!! Love it!

I work out of my home on most days and it can be quite interruptive to have knocks on the door, but I agree with you on the lying. I would simply tell them I am busy working or not answer the door altogether. Security is another factor. We all tend to think that bad things happen at night under the cover of darkness, this is not true. Crimes happen at all times of the day and stay at home professionals are at risk. Positions at offices are not as apt to get targeted due to someone being within earshot. Stay at home workers can be thrown off their guard if they are busy or on the phone and simply not take any precautions and instinctively open the door to see who so rudely broke their concentration. Always beware if you are not expecting someone and don't just open the door because this is your "place of business" and it?s in the middle of the day. Chances are on most streets there is no one who would hear or see anything. All it takes for a criminal to gain access is for you to let your guard down and open that door just an inch or two and BAM!, they are in. I have a very trusting tendency and as such have left my door open on occasion with the storm door shut and locked. One day when I was expecting one of my employees to stop by, I left it unlocked. I was in my office, walked around the corner towards the door and there was a huge man standing in my front doorway, which was not my employee! Luckily for me he was a sales person that I had previously talked to and not met that had stopped by to bring me some information. I can tell you that cured me of leaving the door open and now they will just have to wait until I can get to it to answer, or not!

You're really right to bring up the security issue. Very important.