diff --git a/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-common-tasks.xml b/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-common-tasks.xml
index b932f8178b..417a95612e 100644
--- a/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-common-tasks.xml
+++ b/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-common-tasks.xml
@@ -65,8 +65,15 @@
                     <listitem><para>
                         <emphasis>Create a Directory:</emphasis>
                         Create the directory for your layer.
-                        While not strictly required, prepend the name of the
-                        directory with the string "meta-".
+                        When you create the layer, be sure to create the
+                        directory in an area not associated with the
+                        Yocto Project
+                        <ulink url='&YOCTO_DOCS_REF_URL;#source-directory'>Source Directory</ulink>
+                        (e.g. the cloned <filename>poky</filename> repository).
+                        </para>
+
+                        <para>While not strictly required, prepend the name of
+                        the directory with the string "meta-".
                         For example:
                         <literallayout class='monospaced'>
      meta-mylayer