With so many people working from home for the foreseeable future, it’s worth creating a more appropriate workspace in your home. Here’s some ideas to help create an effective working environment, to improve your well-being and increase productivity.
Find the perfect space
Your home office should ideally be a separate space from your daily living, creating boundaries between work and personal life. The starting point is to choose a room in the house that would have the least distractions. The room would ideally be overlooking a garden and also have good natural light. If you’ve been home schooling, keep in mind how this would work with your chosen space. Ensure the desk is close to a suitable power supply and connection to wi-fi.
If you don’t have a spare room, look at the same principles trying to create a separate area from your personal living space.
Relocate possessions
If you have too many possessions in your home, it may be worth renting a self storage unit to store them. This is a perfect if unsure of your long term plans and what to do with your belongings. Prices are based on the size of self storage unit required, with the flexibility of a rolling monthly commitment.
Choose the right equipment for increased productivity
Ensure you use a desk or table that’s a suitable height to work from. Choose an adjustable office chair, ideally one that provides lumbar support for your lower back with arm rests. If possible, try to use a good quality major brand large monitor that should help to avoid any eyestrain. Your monitor should be positioned so that you look directly towards the top part of the screen whilst sitting straight. If the lighting in the room could be improved, try using a lamp you already have or buy a desk lamp.
Create the perfect atmosphere
Ensure the room is free of clutter by using adequate storage for your possessions. Create a calming working atmosphere by dressing the room with a houseplant and/or a favourite picture on the wall. Hanging a clock in the room is great way to help you keep on track with your day. If you’re thinking of decorating the space, use natural environment colours which are calming like blues, greens, and shades of brown. Playing some soft background music or radio will also improve the ambience.
Introduce a routine
Establish a working structure which will help you to focus and meet necessary deadlines. Not only will this enable colleagues to know when you’re contactable, it’ll allow dedicated downtime, providing a healthy balance between work and personal family life. A great way of communicating your availability to family is to create signs for your door to let them know when you’re free or busy.
Setting up your new office should allow you to be as productive as possible. This should make the experience more enjoyable, creating benefits from this new way of working.
