With more people than ever working from home these days, it’s essential to make yourself as productive as possible without the distraction of it being your home. Sure, it’s great to have all your comfortable furniture within arms reach, but you’re likely to be much more productive if you optimize your home office. Let’s take a look at some easy ways to make this happen for you, so you can work from home but still get everything accomplished quickly throughout your workday.
Create Your Space
This is ideal if you’re lucky enough to have a separate room in your apartment or home to have a designated office. While most children are back to in-person schooling, it’s still a good idea to have a private area where you aren’t distracted by children, pets, or other noise.
If you don’t have a separate room, investing in room dividers is worth creating a sense of boundary between you and the rest of the household. If you remember when you first started working from home, while the kitchen table or sofa may have been appealing – you likely realized (quickly) how it wasn’t very conducive to productivity. So your “own” space is essential.
Accessibility Is Key
Being able to access everything you need for a successful workday is paramount. Do what you need to do so it’s not an awkward mess in your work area. Say, for instance, you require multiple monitors in your workspace; purchasing a monitor stand to keep things streamlined and accessible is a must.
If you need to be at frequent video conferences, lighting where others can see you clearly is crucial – investing in a ring light that attaches to your monitor is worth it, so you do not have to set up bulky lamps or attachments for each meeting. Having everything where you need it is the priority.
Air Quality Matters
The same way your former office invested in HEPA filters for the workplace, the air quality in your home office is equally important. You can, of course, invest in a whole house filter if you have the budget for it. But, you can also purchase high-quality portable air filters in a range of budgets. Houseplants also do a fantastic job creating higher quality air in your home and look beautiful to boot. Whichever direction you want to go in, make sure you’re protecting your health by making the air as clean as possible.
Decoration Matters, Too!
You want to be comfortable in your home office, even though the space is separate from the rest of your home. You also want to have a tasteful and curated backdrop for video conferences you may be on. Sure, you can do the “blurring” effect for your Zoom calls, but why not invest in decor that makes you feel at ease and looks professional to your peers.
As mentioned above, houseplants serve as more than air purifiers but beautiful and lively decor. You can also invest in a piece of artwork that inspires you – which can be a great motivation on days when you don’t feel like working at all. Bookshelves with books that help you in your profession are a great way to use functional decor – not to mention, keep references you may need right at your fingertips.
Storage & Organization
Depending on your position, you may still have a lot of files you need to reference that aren’t in digital form. Ideally, all your home office furniture can serve a dual purpose in the form of excellent storage. Suppose you have papers that you will often reference daily. In that case, a cascading organizer is much more time-efficient than a file cabinet – not to mention it takes up significantly less space. Keeping things neat and organized pertains to things like cable and extension cords, too, so find ways to keep it all tidy.
Setting up your home office will take a financial investment initially, so make sure you’re up to date on how to qualify for tax breaks on your setup. Making things look and feel good is vital, but so is the ability of your office to keep you feeling productive and motivated throughout the day. Use the ways mentioned earlier as a starting point to curate the best home office for your tastes and needs.
