Working from home presents unique challenges when compared to working from an office, and many of us are finding ourselves experiencing these challenges first hand in recent months. Your home office should be somewhere that is both comfortable for you to spend time in, and a place that is conducive to getting work done by keeping you focused on your work. It can be difficult to strike the balance between work and life in an office that is part of your home, however, especially when Netflix is just a few steps away at any given moment.
To help mentally separate work and home, it is important to designate and separate your home office from the rest of your living space, even if you are not able to dedicate a separate room to your workspace. The best way to do this is to create a distinct home office design, one that is separate from the other areas in your home. In this guide we will give you a few tips and ideas to help you put together your own home office – everything from design ideas to home office setup tips – in a way that will help you get your work done efficiently, free from distractions, and without feeling like you’re still on the clock when you’re trying to unwind at home.
Find The Right Location
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When first deciding where to set up your home office, it’s important to find a place where you will not be distracted. Ideally your home office would be in its own room, but those who don’t have a room to spare can set up a home office just as successfully, it just takes a bit more planning. The key is to locate your home office where distractions will be out of sight, and therefore out of mind. For instance, your home office could be in the living room, but your setup should be organized in a way where you are not facing the TV. This way, even if your home office is essentially a corner of your living room, you will be able to more easily separate work from play by making both a physical and mental distinction between the two.
Ensure That Your Workspace Is Comfortable
One of the more difficult things to get down when setting up your home office is the comfort of working in an office environment. While nobody likes fluorescent lighting and the distant glugging of a water cooler, there is a lot to be said for a comfortable office chair and a spacious and well-organized desk. You may not be able to replicate the conditions of a standard office in your home, but you don’t have to – simply focus on making the space somewhere you can work for extended periods of time. This means a chair that is comfortable for you to sit in, a monitor that is positioned correctly and at an appropriate distance to minimize eye strain, and an ergonomic setup to properly support your lower back and arms. We each have slightly different needs of course, so listen to your body and see if it’s telling you that it needs something different to feel better. Being comfortable in your home office will not only make you more efficient, it is also important for your health and wellbeing.
Use Light Colors
Lighter colors are easier on the eyes and are more likely to help you stay focused. When designing your home office, try to stick to lighter colors for your walls and furniture. Light tones and ample light will help you feel more alert, thereby helping you be equally productive in your home office as you would in a regular office space. Choose clean lines and bright tones, and invite in as much natural light as you can. Natural light is important not just from a design perspective, but for your general health and wellbeing, too. Consider that when you’re working from home you’re not only saving yourself the morning commute, you are also missing out on your daily morning dose of sunlight. Too little sunlight has been proven do dampen your mood and even affect your physical health, so it’s important to get your sunlight whenever you can, especially when you spend a big chunk of your day working indoors and commuting from your home office to your bedroom.
Make Sure Everything Is Organized And In Reach
Nothing breaks up your workflow like having to stop everything to search for a paperclip. Your home office should be just like any other office – a self-contained space where you know you can work uninterrupted and where you have everything you need to work productively. Keep any necessary papers, binders, folders, and files organized and easily accessible, and store your office supplies neatly and nearby. Keeping everything organized in your home office is great for more than just saving time and improving your workflow, it also prevents you from getting distracted as you head out to search for the right type of staples.
Work Comfortably With Sufficient Light
Your home office should have plenty of natural light whenever possible, but it’s also important to equip your workspace with ample artificial light. To reduce eye strain and make your home office setup comfortable to work in, make sure that your office is well-lit at all hours, not just during the day. Choose light that is on the warmer side color-wise, as warmer-toned light causes less strain on your eyes. Warm-toned light is also less likely to negatively affect your ability to fall asleep in the same way that blue light does, so you don’t have to worry about disrupting your night’s sleep if you find yourself working later hours than usual from time to time.
Declutter Your Workspace
An organized workspace is one of the factors in keeping you focused on your work. When designing your home office, focus on clean lines and a streamlined look. Hide cords, store away extra supplies, and get rid of anything that you aren’t using – either store it away for later use, or pass it on to someone who may find it useful. Equally important is to make sure that you are creating a visually pleasing and clean workspace by design. This means ample storage to keep your desk from becoming cluttered, and a clean and cohesive color scheme. These two simple things go a long way towards helping you concentrate on your work, enhancing your creativity, and making the time you spend working more productive.
Take Advantage Of Vertical Space
Space is oftentimes limited in home offices, especially when compared to standard office spaces. To combat this and get the most bang per square foot of home office, make sure you are taking full advantage of your home office’s vertical space. Consider hanging shelves to store frequently-used items, or mounting your monitor to the wall to save on desk space. Aside from providing a wealth of storage space, vertical space can also be used to enhance your home office from a décor perspective, so use it well. Paint your home office a color you love, use wallpaper, or hang art prints to make your home office a beautifully designed space that is uniquely yours.
Streamline Your Workflow
Staying on top of all your tasks and projects is challenging enough as it is, but it becomes even more difficult when you have to do it from home. To help you combat this and stay on top of your work, it is important to manage your workflow especially carefully when working from home. Because of how easy it is to get sidetracked, using a visual method of workflow organization, such as a corkboard or a wall grid, will help you keep your ideas and tasks neatly organized in one place. This will help you better manage your time, better remember things, and stay on top of projects and deadlines more easily.
Bring In Some Nature
Indoor plants are not just pretty, they have actually been proven to boost your mood and clean the air in your home. So why not bring a few into your home office? Having some greenery in your home office is a great way to reduce stress and to feel more relaxed in your work environment, all while upgrading your home office’s design. You can bring in a big dramatic floor plant, hang an elegant trailing plant, or keep it simple with a few desktop succulents. Whichever type of plant you choose, make sure that it is compatible with the temperature and lighting conditions that your home office provides.
Keep Surroundings Organized
Your home office is more than just a desk, and just like a cluttered desk gets in the way of creativity and productivity, so does a disorganized home office. When designing and using your home office, focus on making sure that your surroundings – everything from the floor to your filing cabinets – are clean, organized, easy to use, and don’t get in the way when you’re working. Your home office setup should be geared towards making the most of all of your space; not only in order to maximize productivity, but also to make your time spent working pleasant. Look beyond your desk space and take the time to make the entirety of your home office a comfortable working environment for a more enjoyable and productive work day.
