In this new era, where COVID-19 has turned into the saying “if you can’t beat em’, join em’”, many of us have had to adapt to homebody life. At this point in the pandemic, some people have been able to journey back to their office. On the other hand, others are looking at this new structure as a permanent change.
If you are one of the employees now working from home permanently, you’re going to need the right environment to breed productivity. This means creating the perfect office to promote getting stuff done, especially if you find it easy to procrastinate.
There are three things to consider before designing your home office. These are comfort, practicality, and how to avoid potential distractions.
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Comfort
If you are uncomfortable, nothing is going to get done. To foster your productivity, there are a few things you can do to ensure your office is as comfortable as possible.
Firstly, put some thought into your furniture. Do you prefer to be seated? Or is a standing desk more you’re style? This isn’t a commercial office; you have the potential here to create a space that matches your work style perfectly. Invest in the comfiest office chair you can find, or buy an exercise ball if that’s more your style. Regardless of the furniture you choose, the best practice is to follow the ergonomic rules so that you avoid injuring yourself with bad posture.
Once you’ve sorted your furniture, make sure you can get your office to your preferred temperature, so you aren’t opposed to spending time in it. If you don’t have air conditioning, buy a portable fan or heater to do the job. Then, if you’re the kind of person who likes a specific vibe, create that. Add some plants, a humidifier, or even some incense if it will promote a calm, effective atmosphere that helps your work gets done.
2. Practicality
Before you start raiding your wallet or taking a small loan to transform your office, you should consider your office’s practicality. Aside from picking your furniture, there are a few other details that you should plan.
Emphasise picking a room that you know has a strong wifi connection and good natural lighting. There is no point creating a beautiful office, just to sit down on Monday and realise your wifi connection barely reaches that end of the house. Lighting is necessary to prevent eye strain. Whilst natural lighting is a massive bonus, if you can’t obtain it, make sure all of your light sockets function and produce adequate light. Also, consider the potential of additional ambient lighting.
Then consider how much storage your office space is going to need. If you work with many paper documents, consider forking out a bit extra for a sturdy filing cabinet. If you refer to book material for your job, invest in quality shelves to store them. A messy space is not your friend; take steps to minimise this possibility.
Moreover, consider wire management. For the sake of cleanliness and safety, a few zip ties and some velcro can clean up and hide away your cables. You are removing the clutter and the chances of you tripping over a cord.
3. Distractions
If you live in a busy house, you must remove as many distractions as you can. Preferably pick a room that isn’t near where your children usually play. Maybe don’t set up next door to the laundry where you can hear the rumble of the machines through the walls. If you are easily distracted by watching what happens outside the window, don’t put your desk right next to it.
There are a lot of positives in personalising your office. Namely, it creates an enjoyable atmosphere. However, don’t decorate with objects or trinkets that tempt you to fiddle unless doing so will benefit your mental health. And everyone loves their pets, but if you have an animal that loves to play, don’t encourage this behaviour in the office. Keeping them or their toys in a different room is going to help you avoid that temptation.
You know your personality best; save yourself a problem with a little bit of forward-thinking.
There are all sorts of things you can do with your home office. You can be as creative as you want in the process of designing a space that is truly yours. However, it is best to keep in mind these three points to use as a base.
Good luck with constructing your office space, and stay healthy!
