If you just have a laptop, then any space that’s at least 60cm wide by 50cm deep will do. But if you have extra monitors and kit, then aim for a larger surface space if you can with roughly 1.5m of space in front for you to move around unhindered. To set a great home office at your home, it’s better to get a chair specifically designed for working at a desk that has adjustable height and adequate lumbar support.
- With the right location, equipment, and ambiance, you can create a productive, appealing home office where you can perform at your best.
- You could be so engrossed in a project that by the time you walk out of your home office, you realize it’s 7 pm and you’ve worked a 14-hour day.
- So when you’re setting up your home office, make it a priority to explore software that can automate those tricky, time-consuming tasks.
- Adopting these trends could very well mean a significant leap towards a future where our home offices are advanced, yet comfortable extensions of our workplaces.
- As remote work continues to evolve, so do the trends in home office setups.
Smart Storage Solutions
It features some of the latest state-of-the-art hardware and a processor that is unmatched. Another great investment for your home office are some quality headphones, to help you block any noise that might distract you during meetings. Set office hours as well as guidelines for invoicing, logging expenses and other tasks.
These keyboards are designed to reduce muscle strain, fatigue, and repetitive motion injuries by allowing you to type with your shoulders, arms, wrists, and hands in a natural position. Ensure your workspace has enough indirect light to illuminate the area adequately. Overhead light is ideal, but you may need to place lamps for additional lighting. To avoid glare, do not place a lamp directly next to a computer monitor.
Of course, your schedule has to work around your personal responsibilities and preferences, too. But the great thing about working from home is that you can prioritize those aspects of your life—whether it’s dropping your kids off at school every morning or heading to your favorite 3 p.m. That may mean working later hours one day a week, or swapping a weekday with a weekend day.
Separate your personal and business finances.
Natural light from a window is the best, but you can also experiment with different intensities or light tones to find out which one works best for you. While this may seem obvious or unnecessary, don’t forget to hang a clock in your home office that can be seen from your desk. You could be so engrossed in a project that by the time you walk out of your home office, you realize it’s 7 pm and you’ve worked a 14-hour day.
Separate the Professional From the Personal
When working from home, it’s essential that you have access to the equipment you need to do your job efficiently and effectively. If you can’t access files, documents, and business apps or communicate with your clients, coworkers, or managers, working from home can turn into one big frustration. However, it’s something you shouldn’t ignore since it will influence how you feel in your home office and impact how productive you are.
As a small business owner, it’s likely that you’re also your company’s CMO, CIO, CFO, administrative assistant, intern, office manager, and a few other jobs that aren’t exactly in your job description. Juggling all those positions on your own can make it difficult to focus on the projects that you actually want to be focusing on. So when you’re setting up your home office, make it a priority to explore software that can automate those tricky, time-consuming tasks. To keep your workspace—and your mind—free from clutter, organizational furniture should be at the top of your to-buy list. You’ll need a dedicated storage unit or cabinet to organize your documents.
Before this WFH experiment, the primary reasons employees said they worked from home were better focus and increased productivity. However, it can be challenging to create a productive work environment when you’re not in a typical office setting. And if you’re working 10 tips for setting up your first home office from a multipurpose area like your kitchen, living room, or bedroom, it’s easy to become distracted and unfocused.
Some space-conscious companies have started selling wall-hung desks or sturdy floating shelves that are ideal instead of standard-sized desks. Be sure to check the packaging for the load-bearing weight to ensure it can hold your monitor and other heavy items. The smaller the area, the more thought you’ll need to put into maximising the space you do have. For a perfect home office setup, scope out an area or nook that has enough room.
Instead, opt for a natural, sun-lit look with warm-hued light bulbs. Clutter can make a small space feel even smaller, and even a bit chaotic. Or hang a pegboard or wall organizer to organize miscellaneous items. Designate a section of your kitchen table to function as your desk during the workday. You can even place a thin desk behind a couch or in a wide hallway to maximize your workspace. Between your lighting and technology setup, you probably have a lot of wires and plugs to deal with.