If you are someone who has recently decided to quit their desk jobs and move to a home office, then I am sure that right now you must be going through a very liberating phase where everything feels wonderful! Yet, if you do not take some care in setting up your office in these early days, then there is a chance that you might run into troubled waters later on.
Now many of you might be wondering why? After all, working from home is all about convenience and ease then why bothering going to great lengths to set up a home office? Well the answer to that one is pretty simple – generally we tend to view our home as a place to relax and unwind after a day’s work, which means that when it comes time to actually get some serious work done, most of us tend to lose motivation. This leads to a serious drop in productivity and might in the long run affect our career paths as a whole.
So how do we get out of this cycle? Well the easiest way is to set up a home office, a space inside your house where you’d regularly sit down to get your work done! And today, we are going to tell you about the three key things that you need to keep in mind while setting up a home office!
- Having Proper Furnishings
You need a clear mind and a clear desk before you can get ready to get some work done. So, it is vital that you organise your work desk everyday – working in a clean environment can boost your productivity immensely as you spend much less time searching for things and more of it getting actual work done instead.
Another thing to keep in mind here is that you would be spending a large portion of your day sitting at this desk so make sure that your seating arrangements are comfortable enough. Most of us are used to comfortable office chairs so make sure that the chair you are using has good lumbar support so that you do not suffer from back pain or any kind of other injuries because of physical strain from sitting at one place. We would suggest opting for an ergonomically designed office chair for your home office to make sure that your home office setup is comfortable enough for the long run.
- Getting the Proper Equipment
Now that you’re working from your home, you might come to the realisation that your laptop isn’t always enough to get the job done, sometimes you need a printer or a scanner. This is why you need to always first write down your workflow, and break it down into small actionable chunks on a checklist. This is done so that you are well aware of all the processes that would be involved in your day’s work.
Not only does that help plan the day and make sure that you have all the equipments necessary, but also gets rid of procrastination as you’ve a sense of achievement every time an item gets checked off the list.
And as far as procuring other office equipment goes, make sure that you never buy retail as you’d be investing a lot of money into something that would barely get used in your day to day worklfow. Instead it’s always a good idea to check out second hand listings from eBay and Craigslist and other such websites as you might end up getting a great deal on some office hardware.
- Personalising Your Work Space
Now with the basics in place, it is important that you give your home office a personal vibe. The most important reason to do this is because even though it might be a place where you work everyday, you don’t want it to be as drab and boring as a normal desk right? So maybe put a few personal pictures in there, have a couple of pen stands in and if you are someone who likes a bit of greenery, then even consider having a potted plant!
Finally, it is also important that you get proper networking in your office as most home office workers depend pretty heavily on the Internet to get most of their work done. It might cost you a bit more initially but installing a high speed broadband connection and a router that has coverage throughout your whole house can mean that you can walk around and still be connected to your work which is often vitally important for corporate positions.
At the end of the day, your home office is supposed to be an extension of yourself, a reflection of who you are and what kind of work ethos you believe in, which is why spending a little bit more time in getting it picture perfect might be the best time you have spent in a while!