Tips For Setting Up A Productive Home Office

More people than ever, people are spending at least some of their time working from home. As we move ahead into a new age of work defined by flexibility and versatility, it’s becoming increasingly important to consider your home working environment.

You need a place where you can feel comfortable and productive. So, how do you get started with building the ultimate home office?

Today, we’re going to look at some of the best ways to make your home office the perfect environment for better work.

Find A Dedicated Space

If you’re not used to working from home, you might have assumed you can work just as easily from your sofa as you can from your office. Unfortunately, the home environment is packed with distractions and discomforts which can make you less productive.

If you want to be productive, you need to have a dedicated space to work from.

Ideally this will be a room where you can close the door when you really need to focus. Ensure your home office has plenty of light and enough space to fit everything you need, like your computer and ergonomic chair.

Prioritize Comfort

Comfort is an important part of productivity. If you’re constantly thinking about how much your back or neck hurts, you’re not going to be focused on the task at hand. To prioritize comfort, you need to think about a few things:

● The desk: Your desk needs to be positioned so you can easily reach all the items you need, like your mouse, keyboard, and notebooks.

If you’re using a desktop computer, it’s best to have two sections to your desk, so you can keep your keyboard close and raise your monitor just enough to reduce eye strain.

● The chair: If you’re going to spend several hours a day sitting at a desk, you can at least make sure your chair is as comfortable as possible.

Look for something ergonomic which provides plenty of spine support and support for your head too. A foot rest can also give you extra comfort, while improving your posture.

● The accessories: Everything needs to be easy to reach, comfortable to use, and designed to specifically suit your needs. Other accessories to consider include lighting, like lamps to reduce eye strain, and the screen, which needs to be positioned at least an arm’s distance from your eyes.

Prepare For Meetings

Chances are a lot of your remote working time will involve meetings with colleagues over video. With that in mind, think about whether your home office is properly set up for such meetings.

What will people see behind you when you turn on your camera? Can you get rid of any clutter or position your desk closer to a natural source of light?

You also need a space that’s quiet and out of the way of the rest of the family so you can avoid disrupting the meeting.

If you’re going to be having meetings regularly, find an area of your home which has a good internet connection.

Clean And Declutter Regularly

While it’s fine to make your office more personal with pictures and artwork from your home, you shouldn’t have anything you don’t really need (or want) in the space. Resist the urge to use the space you have for storage.

Make a habit of removing paper piles, coffee cups, and anything else taking up space without much purpose on a regular basis. Ideally, clean the office environment at least once per week to keep it looking its best.

A cluttered office leads to a cluttered mind, so removing the extra mess from around your office should help to promote productivity.

Know When To Close The Door

Finally, as mentioned above, it’s important to have a separate space in your home you can dedicate exclusively to work. You need to be able to close the door when you need to focus and block out distractions.

Make sure your loved ones know when they can interact with you and when you need silence.

Knowing when to close the door isn’t just important for focus either. You should also be able to shut the door to your office and leave the workplace behind at the end of each day. Try to find a good work/life balance to avoid burning out.

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Related Reading: Work From Home Guide

4 Ways To Make Your Home Office More Comfortable

More teams than ever are shifting to remote and flexible work. Whether you’re only working from home some of the time, or you’re spending most of your days working remotely, you may need to give your home office an upgrade.

A comfortable home office isn’t just an investment in your personal sanity, it can also be an important part of making sure you stay productive and efficient, wherever you are.

The more comfortable your office is, the more likely you are to enjoy your workday. Plus, you can also avoid common problems like back pain, wrist aches, and dry eyes.

Here are some simple ways you can make your home office more comfortable.

1. Invest in a Comfortable Chair

Unless you prefer to work from a standing desk, an office chair is one of the most important investments you’ll make. While borrowing a chair from your dining table might work for a while, it won’t give you the support you need when you’re sitting at a desk for hours at a time.

A good chair should be able to deliver plenty of spine support so you don’t finish each day feeling like you’ve been hunched over. It’s also worth looking for a chair that can support your head too, as this will reduce problems with neck pain and neck strain.

Remember, if you already have a desk, it’s a good idea to measure the desk opening before you get the chair to ensure everything is a good fit.

2. Find a Dedicated Space

It’s easy to assume the most comfortable way to work from home is to settle into your favorite armchair and balance your laptop on your knees. However, this isn’t going to give you the comfort you need long term.

Working in this pose means you’re constantly looking down at your screen, which can lead to neck problems.

At the same time, you’re not giving your arms and wrists the right support, which means you’re more likely to end up with a repetitive wrist injury.

A dedicated space allows you to create a desk and chair setup for your office where you can be comfortably supported. It also helps you when it comes to separating your home and work life.

If you can actually close your office door at the end of the day, you might be less likely to over-work and end up burning yourself out.

3. Don’t Forget the Little Details

It’s easy to invest all your money in a great chair and think you’ve done enough to ensure a comfortable working environment. However, the little details can have a bigger impact on your comfort and concentration than you might think.

For instance, an uncomfortable keyboard can make it harder to type fast. Consider switching your membrane keyboard out for something with mechanical switches, for a more ergonomic experience.

For a mouse, choose something that fits into your hand perfectly. While a tiny mouse might look nice, it’s much harder to move around comfortably for long periods of time.

4. Protect Your Eyes

Eye problems are common when you sit in front of a computer for hours at a time. Staring at a bright screen can place a lot of pressure on your eyes, particularly if you don’t have enough surrounding natural light.

With this in mind, make sure your office space has plenty of light. If you can’t get natural light from a window, invest in extra lamps and other forms of lighting to help. It’s also a good idea to consider a second monitor, as this will make it easier to spread your work across a larger space.

If you want to protect your eyesight and improve your chances of a good night’s sleep at the same time, you can also try installing an app like F.LUX.

The free-to-use app automatically changes the color temperature of your screen over the day, making it “cold” in the morning and warmer at night, when your brain needs to start relaxing.

Get More from Your Home Office

One of the best things about working from home, is you have complete control over your working environment. While you might have to spend some money on a good office chair and a desk if your company isn’t willing to pay for it, it’s definitely worth the money in the long term.

Don’t underestimate the importance of a comfortable office.

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