4 Tips For Setting Up A Home Office You’ll Love To Work In

You have to admit that working from home has a lot of advantages – better work-life balance, no commuting, no cubicles, and no annoying co-workers. Another great benefit is that you get to design your own office – the type of space that inspires you, that makes you more productive – a home office you’ll love to work in. 

Unfortunately, working from home also poses a few challenges. You get to more time with your family, which is always nice, but it can be distracting at times. When you combine that with pets, chores, visitors and having all your home entertainment options only a few feet away with no boss to supervise you and give you disapproving looks, you might end up working longer hours but getting less done. 

Productivity abounds in an environment where we feel invigorated, where distractions are minimal, and we can think creatively. That’s why it’s so important that you take the time to think about how to design your home office. To help you out, we’ve made a list of top tips on how to optimize your home workspace. 

Choosing the Space

When you’re designing your home office, the first thing you’ll need to think about and decide is where it ought to be. You’ll have to consider the type of work you do, your working style and the need of the people that you live with. 

Start by asking yourself these questions:

• How much desktop space do you need?

• What type of storage? Do you need easy access to a library of books, files or samples?

• How quiet does your office need to be? Will you be spending a lot of time on the phone or in videoconferences? 

• What equipment do you need to carry out your daily tasks?

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach because, as we said, it depends on the type of work you do. Let’s say you’re a graphic artist. Then you’ll need the standard desk for your computer, but also a larger table or workspace for your artwork. If you’re a consultant, you’ll need to set aside an area to meet with clients, and you’ll require additional space for file cabinets. If you’re an employee and you’re working remotely, your employer might have specific requirements regarding the type of equipment you use. 

Before you choose a space, you’ll want to make a list of everything you need to have in your home office. 

Ideally, you should have a separate room, but if that’s not possible, you can create some boundaries to separate your work area from the rest of your home. This will help you focus because it signals to your brain that it’s time to get to work. 

Function First, Beauty Second

In terms of decorating, our first instinct is to turn to design magazines for inspiration. We look at the pictures which generally look very appealing - that’s kind of the point – and we think that if we had an office that looked like that we’d be so productive. Well, that’s not always the case. The rooms we see in those pictures are made to look great; they’re rarely compatible with a 50-hour workweek. 

Those upholstered dining room chairs may look very elegant, but they won’t give your back the support it needs. A tiny vintage desk looks inspiring, but where are you going to put all your files? Bright colours are nice for the few seconds you spend admiring the picture, but when you spend hours and hours at your desk, it will tire your eyes and get annoying. You get the idea. Too much stimulation from your working environment turns into distraction. 

When you begin setting up your office, don’t focus too much on beauty. Make it functional and comfortable. Make sure your desk and chair are set up, so the computer screen is at eye level or a bit below. Your arms have to be parallel to the floor. If you’re going to splurge on a chair, get one that allows you to sit comfortably for hours on end. Maybe get a motorized standing desk or tabletop standing desk for when your back start to hurt from all that sitting. 

Filing cabinets may not be the most attractive pieces of furniture, but clutter is the enemy of productivity. If you’re the type of person that needs to see something or you’ll forget where you put it, try wall storage. 

Lighting 

Lighting is another important aspect you need to consider. Make sure you position your desk close to a window, so you get as much natural light as possible, but you need to play with angles so you can avoid glare. A study examined the role daylight plays in learning and productivity found that students from classrooms with larger windows advanced 23% faster in reading and 15% faster in math compared to students who studied in classrooms with lower levels of light. Good quality UPVC windows will keep out the noise and give you plenty of natural light. Another advantage is that they keep the cold out in winter, which means you’ll have to spend less on heating. 

Since we mentioned glare, you might want to look into window treatment options. Light colour blinds will help you avoid glare while still allowing enough natural light to get into the room. 

In terms of artificial light, don’t depend entirely on overhead lighting. It’s not really adequate for work. Then there’s motivation. Overhead lighting creates a drab, unappealing atmosphere. When you’re already tired, it will not help you keep going. Designers usually work with layers when they want to make a room look more comfortable and inviting. Since we said you should focus on functionality, it’s better to start with a good quality lamp.

Include an Area to Unwind

This is an often overlooked aspect of designing a home office but think about it. You can’t work four hours and hours continuously. You’ll need to take a few short breaks just like you would at a regular office. Maybe you tell yourself that you can just go to the living room or another part of the house. That’s not such a great idea. A 10-minute break can turn onto half an hour or even one hour because you get distracted or you remember that you had to do something and it shouldn’t take that long, but it does. 

Set aside some space where you put a nice comfy chair or a sofa, with an ottoman for your feet. This is where you’ll take your breaks. You’ll also want to find a method to keep track of your time. There are hundreds of free apps that can help you with that. Short breaks give your mind enough rest to keep you productive, but people who work from home tend to put in more hours. Before you know it, you’re on your third or fourth day in a row working putting in 12-14 hours. This might be ok for short periods, but it can lead to poor work-life balance and burnout.