Now that more and more people are able to work from the comfort of their own homes, creating the perfect home office has never been more important. There are so many things to consider when building a home office, such as location, furnishings and decoration. Deciding on a comfortable desk and an ergonomic chair is one of the first steps, then adding other details to your home office, such as the right lighting, a handy printer and the right storage can turn your home office into a vibrant, productive workspace.
Location location location
If you are not lucky enough to have a designated room for your home office, then you will need to consider where in your home is best to turn into your home study. Not everywhere is suitable, ideally, it will be somewhere separate from your main living spaces so as to minimise distraction. Reduce the number of people who will be walking past and using the room passively by picking a more remote part of your home to convert into your designated home office space. Less distraction makes for a more productive working space.
A comfortable desk and chair
The desk is the backbone of your home office. If you can, opt for a traditionally sized desk to make for the most ergonomic option and ensure you have plenty of space to spread out your work. Of course, how big your desk is will depend on the space you have to work with, but aim for a big desk with storage for the most efficient office space.
If you need to, turning a bench or a dining table into your home office desk can work too, depending on your budget and your space!
If you are working from home, chances are you are sitting in one place for hours at a time. As such, one of the most vital aspects of your home office is finding the most comfortable office chair for long hours. Make sure your back is well supported and the chair is at an appropriate height for your desk to reduce the chances of neck and back pain.
Install good lighting
Make sure that your office space is properly lit at all times. During the day, try to maximise natural light with windows and mirrors to increase the sunshine, and install lamps and overhead lighting to prevent eye strain during the darker hours, especially if you are working at a screen all day long.
Get a great computer system
If you are setting up a home office, a PC or laptop is pretty much essential these days. Make sure you opt for a machine with high enough processing power to run all the programs you need to use on a daily basis and to store all of your data. Depending on your job, you may need to invest in a higher-performance computer, or if you are on the move regularly then consider a laptop for maximum portability. Make sure your computer allows you to not just perform tasks for your job, but also to communicate with your team and access everything you need to work efficiently.
In addition to a good computer, you will need to make sure you efficiently back up all of your data. Make use of handy cloud-based services which allow you to access your data across multiple devices, wherever you are. You should back up your data regularly to an external hard drive and ensure everything important has multiple copies, ideally stored in separate locations. This will protect your business and your work from any disasters such as a house fire or a broken-down computer.
Install a strong wifi connection
A strong internet connection is an absolute must when setting up your very own home office. Missing meetings or turning in important reports late due to poor internet connection just isn’t acceptable these days and can leave you feeling stressed, frustrated and looking unprofessional.
Make sure to install internet for your home that can run several devices at once and won’t leave you unable to access your work for any period of time.
Invest in a printer
If your job requires it, even rarely, a printer and scanner are super handy to keep in your home office. The ability to print off hard copies of important documents and scan in documents of your own to send to your coworkers will make your job infinitely easier. Even if t isn’t used that often and you like to stick to digital copies of things in general, it can be a great thing to have so that you are never caught out without it.
Storage and filing
Following on from having a printer in your office, is that if you are printing hard copies of any documents you will need a place to store and organise all this paperwork. You should implement a home filing system of some sort and come up with an organisational system to keep a track of all your documents. A well-organised office is a productive office so do take time to organise properly so that you’ll never misplace a document again.
As an additional precaution, scanning important documents to keep digital copies is a great plan to ensure your work is always safe. Make sure you implement a good storage system for all of your stuff too. A desk with drawers can help reduce clutter on your desk and around your office room. Keep notebooks, documents and chargers in your drawers, and invest in a desk organiser to keep all your stationery such as pens, sticky notes, staplers etc. Keep everything to hand so you can access it whenever you need to, but try to keep things organised and neat so that your working space does not become overly cluttered.
The right furniture can go a long way toward turning your home office into an energising and inspirational space. A great chair, a nifty storage solution and a few other details will make you excited to work from home every day of the week.
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