Working from home is something many of us strive for. To reach your full potential in a home working environment, your office should be designed around your specific needs. There are numerous perks to working in a home office, with a work/life balance with no daily commute topping the list for many of us; however, living the dream will only work if you feel comfortable in your surroundings.
How do you go about creating the space you need to work from home?
Be prepared
Working from home brings with it a set of problems that would be unlikely to cause any issues if you went to work for an organisation and were in their offices all day. Apart from motivation being a potential negative, you will also have to fix your own IT niggles, as you are likely to be solely reliant on your computer and Wi-Fi. Your office will need to be set up to accommodate several laptops and computers, with a big enough desk and a comfortable chair for all-day use. You may find yourself working harder and longer, as there are no work colleagues to distract you!
You should also think about the ergonomics; for example; you will need to do your own workplace assessment on distance from screen and eye to screen height.
Lighting
Place your desk close to natural light, if possible, rather than in a dark corner of the room. Use the outside world for inspiration and thinking time – you won’t be as productive sitting in a corner with nothing to look at but a wall. Don’t forget the lighting; ideally, some table lamps on your desk will help when natural light fades.
Flooring
Your flooring is going to serve many purposes; therefore, it should be warm and comfortable yet practical and hard wearing. It will probably need to look good, particularly if clients will be visiting your office. An excellent choice of flooring for the home office is laminate flooring and you can obtain inspiration and see lots of designs on sites such as http://www.ukflooringdirect.co.uk/laminate-flooring.
Storage
Big bookcases with plenty of storage boxes to hide paperwork are a must. Filing cabinets can be ugly, but brightly coloured box files stacked in modular units add a contemporary twist to your home office.
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