subject: Setting Up A Home Office [print this page] Working from home brings with it a wealth of benefits which can truly enrich your quality of life. Not only do you lose the commute to the office but also get some serious control over your working hours and working environment. It is however essential that a separation is made within the home between work and recreation in order to avoid an adverse impact on productivity. If your relocation to a home-based office is as a consequence of establishing your own company, then it is particularly important that you create a positive working environment.
When it comes to getting together all of the individual components required to assemble a fully functioning home workstation, planning is imperative. As well as the obvious constituents of the office: the desk, chair and computer, a number of other items substantially aid smooth operation on a day to day basis, some of which may easily be neglected or forgotten.
Computer Peripherals
In addition to the fundamental computer, monitor, keyboard and mouse elements of the computer workstation, it may be useful to invest in further hardware to facilitate the running of a business from home. A printer for instance is bound to be required and it may be particularly useful to invest in a model which incorporates a scanner and photocopying capabilities in order to allow you to digitally back-up all paperwork and chart hardcopy invoices in accounting programs. Further peripherals such as a webcam, microphone and speakers are necessary for video conferencing, or virtual meetings using interfaces such as Skype. If you are likely to make extensive use of the telephone then a VOIP phone set-up may be worth considering with its lower tariff in comparison to a conventional landline.
Stationery, Consumables and General Office Supplies
Even if the majority of your day to day work is likely to be carried out on a computer, it is still very important to have at least a small stock of more conventional office supplies. Inevitably a printer would require A4 paper, printer ink cartridges/toner in order to function. But equally important are notepads and pens for keeping track of tasks and ad-hoc note-taking and envelopes in case snail mail is required over email. In addition to these items, a filing cabinet could very well be advantageous- or at the very least files and folders for the organised storage of important documentation. Not to mention such bits and pieces as paperclips, staplers, pencils, rubbers, rulers: the sort of things you don't realise you need until it suddenly turns out to be an emergency.
When preparing to put together a home office it is very important to carefully consider precisely what you will need...and then take a peek at an online stationery store and add all of the essential items you forgot to list initially!
