subject: How To Create The Perfect Home Office [print this page] These days, the work-at-home set-up is the dream of a lot of workers. Whether one is a telecommuting employee or a homebased business owner, its easy to see the advantages of being able to avoid high commuter costs and having your own, personal, exclusive bathroom.
Of course, if youre going to be working at home, you need a home office. And if youre going to work well and effectively, your home office needs to be conducive to good and effective work.
So how do you spruce up your home office to make it more work friendly? Here are some tips:
1. Find a room with a door you can lock. Well, if you live alone, your front door may serve the purpose. But if you live with a mate or with kids, there has to be a way for you to keep people out not necessarily all the time, but for those occasions when youre having a Skype meeting with your boss or a client, or when youre struggling to fact check or rephrase a difficult piece of document, or youre running after a deadly deadline that passed five minutes ago.
Times like these, you need to be able to hang a Do not disturb unless someone is bleeding profusely sign on your door. And you cant do that, of course, unless you have a door.
2. Bring necessities in, keep distractions out. No distractions means no TV, no roommates, no pets. You are trying to create a safe zone, which protects you from stuff that could pull you away from work. So put that TV away where you cannot see or hear it, keep out all the bestsellers you like to read so much, and unless absolutely necessary, dont bring the Kindle or iPad in either.
In the same vein, make sure all the things you need are at hand this includes coffee maker and snacks to you minimize your need to get out of your safe zone.
Of course, we all need breaks, and you should put in time to step out and relax once in a while. But its important that those times be scheduled and limited, not accidental and overly long.
3. Have the right tools. Of course, the right tools vary from industry to industry. But here are a few things every home office needs:
A desk big enough for the tools you use every day (yes, this would include the coffee machine)
Shelves for stuff you use often
Drawers for stuff you like to keep out of sight
Paper and pens (not as obsolete as we think they are)
Alarm clock or timer (you may have lived without them so far, but like microwave ovens, youll see their immense benefit once you get them)
If at all possible, its great to have a small fridge with you, because a working brain needs a lot of fuel.
4. Make it pleasant. Take the time and effort to make your home office a place you enjoy going into. If possible, choose a room with a good (but boring) window view. (We dont want distractions, remember?) Make sure your chair is comfortable. Put in plants or pretty pictures, if you like those sorts of things.
Also we cannot emphasize this enough make sure you have enough storage spaces to keep your office neat and uncluttered. While it may not be realistic to expect that you clean up every day, try to include a weekly office cleaning in your schedule, as a clean and pleasant home office is most conducive to work-at-home productivity.
