Working from home can be challenging, whether you’ve been doing it for years or have only recently started, it’s always going to be an adjustment. Here are some of the things you can do to improve your work-from-home space.
Declutter
Whether you have a dedicated home office, or you work from your dining table or sofa, having a space free from clutter is essential for productive working. De-cluttering your space will allow for fewer distractions and more room for essential work equipment. Doing so may even mean you have room for a desk where you previously didn’t. Consider installing some built in furniture as a good storage solution for anything you need but don’t want in your immediate working vicinity. This also works well for storing your work equipment whilst you aren’t working, especially if you don’t have a dedicated office room. Being able to put the equipment out of sight is great for achieving a better work-life balance whilst working from home.
Consider ergonomics
When working from home, it can be very tempting to slump down on the sofa, or even work lying in bed. However, this can have extremely detrimental effects on your posture if done for long periods of time. Considering the ergonomics of your home office setup is a good way to make improvements. Invest in a supportive desk chair and consider also buying foot support and a mouse mat that supports your wrist to avoid repetitive strain.
Perfect your lighting
Although we don’t always consider it when thinking of an office space, lighting can have a big impact on how we work. With lighting having significant effects on both productivity and mood, it is worth doing some research into what lighting will work best for you. This is particularly important if your workspace doesn’t receive much natural light.
Introduce smart technology
Introducing smart technology into your working space is great for lots of reasons, including increased productivity and energy savings. If you work better whilst listening to music, or even with white noise, why not invest in a smart speaker? If you find yourself constantly forgetting to turn your office lights off, introduce smart bulbs that can be put on a timer to avoid this problem. There is plenty of smart technology out there that can really elevate your office space, whatever your needs and working style.
Take time to think about usability
With many of us having started working from home due to the pandemic, our home working setups may have been put together out of necessity and so understandably they aren’t always well thought out in terms of layout. If you have now been working from home for a while, take some time to consider how user-friendly your office is. Are you constantly going to fetch something from across the other side of the room? Or are you always in search of a coaster but never have one nearby? Reviewing how you actually use your office and what changes you could implement to make it more conducive to productivity can be really helpful.
