How To Create The Perfect Home Office

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

When the COVID-19 quarantine was handed down, many people found themselves in a situation where they were required to continue working...but they had to do it from their homes. Now that many countries are slowly opening up using a multi-phase approach, many employers are giving employees the option to permanently telecommute. For many, permanently working from home is attractive as it allows for greater flexibility to tend to your family as well as provide for them.

I've been telecommuting for eight years, and although I love the freedom and flexibility, it's not without its challenges. Here are three things that have helped me to effectively work from home, avoid distractions, and do my job successfully.

1. Have a dedicated space
When I first started working from home, the dining room table doubled as my desk. Each morning I would set up my space, and every evening I would tear it down in time to set the table for dinner. As you can imagine, that become old fast. After about a year, I finally carved out a space for my office, and it made such a big difference in my productivity. You don't have to have a large space, but having a separate space will make the biggest difference.

It can be a spare bedroom or a nook in the house. It can be an attic or a loft area at the top of the stairs or even an attic that you convert to a loft. Converting a loft is one of the best ways to add value to your home and increase your home's square footage. Wondering how much this will cost? Loft conversion prices vary depending on several factors such as the type of conversion and the size of the space.

2. Choose comfortable and functional furniture
Office furniture can be very sleek and stylish, but at the end of the day, your back is aching and you've barely accomplished anything. Make sure your desk and chair are comfortable and conducive to sitting at and in them for a full 8-hour day. If your office furniture isn't comfortable, you'll be more likely to get up often and therefore, you'll be sacrificing productivity.

3. Keep your space uncluttered
The more clutter you have in your home office, the more likely you are to become distracted by it. Take the minimalist approach and keep clutter and distractions out of the room so you can focus on work. No TV or piles of magazine that are tempting to want to watch and read throughout the day. Have a space on or near your desk for important papers and keep to a schedule to minimize distractions and getting off task.

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