Designing Your Home Office
Designing Your Home Office
For many, our home is our sanctuary. It is our escape from the outside world, and a place to relax and be with our families. But to an increasingly large part of the population, this space doubles as a home office. With the world of connectivity at our fingertips, it is common for people to work remotely. This certainly has its advantages and disadvantages, but a tricky step in achieving optimal work/life balance is designating a specific part of the house to be used for work only.
Whether you are converting a guest bedroom or remodeling the garage, the following techniques may prove helpful when visualizing your new home office.
Minimize Distractions
Choose a part of the house that is not heavily trafficked. There will always be dishes to be done and laundry to be folded, but keep in mind that those are tasks that you would never do in a corporate office so you should try your hardest to keep from doing them during your home office hours. Find a space in your house that you can focus and concentrate on the tasks at hand.
Storage
Organization is key when it comes to productive home office space. Just because you don’t have coworkers does not mean you should surround yourself with mountains of clutter. Cabinets and bookshelves are a great way to decorate with functionality. Play around with different shapes and sizes.
Chair
Invest in a comfortable work chair. Shop around for an ergonomically correct design. Keep in mind that you will be spending lots of time in this space, therefore you should not sacrifice comfort for style. Luckily, office chairs have come a long way over the years, and there are plenty of styles and colors to choose from.
Arrange with Technology in Mind
Since your home office will be your hub for communication, make sure you arrange the furniture to best utilize the technology you will need. Assess what you will need to efficiently run your office – computer, phone, printer, etc. Pay attention to where outlets are located so that you can easily reach them if needed.
Décor that Matches Your Aesthetic
Just because you have an office in your house, doesn’t mean it has to feel stuffy, formal, or corporate. Get creative with the types of lighting, paint color, and furniture that you choose. There is no reason you can’t have the same ambiance in your office that you do through the rest of your house. In fact, you will probably enjoy the space more if it flows with the rest of your décor.
Working from home can be the perfect solution to achieving an enjoyable career, but it can also have its drawbacks. In order to avoid falling into the work from home unproductive trap, optimize your work space so you can fully concentrate with comfort, and accomplish your tasks with minimal disruptions to your work flow. And remember, sometimes you have to close up shop for the night and return to your family and relaxation.