It is important to create a workspace at home whether you work full time, run your own business or work frequently away from the office. Having nowhere specific to work or having to hunt for any available space is not conducive to productivity, concentration or even contentment. Maybe you’ve been sitting on an easy chair in the lounge or even on the bed with papers spread all over it. With the help of some tips you can create a workspace at home.
Firstly, take a good look around to pick an area where you can create a workspace at home. It doesn’t have to be a big space, just a corner in a room will do in which to fit a small desk and chair or maybe you are lucky enough to have a shed in the yard which could be cleared out. Any place will do as long as it’s your working space, has a power supply and is off limits to anyone else.
Now, it’s time to ‘de-clutter’ the space for a home office as you only want the absolutely necessary items for getting work done. Just that feeling of having clutter around also is not conducive to good working habits. Get rid of unnecessary things lying around. What do you need? A laptop, maybe a printer, cell phone, diary/planner, pen/pencil holder, filing drawer or shelf is probably it.
One of the important aspects when you create a home workspace is lighting. If possible, be as close to natural lighting such as next to a window. Obviously this is always not possible so you will need to look at creating a good light source either overhead or maybe a bright lamp on or next to the desk. You want to feel free and not closed in by gloomy conditions while working – besides that would be bad for the eyes as well. A daylight lamp is much better than a standard one – daylight bulbs are becoming much easier to find.
Drab colours don’t do anything to lift the soul! Just as lighting is important when you create a home office, so is the color. Colors should be chosen with the same care as you take with any other room in your home. Remember you could be spending many hours every day in your home office so it needs to be a color you can live with. Choose calming colors, but ones that still have warmth, rather than the drab shades you see in institutional buildings.
Secondary to color and lighting are items such as pictures, mirrors, plants, soft relaxing music – all these help with ambiance. In fact anything goes, as long as you can feel comfortable and happy while working. It really comes down to how you like to work. Some people are easily distracted and therefore should make their home office space as ‘clinical’ as possible.
As with everything else, choose your furniture and equipment carefully. It’s pointless going to all the trouble to create a home office if you then don’t have enough desk space or your chair is uncomfortable. If space is limited, get creative with storage. Check out tips on how to be ergonomically efficient. Nice décor and good lighting is great but you also need to make sure you chair doesn’t give you back ache and your screen position doesn’t create a crick in your neck.
It is so easy to be distracted from working at all or just to keep going. Putting up an inspiration board on the wall near to your desk will help to motivate you whenever you have those ‘off days’ and feel that things are not going so smoothly. Use family photographs, inspirational quotes of the day, funny pictures, in fact anything as long as they have a cheery motivational feel to them.
So, you’ve done the finishing touches and now you are ready to start work … in a much more relaxed atmosphere! You can be proud that you have managed to create a workspace at home with as little fuss as possible and in your own personal way. Come on now, get cracking, that deadline is looming…! What's your perfect workspace?