How to set up the perfect home office
- Aug 09, 2011
Want to work from home but worried you won't be productive? Here's a guest blog on how to work from home effectively...
While working from home may be an aspiration for many, some of those who jack in the day job can often find too many distractions and end up accomplishing very little.
Avoid your work going to pot by following these tips, they’ll help you create a happy and inspiring space where you can just sit down, focus on your work and get it finished.
1. Choosing a place to work:
The first thing to do is to choose where to sit. Find somewhere well lit (especially if you’re staring at a computer monitor all day), that is comfortable and where there are as few distractions as possible. Don’t sit in the front room at the table and think “I won’t turn on the TV” because you will.
Don’t have a spare room to use as an office? Think about the areas you can sit comfortably, put a desk without children running past you at night and avoid pets clambering past you to get to the door.
2. Colour is the key:
If you’re in a position to redecorate your new office space, you should do so. Choose a fresh, new colour scheme to give your office a unique feel from the rest of the house. You’d be surprised how this will help you focus and ‘get in the zone’.
After finding and decorating your new office space, you’ll need to buy a few provisions to aid your productivity.
3. Planning to stay on task:
Firstly, invest in a large wall planner to help you keep on track of your projects. A large wall planner will help you see the ‘bigger picture’ when you are focused on smaller tasks, this will ensure you remain able to prioritise the important jobs and plan your time more effectively.
Secondly, make sure you plan your day by drawing up a list of tasks on a large dry-wipe whiteboard. This will help you remain on target and focused on your daily tasks.
Find yourself procrastinating? Try timing yourself: set a timer or alarm (use an online timer or a cooking timer from the kitchen) and make yourself work for 25 minutes, once you’ve finished you take a five-minute break. It helps boost productivity and you won’t find yourself slacking off! Read this brilliant website about the Pomodoro Technique to learn more – it really works.
4. Your office supplies:
From staples to pencil sharpeners, making your office is fully supplied with the right kit is essential. Nothing hampers productivity more than running out of ink half way through printing an important report.
Make sure you’re fully stocked up with supplies and keep an inventory. Aim to keep a good supply of pens, paper, ink and stationary fully stocked at all times. A regular fortnightly check will ensure you know what to order as supplies run low.
Think about keeping a kettle and small fridge in your office to ensure you don’t have to keep making trips to the kitchen.
Keeping your office fully stocked:
• Office Supplies by Office All Sorts – they stock pretty much everything you could ever need for a home office.
• Kitchen Appliances by Tesco Direct – they have very affordable kitchen equipment in stock, including mini fridges.
• Home Office Accessories by Habitat – Some funky desk accessories and storage solutions.
5. A tidy office is a happy office:
You’ll function more efficiently if your office is tidy and if you can find things quickly. Invest in some cabinets and stick to a filing system and schedule a regular clean up day on your wall planner, once a week.
Carly Wood is a blogger based in the UK. She likes everything to do with the Internet, social media, Schnauzers, the colour pink, cupcakes and cups of tea. Read more about Carly here.
Images by Jeremy Levine Design, Yug_and_her and howmowdesign on Flickr
