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Working from home provides a person with a huge amount of comfort, yet, too much comfort can be as distracting as it can be inspiring. Therefore, in order to get all the privileges of working from home and receive none of the downsides, you need to construct an efficient home-office. Still, this is easier said than done, seeing as how there are more than a couple of tricks you need to keep in mind in order to pull this off. This ranges from saving money to making a place that’s more work-friendly. Here are several tips you would do well to consider.
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Double-purpose room: pros and cons
The first massive advantage of going for a dual-purpose room (bedroom/office, for instance) lies in the fact that you save a substantial amount of space. In fact, a lot of people manage to squeeze their entire office in a bedroom closet, leaving the rest of the room unaltered. This saves effort, money and even gives your room a lot greater functionality. As for downsides, first of all, you need to understand that a dual-purpose home office doesn’t qualify for home office tax-deductions in most cases. Second, seeing as how your closet, your bed, and your TV are just a couple of inches away, there’s a great chance that you’ll be distracted from work on every turn. This is something you have to avoid.
The location of the room
The next thing you should keep in mind is the importance of the location of your home office. First of all, if you have the freedom of choice in such matters (if all the rooms aren’t otherwise occupied), you should look for a room that’s facing the backyard, instead of going for the room that’s right next to the street. Noises created by traffic, neighbors and lawn mowers can be incredibly distracting and this is not something you want to deal with. Furthermore, you need to consider the size of the room in question. For instance, a tiny desk can fit in the closet (something we’ve already discussed) but, what if you decide to go for dual monitors (which is something we’ll discuss later on).
The necessary equipment
Another thing you should keep in mind is the issue of necessary equipment for your home office. First, you need a sturdy desk, a comfortable chair, and a computer. This is a bare minimum. Due to the fact that they boost productivity, dual monitors are also highly advised. A printer is optional (although quite handy to have) but there are several other things we have to consider. For instance, as a home-based consultant or expert in any area, you might want to display some brochures that are deemed relevant to your customers. Needless to say, this is where DisplayME brochure holders can come in particularly handy.
Internet and phone access
When working from home, your access to the internet will be pivotal to your work. Therefore, you need to find the most reliable provider in your area. Same goes for the phone, even though most people believe that the era of telemarketing is over, it still looks fairly unprofessional not to have a business-line only. That being said, handling your internet and phone access are perhaps your two most sacred duties as an entrepreneur.
Task lighting
The glare of the monitor simply isn’t enough to provide the light you need for work. Sure, for some people this may suffice but for others, a task light is more than necessary. After all, working with full light on might be equally as uncomfortable as working in the dark and, seeing as how this is your workplace now, you need to think about the long-term consequences of ignoring this aspect of work. Overall, a reliable task light really isn’t that hard to find and with the LED bulb, might work for 50.000 hours without a need for replacement.
Some decoration
Earlier on, we talked volumes about the notion of distractions, yet, adding some accessories, pot plants and personal mementos doesn’t necessarily have to qualify here. On contrary, it can be seen as an incredible motivator. For instance, a photo of your family or a memento from a holiday can stand next to your desk in order to remind you what all of this is about. Motivation is the key to success and when designing a home office, you can’t let this slip your mind.
In conclusion
By following these six principles alone, you stand a much better shot at creating an efficient home office where you can achieve some outstanding results. Failure to do so, on the other hand, is expensive and a massive waste of your time and effort. Sure, for the moment you may feel like working from the couch is another way to get things done, yet, this is never a good long-term solution.
