Listen to this article now |
A great home office space can make life a lot easier when working from home during these uncertain times – here are some tips on how to create one.
Get the Right Equipment
Two of the most critical things for a successful home office are speed and efficiency. When you are buying things, you need to weigh the pros and cons of everything. For instance, visiting the neighborhood Kinkos might be a better option as compared to investing in your own color copier. Simply put, don’t buy the equipment you won’t use regularly.
This does not mean that you do not need a printer, though. If your work is constantly related to copying, scanning and printing, investing in multifunctional copiers from ACP, for instance, might be a good solution for your home office to do your work and save up space.
Invest in a wireless hub for your home office. It will give you the necessary flexibility to work either from your desk, chair, or table, and you can always switch between standing and sitting to keep things interesting. It might seem like a simple change but it will help in advancing your problem-solving and thinking capabilities.
It’s recommended to get a separate phone line for your office to ensure that none of your clients or business associates get a busy signal. Needless to say, you would want the phone to have a conference, speaker, and messaging function.
Also, make sure there is a local computer support team available to make prompt home service calls. You rely on the equipment in your home office to work and this is why it’s important to have a responsive support team. Also, buy the fastest equipment you can afford to make sure you don’t have to wait for things to work.
Insurance is also important. There are affordable insurance policies available that will help you keep your home office equipment protected and help you get back on your feet again in the event of a disaster or a loss. It will give you peace of mind and there are many insurance companies offering policies that are specially designed for home workers.
Lighting
Don’t ignore good lighting. Try to get as much natural daylight as you can in your workspace. Try to get your workspace near a window to ensure proper lighting. You might already know that the most balanced source of white light is daylight as each color of the spectrum is almost equally represented in sunlight. Daylight doesn’t have a constant color and various colors you see are due to reflection and refraction caused by earth at various times of the day. The natural light color also depends on geographical location. In short, try to get as much natural light as possible in your workspace.
If there are issues with the availability of daylight, make sure to have general and task lighting. A good quality task light is essential for cloudy days or late nights. If you’re working in a basement or in a room that has no windows, there are energy-efficient light sources available in the market that replicate daylight. These are capable of providing full-spectrum lighting. There are also a number of ergonomic task lighting fixtures available in the market that allow you to control the light amount through dimmer switches.
The most effective lighting is one that’s capable of bringing out the fullest quality colors. Too low lighting levels can have negative psychological effects on you. In fact, it could also lead to depression. If you are looking for something to make you comfortable, invest in a yellow cast illumination. It’s a bright color and falls right in the middle of color progression when you move from cool to warm.
In order to protect your eyes from glare, you should never place overhead lighting directly above your computer screens. Also, a computer screen should never be put directly in front of a light source as it will cause eyestrain. The latest energy guidelines have led to an era of reduced light levels in offices. These low levels of light are easy on the eyes. One of the most important factors, when you are choosing lighting, is the ability to change its intensity and brightness.
Privacy
If you have constant interruptions or high noise levels, you won’t be able to work effectively. This is why you should always focus on maintaining a degree of privacy when you are planning your office area. Headphones are a great way to isolate sounds but you do not want to end up in a situation where you have to wear headphones all day long. One of the ways to create a private area is to invest in portable screens. You could also think of investing in divider walls that could also be used as bookcases. It will not only help in getting much-needed privacy but will also provide some storage space.
White noise can be really helpful to get you into the zone needed to concentrate at work. Low fans and air filters are a great way to drown out other noises.
If you can’t really have a door to the office area, you might want to place some signage such as “Quiet Please” or “No Interruptions” outside to tell others that you are working and shouldn’t be disturbed.
Organization/Layout
You won’t feel stressed if all the things are properly laid out in your home office. This is why it is important to carefully plan through your storage requirements in order to have all the space you need in your bespoke home office.
You are most likely to spend maximum time on your desk as this is where you will keep your desktop computer or your laptop as well as other work-related items. You would also keep a log of papers on your desk and you should invest in a solution to keep your papers organized. The key to maintaining productivity in a home office setup is to maintain an organized desk where all the pending work is kept in order and there are no disorganized files.
You don’t need to think too much as there are simple solutions such as trays or pencil cups to keep all your writing instruments well organized. Think of getting some folders for memos and business cards. There are stores such as The Container Store where you can get everything to get organized and remain that way. There is no lack of options today but the real challenge is in finding something that works best for you. Take some time to learn how you are going to store all work-related things in order to keep your life more organized.
If you want some inspiration, take a look at the work done by Italian product designer and manufacturer EmmeBi. They can give you great ideas on organizing a residential as well as a commercial office. Use these ideas as inspiration and design your own home office within your budget by sourcing similar items from IKEA, Target, and similar stores.
Ergonomics
When working at home, you need to pay special attention to your safety, health, and welfare. This is why you need to invest in ergonomically designed items to maintain your health and well-being.
Over the years, significant improvements in comfort levels and adjustability have been made by chair manufacturers for computer users. These guys have spent a lot of time and money on researching biomechanics related to seating. There are task chairs that are designed to make life easy for people who spend their entire day in front of a computer. You can today get chairs with a pelvis balance point and free shoulder technology designed by Keilhauer. These chairs are excellent for your back and spine when you’re sitting in front of the computer.
We also like Humanscale. The designers at this company have spent a lot of time researching to figure out the needs of human body while working. If you spend most of your time creating something or writing, you should invest in their chairs and you will be thankful for it.
Invest in foot rests and ergonomic mouse instruments that fit your hand. You should also get soft keyboard pads to rest and relax your wrists. All these little things will help in enhancing your work experience and cutting down on the stress you have at work. After all, the ultimate goal of spending time to design your home office is to make sure that you are comfortable while working and get the necessary support you need to concentrate at work and succeed.
