As employers and workers alike consider how to navigate their way through the coronavirus pandemic, many businesses have asked employees to work from home for an undetermined amount of time.
Creating a structured and efficient home office, though, can be an enormous challenge.
In this article, we share 5 tips for creating a home office that boosts your productivity and helps you look forward to “going to work” each day.
1. Create A Dedicated Workspace
The first step in transitioning to remote work should be to assign yourself a dedicated work area in your home.
A workspace can be a separate room, dedicated corner, or even a large closet.
Or, if you’re more of an “open office” personality, your workspace may consist of a chair and monitor in the middle of a busy room.
No matter what area you choose to work in, try to build a routine that revolves around that space. The combination of space and routine lends a sense of structure that will help you boost your productivity over time.
2. Set Up a Virtual Meeting Space
At work, you probably have meeting rooms and collaborative spaces. At home, you may be required to meet with colleagues or clients virtually.
Set up a dedicated space for video conferencing in your home, taking care to ensure that the background is simple, plain, and professional-looking.
The rules of “anything goes” on live video do not apply to professional meetings. Keep your personal appearance professional, even if you are enjoying working in more comfortable and casual clothing.
Children and pets may be welcome interruptions occasionally, but broadcasting from a bed or messy room is a bad idea, since many people will never “unsee” it.
Take the time to create a professional “meeting” area for video conferencing. It’s okay to share your home and personal style, but you must do so in a way that’s organized and tasteful.
If it’s tough to find a “perfect” background space for video conferencing, consider buying a plain video backdrop that you can put behind you during business hours.
3. Assign Additional Dedicated Work Spaces
In the offices, many businesses provide quiet zones, relaxing areas, and social spaces.
You can recreate these spaces in your home, allowing yourself to take short breaks to keep your mind and body healthy.
You don’t need to remodel your living space to create these areas. Knowing where you’ll go to clear your head, relax, or talk to friends and family is all you need.
If you normally work from the kitchen table, for example, make your bedroom or living room your “break room.”
Rather than try to adhere to a fully-productive 8-hour work routine, try breaking up your day with social time and exercise, even if that means you need to work longer hours to complete your projects.
Dedicating spaces to relaxing, thinking, and socializing helps ensure that you take the breaks needed to keep yourself positive and motivated while working remotely.
4. Organize Your Work Area
If your entire office suddenly transitioned to remote work and you don’t already have a home office set up, consider repurposing common household items to organize your workspace.
Consider repurposing any of the following items to help organize your work area:
- Accessory or makeup trays
- Stackable trays and crates
- TV trays
- Folding chairs
Each of these items can help to either organize materials in your space or make it easier for you to complete work in locations around your home.
A TV tray, for example, could help you work with your computer on a sofa or in an arm chair if you do not have room for a full-sized desk at home.
Use an accessory or makeup tray to organize desk materials such as pens, paper clips, or tacks.
Stackable trays and crates could be repurposed into a standing desk to give you some flexibility at your work station.
Organizing your work area will help you create a balance between where work happens in your home and where it stops. Repurposing materials found around your home will help you stay on track and focused in your new space.
5. Coordinate Your Equipment
Make a checklist of the equipment you’ll need to work efficiently, so that you can get set up as quickly as possible, such as:
- Noise-cancelling headsets
- Wireless keyboard & mouse
- Monitor to transform your laptop into a professional work device
- Charging docks and storage for USB devices
Invest time into setting up your workspace equipment, so you can reduce stress, avoid frustration, and eliminate technical delays.
Creating A Productive Remote Work Environment
To create a productive home office, dedicate and set up a variety of spaces to help you get your work done in a way that’s balanced, healthy, and productive.
