More people are working from home these days than ever before, partly due to how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting virtually all aspects of people’s lives. Of course, many others have worked from home long before working from home was a “thing.”
The thing is, some people find working from home stressful, uninspiring or unmotivating, and even uncomfortable. If any of those ring true with you, it’s time to take some steps to improve your homeworking setup and make it work better for you. Here are some ideas:
Dedicate a Room for Work
One of the biggest mistakes some people make is working from a room that also gets used for other purposes, such as the living room. If that’s what you are doing, you need to ideally work from an unused room like your spare bedroom or convert your loft into an office.
When you have a dedicated workspace, you’ll feel compelled to get on with your work, and you’ve also got the freedom to design your working environment according to your needs. For example, you can have filing cabinets or other storage exclusively for your work.
If your working from home means you will also need to be seeing clients or customers at home you might think about redecorating or changing the room to be more “professional” or welcoming. Our own working from home arrangement coincided with the kids growing up and no longer needing a play room. So where it was once a TV lounge / decorated for children it is now a light and airy space at the front of then house with wood flooring and wooden shutters rather than curtains. On the odd occasion that we have had to see clients here they don’t have to wander in to a room with a carpet that has crayon marks, or sit amongst a pile of Fireman Sam DVDs.
Improve Your Desk Setup
It’s unlikely that you’ll want to work on the floor, so you’ll need a proper office desk set up in your dedicated workroom. The desk you use should be big enough to accommodate your computer equipment, plus anything else like paperwork, stationery, and so forth.
You’ll also need an ergonomic chair for your desk so that you don’t end up with neck and back pain due to poor posture from an uncomfortable seating position. You may also find a footrest helps with any posture problems.
Make Your Workspace Bright
Let’s face it: you need illumination to carry out your work. Without any proper light, you’ll find it challenging to complete specific tasks, especially ones that require a great level of detail. With that in mind, you should upgrade your dedicated workroom’s lighting.
Start by upgrading any existing fixed lighting to LED “daylight” bulbs. Doing so offers several advantages. For example, your lights will illuminate immediately when you turn them on, and you’ll save money on your energy bills.
Also, the daylight glow from the LED bulbs will mimic that of the sun (hence the name), and you won’t feel unmotivated or tired due to any “warm glow” bulbs.
You might also want to think about buying a desk lamp, as there will doubtless be times where you want to work in the evening but don’t have a real need for the main room lights to be illuminated.
Create a Set Work Schedule
Last but not least, it makes sense to have a set work schedule, just as you would for a job where you had to commute to business premises. Having a regular work routine means you can plan your day more effectively and avoid taking up your family time with work.
Of course, you can make it flexible; for instance, you could work just part-time for one or two days a week, or you can make adjustments according to school holiday dates.