Working from home is very exciting because it offers you the opportunity to make a living in an efficient but comfortable way. However, if the home office is too casual, or not well separated from your home environment, all that energy and productivity can be lost. Working from home doesn’t mean you can’t have a professional environment around you. There are three vital factors that you must take into account when establishing your own home office so that your work is done as effectively as possible.
The right equipment
Speed and efficiency are critical when working from home, so make decisions about your equipment carefully. Do you need such a large desk or workspace? Don’t pay for furniture that you are not going to take advantage of when you work. Check that your space has a good Internet connection so that you’ll have the flexibility to work comfortably with a laptop or computer. If you are going to make a lot of business calls, it’s better to use a dedicated phone and keep it in your workspace. This way, your clients will be able to call and contact you as they need without interfering with personal calls. In addition, you will always know whether an incoming call is for business or personal, and remember to answer the phone accordingly.
Levels of lighting
Good lighting is essential. Ideally, you should have as much natural sunlight as possible in your home office. It would be great if your room had at least one window large enough for good light to enter in the morning. Place your main workspace (for example, the table with your computer) near this light source if you can. Not only will you enjoy the positivity of the sunshine, you will also save some money on your electricity bill.
However, if your office does not have windows (a basement or a room without them), it is worthwhile to invest some money in lamps and lighting that simulate natural light as much as possible. Remember that light is an essential element for mankind. If you spend long hours in a dimly lit environment, it can have serious negative psychological effects on you, including depression.
Privacy & Separation
No one can work comfortably in an environment full of noise and interruptions. When planning your workspace, make sure that it offers you a high level of privacy and that it is separated from the rest of the living space by a door or other type of separation that isolates you from noise. If you’re not attentive to this, you may get interruptions so often that throw you off your focus, put you in a bad mood, and stress you out too much.
To disconnect from work once you have finished your workday at home, it will be essential that you create some kind of separation between your work space and your private life. If you can’t do it spatially speaking, then do it visually. Make the office disappear behind a curtain, or just by tidying up and clearing the desk and locking up everything that looks like work. Of course, it is much easier to make something that is already discreet in appearance disappear to begin with, so consider using glass tables, light metal shelving, or a decor that blends well with the rest of the room from the start.
