Who would have thought that working from home would be recognized as the norm for many careers and jobs? Since the pandemic, working from home is now readily recognized in many corporations. Although I work still work away from home, I have a home office that allows me to focus when blogging and completing work that I bring home. Working from home has many positive benefits however working from home may be difficult if there are factors in the home that keep you unfocused.
By creating an organized and designated space to work, you will become energized, focused, and productive. These are all needed as you prepare for an 8-hour workday either away from home or at home. Let’s discover how to create a home office space and reach these goals!
Creating Your Home Office Space
Combining Spaces
When working from home you may have the luxury of having a specific room dedicated and identified as a home office. If you don’t have this option, analyze the rooms in your house and decide on a room in which you can combine spaces and functions.
When I analyzed my home, I knew that I did not want to have my home office in my bedroom or kitchen (your bedroom should be a safe place where you can unwind after a long day at work).
This prompted me to combine our children’s playroom into a space that currently serves as a playroom and home office.
If you are limited in space, consider dedicating a corner of a room as a home office space. This could include a small area in your living room, dining room, or kitchen. Remember, if you can avoid it, don’t create and organize a home office in your bedroom.
Once you have a space identified in your home that you are going to dedicate for your home office space, the functionality and organization process comes next!
Make your desk your focal point
First make decisions about your desk as this is where a majority of your time will be spent.
Depending on the size of your home office, you will need to consider the size and dimensions of your desk. Also take into consideration the cost, storage, and setup of the desk.
Having a desk with drawers that allowed me to place papers and office supplies inside the desk drawers, not on top of the desk was very important to me.
This not only decreases visual clutter for me but also gives me additional working space to utilize while working.
Consider lighting
When creating your office home and researching home office ideas, also consider lighting. Creating a space that has access to natural lighting has many benefits. Natural lightening increases your mood, energy levels, stimulates productivity, and reduces stress levels.
I strategically placed my desk by the only window in the room where my office is located. This has enhanced my moods while working in my home office.
Natural lighting also works wonder for virtual meetings. When I have a meeting on Zoom, I use a light ring but natural lighting gives your appearance a boost!
Consider the room’s structure
When creating your home office, consider the layout of the room. Working from the home will obviously require that you utilize some type of technological device.
You will want to ensure that you are close to an electrical outlet as your computer battery will run low or die during your work day. Imagine being in an important Zoom meeting and your computer dies.
I also utilize a power strip to accommodate my printer, light ring, and phone charger. Surge protectors work wonders too!
Now that we have the basis of how to create a home office space discussing how to organize your home space will also be important.
Create a Real Estate Spot for Popular Items
Once you have your home office space identified and a focal point confirmed, develop a storage system for your popular office items that you can easily access.
Place items that you use frequently throughout the day on top of your desk. In addition to having a desk, a rolling cart is also a great idea to house frequent used items.
Use bins to organize and group like items on the rolling cart or in your desk.
I currently have a clear organizer that I purchased from Amazon. I organize and group all of my small office items here such as paper clips, clasps, and mini sticky notes, and USB drives. In addition, I also have decorative cups that house my pens and pencils.
Do Not Keep all of your daily hard copies of files
Working from home will require you to host many virtual files and documents on your computer.
If your job requires that you review documents and articles, print these items out to gain a deeper understanding of the documents, but don’t hang on to these papers forever! Once you complete the tasks that required the documents, throw away or shred the documents. You can throw the items away at the end of each work day or take time weekly to shred or disregard the items.
A large amount of papers causes an area to become cluttered fast which will decrease your productivity levels.
Declutter Daily
Approximately 15 minutes before you are scheduled to end the day, begin to declutter and clean your home office space. Remember to go through any papers that you used throughout the day. File and keep important papers and throw away any papers that are no longer useful.
Place everything back in their correct place. Place all of your pens together, place all of your paper clips back together, etc. Visual labels are great for this step!
Lastly, jot down any items that need to be completed the next day and enjoy the rest of your day!
Final Thoughts
Creating a home office space does not have to be complicated. If you are in the beginning stages of completing a home office space, think about an appropriate space in your home for your office and be sure to make sure that you have appropriate furniture and lightning. These steps will help you create a space that allows you to be productive in no time.
Don’t forget to create an organization plan as well for your home office!
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