7 Tips to Set Up Your Ultimate Home Office
As we approach a new school year, many of us our going to be continuing our work from home routine and a large percentage will be making room for their children to tackle another semester or two of online/remote learning.
While working from home can be an ideal situation for a lot of us, others may struggle with the isolation, lack of work space and/or constant distractions. The realities of this can be overwhelming and exhausting.
Here are our top 7 tips for creating a space that is comfortable, helps your productivity and inspires you to keep showing up!
Find a quiet area of your home that can be your dedicated work zone. Try to stay out of high traffic areas to limit distractions and make sure you have enough space to comfortably access whatever it is you require for productivity.
Prioritise your comfort and invest in a comfortable office chair. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself!
Ensure you have adequate light. Screen glare and harsh overhead lighting can be hard on the eyes so make sure to have some task lighting for your surface.
Bring the outside in. If it’s possible, set yourself up near a window for natural light and fresh air (nobody wants to feel like they’re working in a cave). Plants and flowers add natural beauty to our spaces and can help reduce stress as well as clean the air we breathe by absorbing toxins and releasing oxygen. Try something low maintenance like a snake or spider plant to start.
Declutter. Work spaces can get messy quickly so be ruthless in your efforts to maintain your area. Clear paperwork, coffee cups and knickknacks daily. Implement a system for filing and storing your necessary work at the end of your day. This ritual signals your brain to ‘leave’ work for the day and keeps you organized for your following day.
Time Block to increase productivity and stay focused on the task at hand. I used to be the ultimate multi-tasker but have had a complete change of heart after trying out time blocking for the past 6 months. Focus on one task for 25 minutes with absolutely no distractions (no instagram schooling, coffee getting etc), take a break and then repeat. I block out the time in tasks (client management, accounting, social media etc) and stay focused for the allotted time. My productivity has sky rocketed.
Get dressed for the day. I know this may seem obvious but getting up and getting dressed for work (or school) makes you feel ready to tackle your day.