Home Office Organization
Many of us are still working from a home office. Some of us will be working from home for the foreseeable future. Some of us have always had a home office. No matter how long you’ve been working from home, it is probably time to organize your home office. Here are some tips to help.
HOME OFFICE FUNCTIONALITY
Whether you work from home all the time, temporarily, or just occasionally, the one thing you want from your office is the ability to actually get some work done. While we can’t all have a room with a door that shuts and locks, you can create a space just about anywhere that is your designated work space. Make sure you have what you need to make it work: a comfortable place to sit (or stand, if you have a standing desk), a workspace that is large enough for your laptop, and strong wi-fi.
AESTHETICS MATTER
There’s a reason people in the corporate world used to vie for the corner office. It was all about the windows – and the view. If you can’t place your home office near a window, at least have artwork, a live houseplant, or other things of beauty that make it more pleasant to be in the space.
CREATE WORK FROM HOME ROUTINES THAT WORK
It’s easy to let work overtake everything when your office is in your living room or dining room, so it’s important to have routines that start and end your day. Don’t wake up and walk right to your desk and begin. Exercise, have coffee, get dressed. And at the end of the day, clean up your work area, shut down your laptop, and walk away from it. Turn off notifications on your phone for the evening and night for work email and slack. Separate your work life from your home life as much as possible.
GET AWAY FROM THE OFFICE
In addition to morning and evening routines, take a lunch break. Sure, you can just walk to your kitchen, grab a sandwich, and head right back to your workspace. But should you? A lunch break can refresh you mentally. Even if all you do is go to a different room or step outside for some fresh air, it can make a big difference.
Organizing your home office can make working from home easier and more productive.