People all over the world often dream of working from home. For many of us, that dream has suddenly become an achievable reality, as advances in technology allow businesses to offer more flexible and remote working options.
In fact, there are currently just over 1.5 million remote workers in the UK alone, as the modern workplace begins to finally release us from the shackles of the 9-to-5. Instead of being confined to the same office building every day, many workers are now given the freedom to work in different places and spaces, helping them achieve a much stronger work-life balance.
Whether you’ve become your own boss or just work from home a few days a week, every remote worker needs exactly one thing: a great office space. So, from choosing a new desktop computer to finding the best home broadband package, we’ve compiled some simple tips to help you set up the perfect home office.
Embrace Natural Daylight
Setting up your home office is all about finding the right space—and then making the most of it. To be more specific, you need to find an area which offers plenty of natural light, since this is known to boost morale and provide all kinds of fantastic health benefits. A proven method of improving sleep patterns and obtaining vitamin D, studies show that workers exposed to natural light are less likely to suffer from eye strain, headaches and drowsiness.
In fact, natural light is widely known to increase productivity and concentration, which is why so many remote workers will make sure to position their desk beside large windows. By ensuring your workspace has adequate lighting, you’ll be creating a more dynamic and energetic atmosphere to work in, which is always guaranteed to help you stay motivated and focused on your work.
Additionally, workspaces featuring plenty of plants and fresh greenery are also known to make workers more productive, with research from the University of Exeter showing that houseplants can improve productivity by up to 15%. Without question, your home office could really benefit from the addition of a peace lily or two.
Increase Your Internet Speeds
So much of our work is done through the internet these days; it’s incredibly difficult for your home office to function without a reliable connection.
Whether you spend most of your time emailing clients, researching websites or collaborating via cloud-based workspaces, it’s fair to assume that the internet plays an integral role in your everyday working life. Of course, this is why it’s so important to set up a broadband connection which offers fast download speeds and doesn’t prevent you from doing your job.
The faster your speeds are, the more you’ll be able to do online. Simple. Since so many of us now connect to the internet across multiple devices, a slow connection will inevitably lead to time wasted staring at buffering wheels and loading screens; severely hampering your productivity and reducing the efficiency of your home office.
Invest in the Right Equipment
No office is complete without the proper equipment. Once you’ve settled on a workspace and found a position for your desk, you need to think about how to truly make the most of the space available, which involves identifying the tools you’ll need to effectively do your job.
As with any effective office space, organization needs to be the key here. Instead of filling every available corner with unnecessary equipment, you should invest in useful file cabinets, storage boxes and file folders to prevent your office from becoming completely cluttered and chaotic. Although we’re moving further towards a fully-paperless world, the addition of a printer or shredder could also help to organize any important documents.
Either way, the most important thing you need to invest in is, without question, a new office chair. Since you’ll spend so much time sat in it, you’ll obviously need to make sure it keeps you completely relaxed and comfortable; otherwise you’ll be moving away from your computer every five minutes to stretch your back or rub your neck.
When your office is kitted out with the right equipment, stationery and furniture, you should be able to deal with whatever challenges remote working throws at you.
Eliminate Distractions
There’s no use in trying to work from home if your attention keeps wavering towards the television. For you to truly make the most of remote working, it’s important to eliminate any distractions and remain completely focused on the task in-hand. After all, this is the only way you can really hope to achieve the best results.
However, this can prove incredibly challenging when, ironically, the biggest distraction of working from home is often the home itself. Alongside the constant chatter of the television, your home is undoubtedly filled with entertainment, small comforts and other distractions just waiting to tempt you away from your computer screen.
The likes of social media, household pets, children and smartphones are typically the most common causes of procrastination, as many remote workers struggle to establish boundaries between their personal and working lives. But by setting up a designated office space and completely separating it from the rest of your home, you’ll find it much easier to eliminate these distractions and stick to the work schedule you’ve put in place.
