Do you have the desire or need to set up a home office? Are you ready to transform your space, but unsure of how to get started? Do you need some advice to ensure that you make all the right choices?
No two people have the same exact working style, so the way you set up a home office may not be identical to the next person. However, there are some basic tips you can follow to ensure that you make sound decisions that will benefit you in the long run.
Tip: You spent a lot of time and money getting to where you are today – such as by paying for your education – so you deserve to get exactly what you want from your home office space.
Here are some of the many things to consider when setting up a home office:
1. Find Enough Space
According to atWork Office Interiors, the average private office space is 186 square feet.
Do you have enough space in your home to equal this? Will you have to get creative with a smaller space?
There’s nothing wrong with using a small area of your home for an office, such as a closet, as long as you have enough space to get your work done in a productive manner.
2. Distance from Your Family
It can be a lot of fun to work from home, especially if this gives you the opportunity to spend more time with your family. However, this can also be a bad thing at times, as the distraction is more than enough to get you out of your groove.
Buffer provides a variety of tips for working from home with kids. While you may not think this will be a problem, things have a way of changing as the days go by.
Tip: Let your family know what your schedule looks like, so they’re familiar with the times when they shouldn’t bother you.
3. Eliminate Distractions in Your Space
According to Forbes, more than 30 percent of workers waste at least 30 minutes per day.
If you’re the type of person who will fall prey to distractions, you need to keep these on the outside looking in.
For example, don’t put a television in your office. If you do, you could find yourself watching People You May Know, as opposed to getting your job done – and that doesn’t make for a productive day.
4. Create a Stress-Free Environment
There is no denying the fact that stress can drag you down. This is why you need to create a stress-free environment that lends well to you reaching your goals.
For example, you may want to use an automated home security system to keep you feeling safe at all times throughout the day.
As noted by Stress.org, one million people miss work every day for stress related reasons. You don’t want to find yourself among this group at any point in the future.
5. Do What Makes You Happy
You don’t want to set up a home office with the idea that you need to please someone else. You want to make decisions that will put a smile on your face.
Get this: Fast Company says that happy employees are 12 percent more productive than those who are unhappy. With this in mind, you’ll want to do whatever it takes to create an atmosphere that lends to having a positive attitude.
This isn’t to say that you will never run into stressful situations that make you unhappy, but there are things you can do in your personal space to protect against this.
Final Thoughts
These are just a few of the many tips you can follow when setting up a home office. While there are other steps to take, these ones should put you on the right track to completing the project sooner rather than later.
If for any reason you don’t like the way things turn out, don’t hesitate to make a change in the future. In other words, the way your office looks today doesn’t have to be the way it looks in the future.
Do you have any experience setting up a home office? Were you able to reach all your goals, or did you come up short for one reason or another? Share your personal approach to setting up a home office in the comment section below. Your advice can help other work-at-home professionals get what they want from their space.
