If your daily grind involves working at home, an important part of your work life is definitely the home office. For some people this is around the kitchen table, while for many others this means a specific room that’s the base of operations where you (at least try to) do your work from every day. Since you have to consider strategy over tactics, it, therefore, is reasonable that you should make this room a place you enjoy being in.
The room should also inspire a productive mood. Moreover, this is what gives the strategic framework to the hacks you can apply in your home office. However, what puts you in a productive mood?
This is an important question when it comes to defining your home workspace. Maybe, constantly reminding yourself of the goals – reasons you are working every day – is all you need to get started. Perhaps, bare minimalism inspires you, so remove all the pads and pens on your desk and place them in a cupboard, and learn how to make your best cup of morning coffee from online resources like Home Grounds.
If you don’t know the things that trigger the productivity mood in you, you’ll have a rough time improving your workspace – beyond the bare cosmetics. If you want to get it right, here are some hacks that work for many other home-based workers.
Some Good Tunes
Attach high-quality speakers to your computer and create a specific playlist for different kinds of concentration levels and work. It’s said that music playing in the background as you study and work helps boost memory retention, creativity and productivity. It works for many people.
Keep Distraction Close, But Out of the Way!
Having distractions around you is important. As you take a break, do something you enjoy to help wipe your mental RAM and begin on a clean slate once you go back to work. However, keep your distractions out of reach and out of sight as you work.
If you spend lots of time in your office but not getting much done, it’s likely your distractions are in the open, easily tempting you. You have two options, either hide them or inculcate some serious self-discipline.
Have a Fast Way of Recording Your Ideas
Most times, people get sudden ideas and by the time they get their TextEdit or Google Docs open, the idea has evaporated (get a new computer or upgrade the RAM). Always ensure that if an idea hits you, you can get it down at once. This means not in 20 seconds but right away.
Use Your Office to Hack Your Brain
If the first thing you do when you sit down at your desk is open Skype or go through your social media timelines, you need to hack your brain into better focusing. Some people do emails at the beginning of the day, while others do it at the end of the day. Have firm boundaries and a daily routine to hack yourself into focusing.
Office Lighting and Color
Yes, that subject your graphic designer pals like to talk about all day. Did you know that some wall colors in a room are likely to influence your mood, with some even causing more arguments and stress in a relationship? An aggravating wall color does nothing for you; you need to find a color that relaxes you and puts you in a productive mood – if you are renting, ask first!
The best home office should allow as much natural light in as possible, without creating a glare on your computer screen. Consider how you arrange your office to bring in natural light into your workspace.
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