Working from home can be remarkably convenient and productive, but you're not going to achieve your greatest potential unless your home workspace is on point. What are the best ways to make upgrades to your house and your office so that you can maximize your productivity?
Create a Designated Space
Some people claim to have a “home workspace,” but in reality, they float around the house or use a shared space like a dining room table or a living room to do their work. You're going to be much more productive and have a cleaner separation between your work and personal lives if you have a designated space for your professional tasks. It's ideal if you have a specific room of your house that you don't use for anything else, but if you don't have that much space, you should at least be able to divide off a portion of a room with a curtain or dividing wall.
Doing this helps you psychologically prepare for work – and let work go when it's time to sign out for the day.
Upgrade the Furniture
Next, consider upgrading your furniture. The main furniture pieces in your home workspace are going to be your desk and your chair. These are going to be much more comfortable and much more supportive of good health if you're willing to spend a bit of extra money and make sure they fit you appropriately. Ergonomic chairs are designed to support good posture, and they can make your entire workday much more pleasant; just be careful not to get a chair that's too comfortable or you might fall asleep.
While you’re at it, improve your comfort in the bathroom. While it's technically not part of your workspace, it's a room you'll visit several times throughout the day, so you might as well make it a relaxing experience. A bidet toilet can instantly improve your quality of life, giving you a more thorough clean (and helping you save on toilet paper at the same time). Upgrading your towels and mats can also give you a more luxurious experience.
Invest in Sound
However you typically use your office, it's a good idea to upgrade your sound. Investing in high quality speakers, or at least a good set of headphones, can give you the potential to create better ambiance when you're focusing on tasks and better audio when you're in the middle of a meeting. Create a playlist of tracks that are stimulating enough to keep you alert, but simple enough that they don't distract you.
Improve the Lighting
Your homework space is going to be conducive to greater focus if you have access to more lighting options and better overall lighting. Use a mixture of background lighting and task lighting to make sure your entire workspace is sufficiently illuminated. It's also a good idea to switch from cool, blue tinted light to warm, red tinted light throughout the day so you can make use of peak alertness without interfering with your sleep later.
Block Distractions
It takes up to 23 minutes to fully recover from a distraction at work, so optimizing your workspace to minimize distractions should be one of your highest priorities. How exactly do you do that? That depends on what type of distractions you're used to facing. If you're frequently distracted by interruptions, consider blocking off access to your office and putting up a “do not disturb” sign for the rest of your family. If you're more distracted by noise, consider soundproofing your office with acoustic panels and sound-absorbing materials. You may also want to remove certain items from your office, such as the TV or the couch, if you find they interfere with your work.
Tidy Your Cables
It's a small task, but take the time to organize and tidy up your cables. Even simple solutions, like using old bread ties, can make it much easier to figure out which cables go to which devices – and give your workspace a cleaner, more organized feel.
Get More Plants
The mere presence of plants can boost your productivity by 15 percent or more. Consider adding a few plants to your office so you can capitalize on this benefit. You'll have to water them on a regular basis, but there are many plant varieties that require little to no additional work.
Add Some Personal Touches
Finally, add some personal touches to make the office yours. Family photos, awards, and items related to your hobbies can make even the worst workdays more palatable.
Technically, you can work from home in almost any area of your house, but if you have a designated, optimized workspace, you'll be much more productive and happier. Most of these optimizations are inexpensive and easy, so there's no reason not to try them.