Whether or not you are new to working from home, this work arrangement comes with its challenges. One of the most significant effects there is to tackle is the struggle to remain productive at home.
Since the home is a place where people rest and relax, plenty of people out there have to reconfigure their mindset. Not only that, but they also had to establish a home office in some ways in their home.
If you’re one of the many people who are considering working from home, then read on. Here are a few home office ideas that will help boost your productivity:
Designate a Space
The first thing you need to do is to dedicate a workspace in your home. Designating a space where you can work at home will help you remain focused, even with the many distractions in your house.
It doesn’t have to be an actual office or room inside your house. Even if it’s just a table and chair against the wall in one corner of a room, it can be enough for you. As long as you have a designated workspace, it’s one massive step towards productivity already.
What’s great about having a designated workspace is that people who live with you can see that you need to be left alone when you’re in that space. It sets up a physical boundary that your house members can see for themselves.
Sit Near a Window
Getting as much natural light in your workspace without completely blinding yourself can help boost productivity. Natural light gives you the ability to perform well because your eyes aren’t too strained from squinting through the darkness to work. Aside from that, it’s a mood booster.
Since natural light helps brighten up any space, it can give you a sense of freshness and brightness to improve your mood. In turn, this will make you feel more ready to tackle the day and be productive at work.
Get your daily dose of Vitamin D by having a workspace near a window in your home.
Bring in Some Green
Another way you can brighten up any space without adding more light is by bringing in some greenery. Having indoor plants around you will make you feel better because they help make any space look more attractive and relaxing. Aside from that, plants help improve the quality of your indoor air.
Adding that bit of green will give you a mood booster as well. Just remember to take care of it because, inevitably, dying plants aren’t the best when it comes to making you more productive.
If your workspace is by the window, your indoor plants can surely benefit from the sunlight streaming through your window.
Try a Scent
Some people require more of their senses stimulated to be able to work well. Maybe you’re one of those people who thrive well in a pleasantly scented room. On that note, you should experiment around with scents. Look for something that can wake you up and doesn’t end up relaxing you to the point of unproductivity.
You can get these scents in many ways.
Scented candles are quite popular nowadays, but you need to pay attention since it’s still fire after all. Another choice would be to have a diffuser around your workspace. Choose your favorite essential oil, and use the diffuser to dissipate that scent into the air lightly.
Hang Some Art
A decorated room will improve your mood and make things feel more professional. Therefore, if you want to help boost your productivity and improve your mood, you might want to hang up some art in your workspace. Leaving them blank can make things feel sterile, which can feel pretty depressing if you spend a lot of hours there.
That feeling of contentment that you get from being inside a well-decorated room will give you a mental boost and allow you to be more productive. At the same time, it makes for a great background when you’re taking a break and posting a work selfie while you’re at it.
Use a Refreshing Color Scheme
Changing the color scheme of the room where you’ve established your workstation will have a significant effect on your psyche. Look into color theory and find the color that will make you more productive. For many people, refreshing color schemes like light blues and greens have a calming effect that also helps them stay on track with their tasks.
If you’re in a creative field for work, you might better appreciate white or even light gray color schemes instead. These colors will give your room a refreshing feel. At the same time, it’s light enough to stimulate your creativity.
Have Enough Desktop Space
Your desk should have enough space for you to move things around freely. Although you are free to decorate it, ensure that you don’t go too overboard. You don’t want to clutter your desktop too much with things unrelated to your work.
It isn’t only your physical workspace that you need to tidy up to make you feel more productive. You should also consider your digital workspace. You need to make sure that you have enough space on your laptop/computer desktop as well. Leaving it cluttered with too many ongoing projects will make it hard to find them. Plus, it will make you feel scatterbrained also.
Brighten the Space
If you don’t have windows where you can work in your house that’s conducive to work, you still need to take steps to brighten up your workspace. Not everyone has access to natural light everywhere in their home. If you’re one of the unlucky ones, you still have a shining ray of hope in artificial light.
You can even go creative with how you light up your workspace. If you want your lighting to serve as decoration too, you should consider getting floor or standing lamps by your work table.
That focused light will help brighten up your workspace. Plus, since it’s focused, it allows you to concentrate on your work better.
Incorporate Practical and Pretty Storage
Storage solutions are an essential part of having a conducive workspace. Having storage for your work documents and other paraphernalia allows you to remain organized, even if you are working. Therefore, you should try and incorporate pretty but practical storage solutions in your home office.
Unlike at the office, you don’t need to settle for metal filing cabinets. They’re not the most appealing storage solution, especially for ones you’re placing in your home.
You should also get some desk storage solutions that are small enough to fit your desk and organize your work tools well.
Get Comfortable
When we say get comfortable, we don’t mean lying on your bed with your laptop on your stomach. That work position will not make you more productive. For a lot of people, it can be quite the opposite of that position. The key to getting comfortable when working would be to mind the ergonomics of your workspace.
Making your workspace ergonomic will allow you to be more comfortable, so you don’t have to strain whenever you have to work. How can you expect yourself to be super productive when your body is continuously straining while working?
Get yourself a good chair and make sure that your desktop or laptop is in the right position. Also, don’t forget to walk around and move your body to stretch.
Get Rid of Clutter
According to Planet Maids Maid Service NYC, getting rid of clutter is an underrated way of boosting your productivity. Whether it’s in your home office or your actual office away from home, decluttering should be your first and last step to take for each workday. That way, you can start and end on a clean slate all the time.
Decluttering your workspace doesn’t mean you should only have work-related items on your desk. What’s important is that you don’t have anything on the counter that distracts you or takes more attention away from the work that you’re doing.
As long as your workspace doesn’t look messy, you won’t be as stressed out over the mess on your desk. In turn, you’re going to experience a significant boost in productivity.
Minimize Distractions
There are a lot of distractions present at home. From family members to entertainment devices like the TV around, there’s a lot that can take away your attention from work. Therefore, you should take active steps to minimize distractions around you.
If your phone is a significant distraction for you, make sure that your phone isn’t within arm’s reach when you’re working. Make sure that your workspace isn’t anywhere near the TV. That’s because it can take away your attention. It doesn’t matter whether what you’re watching interests you.
Conclusion
Having a home office can help you a lot with being productive when working from home. Applying these home office ideas can make your home office even more of a hub of productivity. If you find your home office lacking in creating that professional atmosphere, apply these ideas, and see whether they worked for you.
Don’t stick to these ideas alone. Come up with ones yourself and see which ones had a positive effect on your productivity then combine them. The goal is for you to remain productive, and it’s a constant battle. Hopefully, these ideas will help you win some of them!