There’s much to love about working from home. There’s none of the commuting madness that regular office workers need to endure. There’s no rushing around trying to make yourself presentable. You’re more in control of your time, your environment, and how you work.
However, it’s not all positive. There are downsides to working in the place you live, too, the most significant being that productivity can sometimes be hard to come by. If you’re going to make the most of working from home, then you need to make sure that you’re working efficiently! We take a look at a few ways how you can do this below.
A Quiet Space
If you’ve styled home correctly, then it should be pretty fun, and also relaxing. Alas, these are two things that are not conducive to working well. If you’re going to work as well as you can, then you’ll need to carve out a quiet space, far away from the distractions that are too readily available in a home. The aim is to create a place that puts you into a working mindset whenever you step through the door. It should be tucked away in the corner of the property, away from the noisier sections of the home.
The Essential Infrastructure
If you’re going to create a home office, then you’ll to, well, make it feel like an office. This is nothing overly complicated, but you will need to find the ones that are right for you. You’ll need to have a desk and chair at which you can work for many hours.
Don’t go the budget options. If you’re not comfortable, you’ll find it all too easy to stand up and do literally anything else. If you get restless sitting down all the time, then look at getting a sit/stand desk. But really, the form your office furniture takes isn’t so important, so long as you’re comfortable and it’s not going to lead to long-term physical pain.
Technology and Software
It’s not the number of hours that you’re sitting at the desk that counts, but how productive you are during those hours. In order to ensure that you can work well, then you’ll need to have the right technology and software to help you. A beaten up, old machine is still technically a computer, but it’s not going to help you deliver your best work.
You don’t need to have the latest Apple computer, necessarily, but it does have to be a machine that can comfortably handle your work requirements. As well as the technology itself, you’ll need to look at the software that’ll help you to work productively. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, then take a look at this website about technology — it’ll give you expert insights into the software that’ll help you to work well. It really is worth taking the time to get this aspect of your home office just right; there is a big difference between outdated technology and technology that fits the business operations like a glove.
Creating the Ambiance
Since you’re working from home, you’ll need to do a little more to ensure your office feels like a place of work, rather than just another room in your home in which you’re doing your work. If anything, you’re trying to make it NOT feel like your home. To do this, it’s worthwhile taking some time to create the ambiance of the room.
The biggest aspect will be lighting. Does the current lighting set up make you want to work? If not, then make some changes. It’s all down to personal preference. Some people like the big overhead light, other people find them too harsh and prefer a more subtle sidelight. Whatever works for you!
Setting Work Hours
One of the main problems commonly encountered by people who work from home is that they never quite know where they are. They can find it difficult to get into the work groove, since they’re at home, and then also find it difficult to switch off when they’re done for the day since the office is right there. There’s just not enough of a divide between the two.
While you’ll never be able to eradicate this problem entirely, you can limit its severity by setting work hours for each day. If you know that you’re going to work from, say, 10 am until 4 pm, then you’ll find it easier to adopt the appropriate mindset. Make sure you have a clock in your office, and when it comes to “home time,” leave as promptly as you would if you worked in a traditional job. Things can get pretty messy if your professional and personal sides begin to blend into one.
Check that Home Insurance
If you’re going to work from home, then you’ll need to check your insurance and make sure that you’re covered for business activities on your premises. Normal home coverage usually excludes business related tasks.
If something goes wrong, you could be left out of pocket! Now, you might think that little can go wrong when you’re working from home, but you’d be surprised. If you’re holding meetings at your home office, then all it’ll take is one slip, and you’ll have a lawsuit on your hands. Without the correct insurance, there’ll be no-one to pay it except for you.
Identify Your Distractions
While we’d like to think that we’d be focused enough that we can concentrate solely on our work, this won’t always be the case. We’re only human, after all, and when we get a little bored, we’ll be looking for a distraction. In an office, there are no distractions. But there is at your home.
There’s plenty of fun stuff to do when you’re there. While you can’t throw them all away, you can at least identify your triggers, and learn to override them. It’ll save you a lot of time each day if you’re not spending your time walking around, trying to find something fun to do.
