Even with one year of work from home behind us, people are still struggling with the idea of work from home. While it seems a boon to many who used to lose a lot of time in commute, work from home is still a challenge when it comes to staying productive and being comfortable.
In this blog, we bring to you 5 tips so that you can make the best use of your time and space and optimize your work from home routine.
1. Create your workspace near a window
Staying near a window while working is always a good idea. This is why window space is ideal for your workspace.
The natural light from your window will ensure you don’t have to strain your eyesight while reading documents or looking at the screen. The breeze and the sunlight might also help you keep fresh and focused.
The view from the window is also something very desirable. It is advisable to look for 20 seconds far into a distance every 20 minutes you spend looking at a screen. The open view from a window is better than facing a wall.
The space near a window is also ideal because it tends to be a “low traffic” area. That is, you are not likely to encounter too many visits by your family members around it.
However, if a window area is not available to you, consider turning your desk to face the room instead of pushing it to a wall. As mentioned earlier, facing a wall is likely to make you run into several mental blocks. That is detrimental to your productivity especially if you are in a creative field or if your work is related to ideas and analysis.
2. Demarcate your workspace
A simple door or a partition can help you demarcate a space as your personal office space at home. Such a partition can also immerse you into a distraction-free environment – something that is necessary for productivity.
The point is to dedicate a space for your work – moving here in your working hours should feel like being in your office and switching your work mode on.
Your workspace can be well-defined even without a door or a partition. Even having a work desk will help you get into your work mode.
Use furniture if you don’t find a partition. Work on a dedicated workspace. Avoid working on dining tables if you can. It’s very important for you to create boundaries between work and leisure. Small things like a door or desk can help you.
Apart from the desk, have provision for good storage to keep handy everything you need when at work. Otherwise, you’d be hunting for a charger or stationery separately every time you need it.
An ergonomic chair also helps a lot in sitting right and staying away from fatigue. Posture is very important. Being at home might make you feel relaxed and slouching. Having ergonomic furniture around will make you sit upright.
Stay away from sofa or bed or dining table if you can – don’t turn these into your work area. You might find it difficult to separate eating and sleeping time from work hours if you do not have a distinct space for your work.
3. Bring the décor of your workspace alive
Just as you pay attention to your living room or bedroom décor, devote some attention to your work from that area too. There are several ways in which you can make it lively.
Use the right colors to break the monotony of work ambience. Use the colors you like in elements like rugs, wall art (clocks or paintings or photographs), and plants.
Do try to dedicate some space to your memories (certificates or trophies) too to get inspired by your past work and success.
Use aromatherapy to keep the right fragrance around you as your work.
Lastly, enhance the sound around you. Music playing at certain soft decibels can spark activity in your schedule and keep your spirits high.
4. Be empathetic towards others in the family
The best part of work from home is that you can be close to your family. So do not work at the expense of caring for them.
Have glass doors around your workspace so that you can keep an eye on what your kids and pets are up to or to see if anything needs your attention. Do not leave your family alone as if they are supposed to handle everything in your absence.
Talk to your family about the plan you have related to work hours or break time such as mealtimes. They should know when you are reachable.
Ensure that everyone in your family has a workspace of their own – especially study desks for children and a work desk for your spouse. It’s not just you who is getting distracted. There are others too and they too need a safe, private workspace.
5. Ensure your workspace is powered to handle technology
Wherever you sit, ensure you have adequate power supply, extension cords, and good Wi-Fi connectivity. Good internet connection can be a problem – certain spots tend to receive disturbed connectivity which can get quite frustrating during meeting hours or even while working on files on the cloud storage.
Check if the spot you’ve chosen has a good background: for your video meetings, you would need a plain background and good light that falls on your face.
Finally, don’t multitask by being home and office at the same time – it’s counterproductive. Hence you need a dedicated workspace at home to be creative and productive.
These 5 tips have helped a lot of people live better work lives at home. Let us know what you’ve been doing to work better from home. What does an ideal work from home space look like according to you?
Internet Banking
Wallets