It’s becoming increasingly common for professionals across a wide range of industries to work from home. Although the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to this trend, it’s worth noting that remote work and work-from-home options were already growing in popularity even before the pandemic began.
You may be among the many who expect to continue working from home for the foreseeable future. As such, you need to consider how you can maximize your productivity in this environment.
One way to achieve this goal is to set up a proper home office. You’re more likely to be focused on your work if you have a space set aside that’s free of distractions.
There’s no single type of home office that’s ideal for everyone. To some extent, you should consider your own preferences and needs when designing one.
However, there are some general tips for designing a home office that can apply to virtually all work-from-home professionals and employees. They include the following:
Maximize Your Comfort
Again, your home office needs to be as distraction-free as possible. That naturally means making sure the space isn’t cluttered and allows for a relative degree of privacy.
That said, it’s important to remember that external factors are not the only ones that can negatively impact your focus. Your own discomfort can also prevent you from concentrating on your work.
Thus, you should design a home office with the goal of maximizing your comfort. How you go about doing this will depend on your environment and basic preferences.
For example, perhaps you live in an area that can get cold at various times throughout the year. If so, you might want to equip your home office with a space heater. This is a simple way to minimize the odds of discomfort keeping you from getting work done.
Let in Natural Light
If your home office has large windows, it’s a good idea to not draw the shades when you’re working. Research has shown that exposure to natural light has a positive impact on a person’s mood.
This has potential ramifications for your ability to successfully complete your work on a daily basis. The happier you are throughout the day, the easier it will be to motivate yourself when approaching work tasks.
You should also study color theory and color psychology when designing a home office. For instance, it has been shown that the color blue has a calming effect on people. As such, you might want to paint the walls of your home office blue if you have a fairly stressful job.
Put Up Motivational Posters
Yes, for many, the idea of putting up a motivational poster in a home office defeats one of the purposes of working from home. When you don’t have to go to a traditional office every day, you can avoid the “tacky” or artificial elements of such an environment, such as posters of people standing on mountains with the word “SUCCESS!” beneath them.
However, research indicates that motivational posters can actually, well, motivate workers. A constant visual reminder of your goals can help you stay focused when you might otherwise start feeling tired or bored with your work.
Once more, none of this is meant to suggest that you can’t express your own tastes and creativity when designing a home office. You merely need to remember that some general home office design principles should be considered when you start planning your workspace. These tips will help you create a home office that propels you towards success.
