What actually is a home office? In the age of the pandemic, we have all heard the term, but it is a term that only really means a workspace in the home. If you do any type of work remotely (and, these days, more and more of us do), then you have a home office. But a home office can also be an actual physical installation in your home designed to resemble an actual office, a place where you can work with all the necessary tools to hand. You could even say this is what makes the distinction between a proper home office and simply working at home.
The Home Office is Here to Stay
With increasingly more of us making the shift to remote work – and planning to stay there for good – a functional home office is becoming more of a common sight within households. The important thing about a home office is that it actually resembles an office. An office is an interior space specifically designed to facilitate efficient work. It needs to be a place where you will not be disturbed, where you have access to everything you need, and where you can work efficiently and effectively.
So, if you would like to set up something a bit more advanced than a table next to your bed with a laptop on it, then there is a way to go about it. A home office should be able to provide you with everything that a commercial office would while also being homely enough to avoid being an unsightly, dull functional space that clashes with the overall aesthetic of your home interior.
How to Set it Up
If you are going to set up a home office, you need to have a specific space within your home in mind. This should, ideally, be a sperate room with a door that closes. The home is full of non-work distractions, and you need to have a means of cutting these out. Yet, a home office should also be a space with all the home comforts that we expect elsewhere in the house. Just as we use air fresheners or scented candles to create homely ambience and apply shoe deodorizer sprays like ShoeFresh to prevent our hallways and cupboards smelling, so too should we aim to make the home office homely. That is the “home” part.
Once you have decided on a private and quiet space and ensured it has the right degree of homeliness, it is time to address the “office” part of home office. You should aim to have the room painted in colors that keep you calm and focused. You should then fill it with typical office furniture and equipment. Try to install a large working desk and an ergonomic office chair.
Make sure there are ample power outlets and space for your laptop or computer. And once you have the desk, fill it with smaller items that promote efficient work. A good desk lamp is essential and there should be a range of organizing tools such as paper trays and box files where you can organize everything you need and have it close to hand. Finally, ensure that your office has good internet access. If the internet is a little patchy in this corner of your house, consider buying wi-fi booster or install the modem closer to the office space.
But beyond these essentials, it is all down to you. Above all, a home office should be suited to your particular working needs. This is the great advantage of the home office over shared office spaces.
