More and more jobs are offering remote work opportunities, allowing their employees to work from the comfort of their own homes. While this can be a great way to save money on commuting costs, the average home isn’t designed to maximize productivity. If you’ve got the opportunity to work remotely, what can you do to design your home office with productivity in mind?
Here are six tips to help you create your perfect home workspace.
1. Improve Your Lighting
Lighting is more important in both home and office space than a lot of people think. Keeping your home office well-lit can reduce eye strain, improve mood and improve productivity. If you have the ability, depending on how your home is set up, try to use natural light wherever possible. If you’re working late into the night, natural light bulbs can be a great alternative, but there’s no replacement for sunlight.
As an added bonus, using natural light helps to reduce your power bill, which is just one more benefit of working from home.
2. Focus on Ergonomics
One of the worst parts of working in an office is the uncomfortable chairs and desks that can’t be adjusted. You should be able to sit at a slightly reclined angle with your feet flat on the floor and your computer screen between 26 and 34 inches away from the end of your nose for ideal ergonomics.
If you’re working at a desk, invest in a comfortable ergonomic chair that you’re okay spending multiple hours in. Adjust your desk so you can be the proper distance away from your screen, and so you can keep your arms and hands in the best typing position to reduce repetitive strain injuries.
3. Feeling Blue
What color is your home office? If you’re trying to turn one room in your house into a dedicated home office, one of your first steps should be to paint it blue or red. One study found that red tends to make people more energetic, while blue helps them to relax — and both elements can improve productivity.
If you can’t or don’t want to paint your home office walls, just adding splashes of color in the form of artwork, throw pillows or just solid color posters can have the same sort of positive effect on productivity.
4. Safety First
So many of our tech tools and toys run on electricity these days that it’s entirely possible your home office might not have enough plugs to run them all. It’s tempting to plug in power strip after power strip, but that can easily create a fire hazard.
If you have an old or outdated equipment or things with frayed cords, it’s time to replace them immediately. Any sort of damaged cord or outlet can spark an electrical fire under certain circumstances, and burning down your home office is pretty much the worst thing you can do for your productivity.
5. Be Aware of Air Quality
You probably think that the air quality in your home is pretty good, but there are plenty of hidden contaminants that could be making your nose itch and messing with your productivity.
Keep your air conditioner’s air filter clean and replace it regularly. It will make your A/C run better, and a clean filter catches dirt better than a dirty one.
For your office, an air purifier can be a great purchase. However, if you would prefer not to have yet another electronic device buzzing in your ear while you work, add some green plants to your office. NASA compiled a list of the best air cleaning plants, so you’ve got plenty to choose from. If you’re concerned about a lack of a green thumb, go with the spider plant — they’re nearly impossible to kill, and they filter out a number of different contaminants.
6. Remote Teamwork
Working from home is great if you work by yourself. If you work on a team, though, it can make communication difficult.
Before you start working from home, set up a Skype group, Slack chat or another way for your team to communicate. If you’re all working the same hours, schedule a morning check-in so you can discuss your plans for the day and what needs to be completed.
Programs like Skype and Discord also give the option for video chat, if you need to talk to someone face-to-face while you’re both in your respective homes. Just make sure you get dressed first — video chats in your pajamas are just unprofessional.
Productivity Can Reign in Your Home Office
Before you start your first day in your home office, make sure you design it in such a way that it helps to maximize your overall productivity. You’ll get more done — and the more productive you are, the more likely it will be that you’ll be allowed to continue working from the comfort of your own home office.
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