Working from home is the new normal. While some individuals are already used to this , others are having a hard time coping.
If you feel like your motivation has gone down, and you can barely focus on work, the issue might be from your working space. You are used to working in a designated office, but now you are forced to work from your sitting room.
You have kids distracting you every second, your favorite Netflix show is calling, and sometimes you just want to take several naps in a day. Improving your work from home space will go a long way in enhancing concentration, hence productivity.
The best part is that you do not need to break the bank to create a functional home office,you can use online time and attedance. Here are nine smart ways to upgrade your home working space.
- Invest in Quality Lighting
Lighting is one of the crucial elements for a happy and productive environment. Research has proven that exposure to light improves your physical and mental health. Opening the curtains and blinds to let natural light will make a significant difference in your productivity.
Working in a dim or dark environment, on the other hand, strains your eyes. In return, you may develop headaches, fatigue and blurred vision, which ruin your workday.
If your home office lacks natural lighting, you can invest in a simple but functional desk lamp to keep the room illuminated. Soft light provides your space with a warm and cozy feeling to lower stress and increase concentration.
Be cautious when shopping for a lamp. It should offer soft lighting, meaning not too bright and not too dull as that could affect your vision.
- Get a Powerful Computer
Your workspace is not complete without a quality laptop. You will need it for a range of purposes including sending emails, storing data and files, and attending zoom meetings.
The quality of your computer will highly determine if you will have a smooth working time or not. The last thing you want to deal with is a laptop that goes off every time you are about to make a zoom call. Also, you do not need one that overheats after every two hours of work.
Crashing is the other frustrating thing about worn-out computers. You could lose all your work files, taking you back to where you started.
Avoid such mishaps by investing in a reliable laptop, rest assured you will have a smooth and motivating work time. You can easily spend less on a good laptop, especially with so many online offers and discounts.
- Raise Your Laptop
Comfort is crucial regardless of where you choose to work from. You may have the fanciest office, but if you are not comfortable, you will not reach your maximum potential. You should set up your desktop or laptop in a way that allows you to sit comfortably without any strains.
When working from the laptop, your eyes should be slightly raised to be at the same level as the top of the screen. The monitor should not be too low, and neither should it be too high to avoid craning your neck.
You can achieve the best position by investing in a high desk, slightly above the chair. If you are working on a tight budget, this is where you get creative with books or files. Place some books under the laptop to raise it to your ideal height.
You may also acquire a laptop stand from the stores at a few bucks, and you are good to go.
- Invest in a Smart Assistance
Missing meetings, deadlines, and work calls will push potential clients and investors away. However, as much as you want to handle everything, you are human, and sometimes you may forget or get too worn out.
Depending on your position in business or how much work you have to handle in a day, you might need a personal assistant. Nonetheless, unlike while working from the business premise, getting someone to come to your house for assistant duties can be tricky.
Technology has made things more manageable and accessible to everyone. You can acquire smart assistance for all your meeting reminders and to handle tedious tasks. You have numerous choices at your disposal, from Google assistant to Alexa.
These assistants are designed to handle tedious tasks such as booking appointments, preparing your to-do-list, set up meetings, and reminding you of such vital highlights of the day.
- A Good Desk Changes Everything
If your desk is not giving you the comfort you deserve while working, it is time to make a change. Remember that you will be sitting for most of the day and for you to be productive; you must be in your best position.
Most individuals assume that working from home means that they can work from anywhere. Your couch is an excellent place to relax and watch your favorite show, but it is not the right place to work from. Your bed isn’t either.
If you have been experiencing backaches at the end of the day, it is a sign that you need to invest in a suitable office desk. You do not have to go beyond your budget to do so. You can get creative with your dining chair or purchase a second-hand adjustable chair from the store.
You might have everything else figured out, but if your desk does not match the standards, you will undoubtedly have a hard time working.
- Get a White Board for Brainstorming
While technology has made everything easier with computers, sometimes going with the old school way makes working more interesting. A whiteboard is critical, especially when dealing with a mental block.
Perhaps, you have a big project coming up. Everyone is counting on you to bring up nice ideas to name a product or develop a life-changing service. A whiteboard gives you limitless space to brainstorm whichever ideas come to your mind.
You can write storyboards, your goals, and daily targets on the whiteboard and erase them as soon as you are done. You cannot get such privileges by depending on your computer entirely. Moreover, a whiteboard can transform any space to look like an office.
- Add Some Plants to the Working Space
Most people don’t know this, but plants can boost your productivity by up to 15 percent. They make the room livelier and refreshing. Looking at the plants flourish motivates you to keep going even on days when you do not feel like doing anything.
What’s more? Plants filter out air, which is good for your health.
A healthy person is a more productive person. They are also therapeutic and can make you forget stress and distractions instantly. Plants brighten up the room and help you to manage stress and refocus your energy on essential things.
If you are worried that you will not have time to water and maintain the plants, fear not. There are plenty of low maintenance plants in the market. Some like succulents and aloe vera require a once in a long-while watering and are hard to kill.
- Add Some Wall Decorations
Adding a little bit of personality to the room makes you want to spend more time there. However, be careful with the kind of stuff you choose to use for decorations. If you wish to include wall hangings, select motivating drawings rather than distractors.
You can add images of your favorite role model or the person who motivates you to keep going. You may also get some wall hangings with motivational quotes or as earlier mentioned, get nice plants for your working space.
A diffuser is not only decorative but also therapeutic. Such simple additions to your work from home space make a huge difference in how it looks and feels.
Adding a wall painting to your home office will emphasize your personality. Create your own loop to your home office space by hanging some meaningful canvas art. Additionally, you can add some energetic feel to your wall by collecting some paintings of various sizes. Seeing Nature painting will refresh your mind in a short span of time. If you want your wall art to be your own, the simplest way to choose your wall art is by matching it with the style of the room. If you have a modern office home, then a traditional Indian Painting or abstract painting will be the best choice. If your home is white base color then rustic colored or earthy tones of beautiful scenery painting will be a perfect match.
- Cabinet
Clutter kills motivation. The only way to free your work from home office space from clutter is to invest in good cabinets for files’ storage. This is where you keep everything that you are not using in the meantime.
Cabinets make things more accessible because you can remove the files whenever you need them and return them when not in use. Nonetheless, if you are dealing with a small work from home space, you might not enjoy this privilege.
The best thing to do in such a case is to add some shelves on the wall. You may also create a dedicated area for waste papers and other items that you think you need, but you really don’t need them. You could use a basket or box under your desk to save space.
Improve Your Work From Home Space With Creative Ideas
Upgrading your work from home space does not have to be complicated or expensive. You can create a functional space while working on a tight budget. You only need to get creative with the resources at your disposal.
Personalize the space to match your personality with the tips above and watch how the changes will improve your productivity. For more work from home space ideas, could you keep checking our blogs?
