Have you had to change your plans and had to start working from home? Setting up a home office can be a massive pain, trying to fit a desk into a particular place, or making sure you have everything organised so you can find it.
We have put together our top 10 tips to help you set up your home office to work effectively, in the comfort of your own home.
1) Get an organisation system in place
- You will need somewhere to keep all your important paperwork and files.
- Sort out everything you have currently before diving into a huge clean up. You don’t want to accidently chuck something you will need down the line.
- You may find things like a filing cabinet or chest of drawers will help you out.
2) Divide workspace from personal space
- Finding a work-life balance is crucial, especially when working from home.
- Find yourself a defined space that you can have specifically for work.
- If you’re struggling to create a defined space, we suggest hanging up a bed sheet or similar, just so you have that defined space to work with if needed.
3) Just bin it
- One of the reasons why home offices get so cluttered is due to a stubbornness to throw stuff away.
- Here’s some stuff to bin:
- Pens that no longer work
- Paper clips that are out of shape
- Old magazines and newspapers
- Unused or broken office equipment
- Variety of old financial statements.
4) Relocate personal items
- Take everything away that isn’t directly related to work off your desk. Eg. photos, plants, greetings cards, mugs etc.
- You can put your plants on the window sill, or on top of a filing cabinet.
5) Move office equipment off your desk
- If your desk is covered with computers, printers, monitors, phones, storage, where are you going to do your work?
- Put your computer tower on the floor, it doesn’t add anything being on your desk.
- Back everything up online. Sign up for an online storage service that lets you backup online.
- Move the light- instead of using a desk lamp, put a free standing light next to your desk, and aim it at your workspace.
6) Protect sensitive or Important documents
- Shelves and cubbies aren’t always the right solutions for all your storage needs though.
- Sometimes you will have some important documents that you can’t leave lying around your office.
- Depending on the amount of documents you are needing to store or keep, you could consider archive storage. This will allow you to keep your documents safe, secure and dry, and you’ll be able to access them whenever you need to go through all your old paperwork.
7) Cable manage your desk
- You don’t want to be tripping over cables and wires. Too many cables can also be a fire hazard, so you need to be careful.
- Get rid or remove anything you use infrequently.
- Plus your remaining cables into a surge protected power bar, this will prevent your computers and other equipment from frying.
- Cable ties will help keep your remaining cables tidy and out of the way.
8) Keep your important accessories handy.
- You can waste valuable time if you have to root through your desk, or your filing cabinet for the supplies you use regularly, so make sure you keep the stuff you use often nearby.
- Put a file folder on your desk for current projects.
- Also, make sure you have enough stationary to last for a while.
9) Make comfort a priority
- If you’re spending long hours sitting at your desk, you need to make sure you’re doing so in as comfortable a position as possible.
- There is nothing worse than having to work day in day out in an uncomfortable chair, so don’t cheap out on one, get something you know will be easy for you to sit in for long hours.
10) Need some extra space? Why not consider self storage?
- If you’re clearing out a room to make into a home office, where are you going to keep everything?
- There is only so much space you can have.
- If you find yourself struggling to make room, why not put some stuff into self-storage. It would be ideal to store a spare bed or a chest of drawers, or even a wardrobe. That way, you can ensure you’ll have enough space for your home office.
