The COVID Pandemic has made Work-From-Home a standard operating procedure in many parts of the world. With the world currently amid second and third waves and vaccinations still being carried out, most businesses around the world have moved to a WFH model.
However, working from home for one day or two days top is a different experience than working for months on end. Let us face it, our homes, especially the ones that do not have a home office have not been designed for 9-5 jobs.
Your dining table or the living room sofa is not going to make it through the entire WFH duration. If you do not want to experience health issues or compromise on the productivity of the work, you need a proper home office!
In this article, we list down seven ways that can help you make your home office more comfortable. We take help from a leading residential interior designer in Atlanta who has helped many create their home offices.
List of 7 Ways to Make Your Home Office Comfortable:
1. Invest in an Ergonomically Perfect Desk and Chair Set-
Working long hours in front of a computer screen can be a taxing experience for the body. Your old office space had proper chairs and desks that had been designed to provide the best ergonomics. You need to start doing the same at your home office.
Do your research or take help from an expert so that you can get the best ergonomically aligned desk and chair set for daily work use. Remember, your dining table or sofa will not suffice.
2. Improve the Lighting and Focus on ‘Natural’ Sunlight-
Studies have shown that lighting has a lot of impact on how you work. This means that your work productivity is directly related to the kind of lighting you are working under. If you can get natural sunlight on your work desk, it is the best.
If your home office is located down in the basement, try to get it as properly lit as possible. Use a combination of table lamps as well as overhead lights for the best results.
3. Keep the Home Office Space as Clean and Organized as possible-
While you may realize how important the task of a cleaning service was back in your office, here you will have to do everything on your own. This means keeping the entire space on your desk and around as clean as possible.
Remove the clutter on an everyday basis. Keeping the desk organized has been found to have a lot of positive effects on improving productivity. Plus, you don’t want your boss to see a dirty desk on the next video call, do you?
Just like you do not want any clutter in your home office, you might also want to do the same for your normal physical office. With the world slowly opening up and many of us going back to work, hiring a service that offers office cleaning Hervey Bay might be a good idea.
4. Create an Office Space that is used for work only-
Many people make the mistake of creating a multipurpose workspace that can be used for both a home office and for something else. However, experts point out that working in a specific space helps in boosting productivity and trains the brain accordingly.
Human beings are a creature of habit and having a specifically designated space will help in aligning your senses accordingly. Do not do anything else in your home office space apart from working.
5. Use Personalized Touches and Accessories to make the Office Space yours-
Remember all the small knick-knacks you had all over your office space in the pre-pandemic world? Images of your family, frames of your partner, mugs with smart quotes, L-shaped 2 seater sofa, etc.?
If you are looking to get back into the thick of things, you need to create the same atmosphere and environment in the home office. You must personalize the space in such a way that it reflects you as a professional.
6. Look after the Connectivity Options before working-
The Internet! Imagine that a few decades ago, we did not have it. Imagine having the pandemic before we had the internet. With so many people working from home it is important to make sure your internet connection is at its level best.
Change the Wi-Fi routers, add extra connections and ensure that the setup is complete. If you have other people working in your home, make extra connections. You should not experience a single minute of downtime.
7. Create an Intentional Break with Personal Issues during Work Hours-
This might be easier said than done.
However, care should be taken to ensure that during working hours you are not getting distracted by housework. Yes, you might have to do extra things given that the house help might still not be allowed because of the pandemic.
However, making sure that you are being able to talk it through with your partner and creating routines can help you concentrate on office work just like before.
The Final Word:
The WFH scenario is likely to continue well into 2022 as well. If you are waiting for this to end, you have a few months ahead of you. Investing in a new home office can be a sensible and practical decision.
If you are looking for more favorable advice, let us know in the comments below. We will connect you with our experts that will help you create the best home office for all your needs.
