How to Make the Perfect Home Office
It has been a little over two weeks since the UK government enforced a nationwide lockdown.
How are we all doing?
There are no rules for how one should handle a prolonged period of staying indoors. Some will take it in their stride, while others might feel like it’s all a bit too much to handle.
Then there are those who post a billion social media messages about how they’re #winning at lockdown. When, in reality, they spend each night praying to the moon. The moon is their God now.
If you’re anything like us here at mashroom, you’ve probably been eating. Did someone say ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner?
As we said: there are no rules.
Although, if you’re working from home, having one or two guidelines to abide by could prove helpful. And because we like helping people (turns out the housing market is in a bit of a freeze at the moment, so we’re finding other ways), we thought you might like a handy guide about how to turn your home into an office.
So, read on and find out how to create the perfect home office.
Get smart
We live in an age where everything is smart. Your phone? Smart. The TV? Smart. The fridge? Too smart for its own good if you ask us. Anyway, we digress. The benefits of smart appliances allow you to create a dynamic working space.
If you’ve got one of those TVs that display background art, set it to something snazzy while you get those reports done. And if wall art/TVs are too expensive, there are more affordable options in the form of digital gallery frames.
The moral of the story here is to create a surrounding that will inspire you, whether it be through art designs, personal pictures or mantras. In the moments when your motivation drops, you can look to the imagery to keep going.
Diversify your space
Office working has evolved over the years, and there’s no reason why your work-from-home-space can’t mirror your workplace set up. Take standing desks, for example. Research found that people who use standing desks are more productive.
But how do you create a standing desk at home? It takes some creative thinking but can be done without even spending a penny. Try taking a bookcase and making some space for your computer. Then, whenever you feel like standing up and stretching your legs, you can carry on working.
Get the right furniture
There’s no right or wrong way to create the ideal working space. Essentially, the choices you make come down to your personal working preference. However, to maximise your set up, you’ll need some furniture in place that helps you perform to your best.
Many will create a set up identical to their work, implementing the use of a desk and chair. But the type of home office you pick might just be shaped by the nature of your job. If you’re a designer or indulge in some other form of creative professionalism, having a work sofa might be more beneficial than a desk.
If your role entails reports and “crunching the numbers”, mirroring your office should do the trick. Perhaps you’ll be in video conference meetings most of the day, in which case somewhere with good light will be necessary. The majority of offices are similar. But your home working space can be truly personalised.
Space as a premium
Storage space is another potential game-changer for those who have made the shift from office work to the remote life. At work you’re probably used to storage compartments. You may not have that luxury at home.
Fear not, though: there are ways to create more space for your remote office. If you fancy yourself as a DIY master, the solution might include putting up a single shelf to keep items on. Other options include making room for a filing cabinet. If you keep most of your files on a computer, then a single storage option should suffice.
The new normal or a temporary fix?
Working from home has many benefits (we’ve been a champion of some form of remote working for a while). While the current climate we find ourselves in won’t last forever, the way that companies think about remote working could change for good.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see more organisations embracing increased flexibility for remote work in the future. So now is the time to get your settings just right. We know a thing or two about homes here at mashroom, and these tips will help you find your ideal set up, whether it’s for one month or longer.
