It has been a few years now since most people were sent home to work for a few months, but before and after the Covid-19 era where many people were forced to work from home, there is a large number of fully remote or hybrid workers across a whole host of industries. With this in mind, it is vital that you have a good space to work from at home. Investing in a home office and ensuring it fits your specific needs will help you in countless ways. This could be as simple as installing wood wall panels to change the textural aesthetic to a more pleasing one in the office or adding a standing desk to help with your workflow and physical fitness.
Reasons to create a designated home office
There are a few reasons why it is important to create a designated office space if you are working from home. If you don’t have the space for an entire room to become your office, don’t be put off, as long as you have a desk, a table, somewhere to sit and work that is away from distraction, you’ll be on your way to productivity. The benefits of a designated home office space include:
- A space where you can make a mental distinction between tasks for work and tasks for home, keeping you away from distractions
- Physically leaving your workspace at the end of the day helps you to switch off and relax
- Keeping your work ‘clutter’, such as notes, files, and general scribblings away from your home space
- Helping you to define working hours and not work for too long. You can block out time in your calendar to be sat at your desk
How to give your home office a facelift
With a few of the following tips on how to invest in giving your home office a makeover, you can transform the space and ensure that you are at your productive best, away from the distraction of your household chores!
Consider wood wall panelling
Wood wall panels are always a great choice in any form of redecorating or remodelling of a home. They are very easy to install, provide great insulation and acoustic properties, but one of the most important aspects when considering a home office revamp, is that they can be used to hide away untidy cables and other buts of equipment that you might have loose when setting up your computer and monitors in a home office. Wood wall panelling gives you a wide choice of colour options too, so you can choose bold, you can choose neutral, whatever works for your needs and headspace to work.
Find the right place in the house
It is important that wherever you choose your home office to be located in your home, that it is somewhere you can close the door, have quiet and completely focus on the job at hand. Working on a laptop from your bed or from the sofa is never a good idea. It is far too easy to switch the telly on and have it in the background, to make a start on the laundry, or to get distracted with countless other things around the home.
Add a standing desk
A modern craze that looks set to last, for those who are worried about a sedentary lifestyle kicking in if they work from home full-time, a standing desk brings with it a load of benefits for both your health and productivity. By standing at work, you help to reduce back pain whilst improving your posture. It helps with the position of your wrist and ensure you are functioning in the correct manner. Standing burns more calories than when you are sitting down, and your circulation improves too. All of these things are positive for your physical help and productivity with work, but it also helps to boost your mood and focus, which are great mental health benefits of a standing desk.
Green fingers
Brighten up your home office, increase air quality and improve your mood and mental health by adding some greenery to your home office space. Indoor plants can improve your productivity and focus, adding some colour and vibrancy to dull spaces. Just with the addition of one plant in your home office, you can gain a sense of calm that helps you to stay focused and relaxed.
Use light to your advantage
Poor lighting does not help your mental state and can be counterproductive when it comes to working well – it just makes you tired and diminishes your ability to focus. Locate your home office desk close to the window for natural light during daylight hours and choose a desk lamp that provides enough light to work but isn’t too harsh that it triggers headaches.
From good lighting and the addition of plants to a sensible desk location and the addition of textured wood wall panelling, there are many different choices you can make when it comes to giving your home office a facelift. It is important that you have the correct setup to keep you active and productive in your home office. These little tips should get you on the right track.
