It’s no exaggeration to say that the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we live and work. Even as more workspaces open up again, working from home continues to remain part of our lives. While it’s convenient, working from home has its challenges, the biggest is balancing home life with work life when work is literally on your doorstep.
With that in mind, how do you create a home office that increases productivity and provides you with somewhere comfortable to work? Homeowner Funding has some helpful tips to share.
Windows are Crucial
When it comes to creating a work area that enables you to work from home in comfort, natural light matters. That’s because it doesn’t just make a room brighter. Benefits of natural light include:
- Increasing productivity
- Improving focus
- Inspiring creativity
Natural light is an integral part of our circadian rhythm, and exposure to light is what helps you wake up in the morning. So, it makes sense that when you’re working from home, having windows that expose you to natural light is good for you and your work environment.
Make sure you choose a home office space with windows that allow you to take advantage of those benefits. If you can’t, consider obtaining window funding so you can install some.
Show Personality
Whether you’re converting the guest bedroom or your kitchen table, it’s vital that the work area feels like yours.
There’s a reason you fill your work desk with sticky notes, potted plants, and photos of the family. It’s difficult to work in an impersonal space.
That’s also why people suffer when they try to work somewhere like the kitchen table. You can do it, but you’ll struggle because you’re somewhere that emphasizes neither your personality nor productivity.
Instead, you want to create a space in your home you can retreat to. And, if you are going to be working from home long-term, don’t limit the decorating to plants and photos.
Find a color palate you find energizing and take a weekend to paint the walls, and choose furniture to go with it.
Avoid Clutter
While adding personality to a workspace helps you work from home, don’t overdo it.
Keeping on task is a significant challenge of working from home, and knickknacks are distracting.
Not only that, but as platforms like Zoom become an integral part of the work experience, you need to consider how your work area looks on camera.
Do you have rows of books behind you? Or a blank wall? What about plants and photos? People make snap judgments when they first meet you, and if that’s over the camera, part of that judgment comes from what your colleagues can see behind you.
Tidy Space, Tidy Mind
Another important part of creating a home office that facilitates working is keeping a tidy space.
Think about your normal office environment when you went to work. There were employees whose job was to make sure you entered a neat work environment every morning.
When you’re working from home, that falls to you. Much like knick-knacks, an untidy work area distracts you from your job.
However, you have enough to do without taking hours out of your day to clean the house clean. With that in mind, look into storage techniques that help you preserve a tidy workspace without doing double duty as a daily cleaner. Storage options might include:
- Shelving
- Baskets
- Hampers
- Bins
These are all things that keep your desk and work area neat without constantly decluttering.
Peace and Quiet
Another part of cultivating a productive work environment at home is quiet. When you’re choosing somewhere for your home office, consider the background noise around you.
Will there be heavy traffic under the windows? Do people walk by your home office often during the day?
These questions will help you find the perfect location for the workspace you need to work efficiently from home.
Quiet is also necessary if you conduct online meetings since background noise distracts colleagues and makes it harder for them to hear you.
Router Location
Finally, it’s not all about foot traffic. Router traffic matters, especially if you’re not the only person in the house working from home.
You need a work environment that’s close to the router, as well as a strong internet signal. There might be more frustrating things than losing connection midway through a meeting, but when it happens, it’s hard to think of them.
Finance Your Dream Office with Homeowner Funding
As you create space in your home for an office, take time to think about what you need to work at your best. Internet connection is vital, but so is having somewhere comfortable and quiet to work. Try and minimize distractions, whether they’re external ones like family members or less obvious ones like favorite photographs. You may even feel the need to build an addition to an existing house.
Whatever you choose, don’t forget to let your personality shape your home office. Above all else, you should enjoy spending time in your office. If you need help financing the creation of your perfect office, contact Homeowner Funding today. Your satisfaction is our top priority.
