By Cindy Parker
As you already know, working from home is great. You get to spend more time with your family, you choose your own hours and best of all, you answer to no one but yourself. However, there is one major drawback to all of those perks: actually getting up everyday and doing the work! Having no one to answer to is great but it also means you have to be incredibly disciplined.
One of the best ways to instill some discipline into your routine is to designate a room or area in your home that becomes your office. Doing so gives you hours of distraction-free work time which is what you need more than anything else.
A lot of people find setting up their first home office is daunting, but with the right plan it can actually be a lot of fun. In this article, you will see a few helpful tips on how to set up your first home office so you can be free of stress and distractions.
1. Designate a Dedicated Space for Your Office
The first thing that you need to do is designate an area or a room that will become your office. It’s best to do this before buying anything because if you know what space you have to work with it will be a lot easier to purchase what you need.
2. Make a Detailed List of What You Need
The next step is making a list of what you want in your office as well as what you need in your office. It’s very wise to do this first because office supply stores can be very intimidating and without a list, you will definitely forget something important. You don’t have to live and die by the list but it’s always good to have a good idea of what your office will look like.
3. Measure Before You Buy
You might have your eyes set on the perfect desk/chair combination, but there is no way of knowing it will fit. Don’t make the mistake of ordering an expensive desk and not being able to fit it through the door! So make sure you measure everything first before you buy anything.
4. Embrace Natural Light
While setting up your furniture do your best to embrace natural light. Instinctively when you get your desk you will opt to put it in the darkest corner of the room, but this isn’t a necessity. Try to find some natural light which will improve your mood as you work.
5. Lamps, Lamps, Lamps
While natural light should be a priority don’t forget that you might need to work at night. So get as many lamps as you can; one for your desk and a couple on the floor will be good for when you burn the midnight oil.
6. Add Greenery
Just as natural light will improve your mood while you work, so will the addition of greenery. Being cooped up in your office for hours at a time can be stressful, so having a piece of the outside world in your office will go a long way to de-stressing you.
7. Add Comfort
You might want your home office to look professional, but comfort is just as key to making this happen. Add a sofa or even a bean bag, anything that can provide you with some comfort in-between working away at your desk.
8. Overstock Supplies
A great tip is to overstock on office supplies to prevent you from taking regular trips to the store. Whether it’s paper, pencils or pens make sure you have plenty of them as well as storage space to lock them away for a rainy day.
Be sure to follow the above tips and not only will you set up the perfect home office, but you will have a lot fun doing it too!
