More people than ever are working from home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have found that this arrangement suits them better than working from a traditional office, and are looking to make the change permanent. Having a dedicated home office space is important if you intend to work out of your house regularly. Creating the right environment can help you be more productive and focused throughout your day, as well as minimize the number of stressful distractions you need to deal with. Here is some advice for creating a home office space that is right for you:

Choose the Right Environment

The location of your office within your house is extremely important, especially if you’re sharing a living space with other people. It’s best to pick somewhere in your home that is relatively quiet, where you can close the door and shut out unnecessary distractions. Also consider choosing a place with a lot of natural light, which has been demonstrated to help people wake up and be more consistently productive throughout the day.

Functionality over Aesthetics

Although you want your home office to be a pleasant place to spend time, it’s more important that you have adequate space for all of your equipment and the necessary amount of storage to accommodate your needs. Make sure you choose a desk with the right amount of space for all of your paperwork or consider alternative storage solutions like filing cabinets or files that attach to the wall. It’s also vital to choose the right kind of chair; while it can be tempting to pick something beautiful or imposing, remember that you will be sitting at your desk for an extended period each day and that your comfort is paramount.

Remove Distractions

Having distracting items like phones, tablets or other recreational devices within your home office has been shown to decrease overall productivity. It can be beneficial to create a place in your home office to store these devices for the duration of your workday to ensure that you won’t be distracted by frequent alerts. 

Creating the ideal workspace in your home will assist you in becoming maximally productive during your workday, and allow you to more easily separate your work and personal lives, even when you don’t travel to another location for business. Creating a space that you like and will use, as well as one that is practical is the ideal option for people who want to work from home.

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