One of the most important, yet often overlooked, aspects of working at home is setting up an office that increases productivity. You can't do your best work on the kitchen table, surrounded by household clutter. Here are some tips I've gathered on making your home office space a place you'll enjoy working:
- Set your home office up away from the busiest area of your home. If you have children, you'll probably need a dedicated space, because if you are in view of your children, they will demand your attention. It's best for them to understand that when Mommy's in her office, she is working, and only to be disturbed in the event of an emergency. Of course, this advice is meant for older children, who don't need constant supervision. Make sure you spell out exactly what qualifies as an emergency. Because for children, not being able to find a shoe is an emergency.
- Try to set up your office in a room with a window. Everyone needs a break now and then. And it's relaxing to look outside at a tree, the birds, flowers. You get the idea. If you don't have a room with a window, decorate your office with cheery pictures and things you love. Personalize it. You will want to come there and work more.
- Arrange things in your office so they are easy to locate and easy to access. A bulletin board with pushpins is a great and quick way to remind yourself of something you don't want to forget. Have paper, ink, staplers, pens, pencils, Post-its close by. Place a bookcase close by for books that you may need for your work. Try to pick up after yourself every day, so that your office doesn't become cluttered. It's hard to work in a messy environment. You will lose thing, and you will not be as productive.
- If you must have a phone close by (your children are away or in school), then by all means, have it close by. But when possible, leave the phone outside the office. It will be a an easy excuse to stop working. But mostly, it's difficult to be productive when there are constant interruptions.
16 comments:
Hi,
This is very informative but I did want to tell you this. I've been working full time as a (successful) writer for six years. I work from a laptop on my kitchen table.
Mind you, I don't have a lot of clutter, Everything I do is contained to my computer. I just wanted to tell folks who don't have the space that they can become successful at their business and not have an office or office space.
You're right. It can be done. I know. I've done it myself. But in the last year, I've organized a workspace, and I feel I've become so much more productive. By the way, love your freelance writing blog!
Can i add one more? Chair! Always take the time to get a really comfy, good quality chair. One that is so pleasing it actually adds to your motivation!
I have to agree with the author here--setting up a separate, dedicated workspace is like creating a command & control center or a cockpit!
Add an Aeron chair, and you're golden!
You might also consider liberating yourself from your home office by migrating all your tools to online services, like Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, online data backup, etc.
That way, you can even continue to work when your laptop is on the fritz.
There are a bunch of articles about how to migrate yourself online on my blog at http://home-office-internet-business.com/
Informative and very true. Working at home requires diligence and I agree with you that a space specifically for working is a requirement.
Browse through the web and found your blog.
Do you think having an all-in-one (print-fax-copy-scan) printer is necessary to work at home?
Thanks for your helpful advice. We have just written a review for the Aeron Chair on our office furniture blog. You can read it here. http://www.btoffice.com/blog/2009/05/herman-miller-aeron-chair/
Hey & thanks for the nice article. I still get distracted a lot when working from home. Any ideas on how to become more focussed?
Webdesign
I have found it helpful to set a timer on my computer and commit to working for a set amount of time before taking a break. After a break, I set it again. I am much more productive that way.
A timer is definitely a big help to keep the focus. If I'm in the middle of something and my 5 or 6yr old comes to me with something that can wait a few minutes I set the timer for 15 minutes and tell them that when the timer goes off I will be able to help them. This has really helped in both giving them the attention they need and making me able to accomplish what I need to.
I think having a dedicated work space is helpful, but not mandatory. Because I work at home with 2 young children I am often working whenever I can grab 10 minuets in a row, which usually ends up being on my lap top at the kitchen table.
Aside from the time on the lap top I do have dedicted "office" time. I find it helpful to always be in the moment. When I am working I try to focus just on that and when I when with my kids I give them 100%.
you have to find what works for YOUR situation!
Having your home office set up for maximum productivity can mean the difference between success at working at home and failing at working at home. It can be done, but it does take effort.
I've recently purchased a plant to go on my desk and it makes the environment so much better. I've been more productive lately and obviously it's not just due to the new plant but I'm certainly going to buy more for my home office!
Clutter! This is one of the biggest time wasters. I usually procrastinate on cleaning up the clutter so that I can spend more time working. Of course this backfires as I spend more time looking for things.
I agree that setting up an office at home increases productivity. You will be inspired and motivated to do more if you are working in a clean and organized environment. Take stock of what you have at home, arrange things you can use your home office in shelves and drawers, and those things you can no longer use may be stored in a storage area.
Hi,
Very good post. What I have in my office is a dreamboard to visualize myself with my goals and objectives. This fueled me to gain motivation and freedom. I teach people how to build their home business from home and this is one of the topic that I really emphasized. www.waltz123freedom.com Good post. Cheers!
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