Is Your At-Home Workspace Set Up for Success?

Many of us are still spending some (or all) of our time working from home. Whether you have a separate office in the home or you don’t, the hours spent working from home can come with some real challenges. One of the first things anyone working remotely should consider is their workspace. If we set up our workspace for optimal productivity and efficiency, we can maximize our time working from home. Here are some ideas for creating the best possible at-home workspace:

Designate a Space

Just because you can work from anywhere in your home, that doesn’t mean you should. Having a designated spot for your workspace can help you stay focused, eliminate any distractions, and maintain some boundaries between your work life and your personal life. It will help you get into a work mindset more easily; it will help your family members respect your work time, and it will help you maintain a balance. If you have an extra room, that’s great. If not, it’s time to get a little creative. Maybe it’s a multi-purpose space in a shared room, and if that’s the case, it’s even more important that you set it up as a work area during your work hours. That might mean a desk in the living room or working at the kitchen table. Wherever you end up, using that same space every day will reinforce its function.

Keep it Free from Clutter

Working from home poses more distractions than working from the office. Instead of being surrounded by other professionals engaged in their work, we may be surrounded by pets that want attention, young children, or that project we’ve been meaning to get to. If you’re using a shared space, consider investing 10 minutes each morning to remove any clutter that accumulated throughout the day. Some distractions are inevitable when working from home, but getting rid of clutter removes many of the ones we can control.

Make it Inviting

As I mentioned above, simply being surrounded by other professionals has myriad benefits; It helps us feel like a part of a team with common goals, and we share in that productive energy. You can get some of that benefit by creating inspiration in your at-home workspace as well. Whether it’s posting a few quotes that you like, keeping a list of your goals in view, adding a few bursts of color, or even a few plants—think about what will help your workspace to inspire motivation. Make it appealing for you to sit down and get to work.

Make Sure it’s Functional

Finally, take some time and think about functionality, so that you’ll have everything you need in reach when you need it. Will you require space for storage? Do you like to work standing up some of the day? Are you sharing the workspace with your spouse? Defining what you need from your workspace in advance will help you create the perfect set-up where you can work with maximum efficiency and minimal distraction.

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With a little forethought and intention, you can create an at-home workspace where you can be every bit as productive as you would be working from the office.

If you’d like to talk more about any of these ideas, or if there’s another issue I can be of assistance with, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m always happy to set aside some time to connect.