With the advent of the pandemic in early 2020, there came the need for lockdowns and with it an exponential rise in the work-from-home culture. Major companies urged their employees to work remotely, even delivering machines and entire office set-ups home. Even though that need has subsided, several companies are deciding to permanently opt for a complete or hybrid work-from-home model. If you belong to one of those, it’s time you started looking to build a more permanent home office setup.
8 Steps to Setup an Ergonomic Home Office
Outlined below are some important points that will help you with home office setup ideas in a small space.
1. Pick a Dedicated Area for Home Office
One of the first steps to create a modern home office is to physically create a separate space for work and home. A dedicated space means, when you are here, you will be at work else not. This will automatically create a mental space in your mind. It could be a separate room or a designated part of the living room/bedroom.
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2. Home Office Furniture Setup
Next comes, the furniture set for your minimalist home office setup. It’s good to have as minimal furniture as possible that can be used in small spaces. The minimum basics are a chair and table.
- Ergonomic chair: Since you are going to be spending 8 hours sitting for work, a good quality chair to prevent long-term back injuries is a must. An ergonomic and durable chair would be a good long-term investment.
- Compact desk: Another must for your home office furniture would be an elegant desk designed for small spaces. It should be roomy enough to have space left over after setting up your office hardware and accessories on it.
3. Hardware Setup for Home Office
This setup is for people who work computer-based jobs. It includes your computer hardware as well as additional equipment such as phones, Wi-Fi routers, etc.
- Computer setup: This may include the computer monitor setup provided by your office or you may have to set up your own. For self setup, you will need to customize your equipment according to your work needs. Gamers and IT personnel might need hardware with heavier specifications as compared to people from sales or business professionals.
- Wi-Fi routers: This is a must as most professions work, communicate and store their data online. People are constantly on the web, chatting, having meetings, finding information, storing data, etc. A strong internet connection with an affordable data plan is a necessity.
- Mobile/Wired telephones: Communication becomes a challenging aspect of working from home because of the distance. You will need a cell phone for dedicated work purposes. It would also be good to have a CISCO telephone with meeting connectivity features if you are in a field that requires taking many phone calls. Also, keep a spare phone for emergencies.
- Home office video conferencing setup: Depending upon the nature of your job, you may also need to setup a video conference facility for your home office. For this, you may need a high-quality audio video device and provision for sufficient light.
4. Keep It Beautiful
Once the major setup for your home office is finished, you can start thinking about the aesthetic aspect of your setup. A major study showed that around sixty-one percent of workers valued their pleasing office surroundings as opposed to learning opportunities and workplace flexibility.
You can keep your home office theme-based e.g., your favorite super-hero or themes like nature or oceans or wildlife. Keeping plants also increases the aesthetic value of your home office by bounds.
5. Keep Professional and Personal Files Separate
To make things less complicated in the personal space, it is essential to keep your professional life separate from the latter. In the case of a home-based business, creating a separate business email account is the first step. For officegoers, this would be the email ID provided by the company.
Also store your business or office-related documents like mail, customer records, salary slips, etc. in a designated space separate from your personal files. This bifurcation will help you while filing taxes too as you won’t have to rummage around for professional documents in your personal space.
6. Find a Way to Keep Time
It is found that office workers or business owners working from home tend to spend more time as opposed to working from an office space. It’s good to find a way to keep a track of time as you can take frequent breaks in between and move around a bit. Constantly sitting for eight hours a day is known to have long-term health hazards.
Taking brief time-outs also give you mental breaks and can improve your focus. Research also shows that people who tend to move around a bit in the course of their workday are more productive.
7. Use Proper Lighting
Choosing your space within your home is an advantage that comes with setting up a home office. Use this to place your office in a space with a lot of natural and proper lighting. Natural lighting is known to increase productivity and reduce stress levels. Large windows facing your desk at a distance will give you plenty of sunshine especially important during the winter months.
For a more calming ambiance, you can use warm color lights, while cool colors stimulate productivity. Proper lighting is important to avoid drowsiness and eye fatigue while at work. Hence it is good to choose a light with color temperature settings that can be adjusted.
8. De-clutter Your Space
A clear workspace ensures clear thinking. Dispose of the items you no longer need. Utilize baskets or filing cabinets to cluster and label the items that you need. Also, de-clutter your office laptop regularly to keep it optimized.
Final Words
Working from home while a boon, considering that you get more time to spend with your family, also has its disadvantages. We tend to work for long hours at a stretch when we get into the zone. So, to have a fulfilling and stress-free work experience it is important to have a good home office setup.
Natural lighting and taking regular breaks in between seem to do the trick when it comes to having a balanced work life. Also, you can easily follow the above pointers while creating a home workspace you look forward to working in.