4 Tips for Creating the Perfect Home Office

by | January 22, 2015

The idea of setting up a home office can be daunting for some, but it doesn’t have to be a stressful task. After all, the space has to have functionality while also being a place that you actually want to spend time in. You can build a productive home office in nearly any space by keeping in mind a few key tips.

There are four things that you need to keep in mind when setting up your home office space.

Keep the Space Organized

A clean and tidy space provides fewer distractions and helps you focus on what needs to get done. Everything should have a proper place, and a good storage system is key if you have a lot of things to keep track of in your home office.

Buy a bookshelf to keep things like books, binders, or even desk organizers in a place where you can easily access them. If your space is limited, maybe place some bookshelves along the walls near your desk. If you have a job that requires a lot of paperwork, maybe purchase a set of filing boxes or drawers to keep things neat and easy to find.

Prioritize What You Need

Think about the bare minimum of what you will need in your office. Most of us will probably have a computer (or two) that we’ll need to have set up in our offices; maybe you will also need an extra monitor, a printer, or a fax machine. Anything that isn’t absolutely essential to running your business or doing your job should be put away somewhere else.

Pro-tip: the fewer things you have in your home office area, the fewer distractions you will have around you.

Make It Comfortable

The two most important things in your office will undoubtedly be your chair and your desk. If possible, be willing to spend a few extra dollars on an ergonomic chair. Sitting at your computer for several hours a day can put a lot of strain on your back, neck, and hips, and an ergonomic chair can help to reduce some of that strain.

Make sure that your desk is large enough for you to work at comfortably and can hold all of the items you have decided that you absolutely need to have in your home office. Get a desk that can fit into your home office space without getting in the way of anything else. If you’re a little more health-conscious, you may want to consider checking out the benefits to standing desks as well – you might not need that office chair after all with one of these.

Lighting is also very important in a home office. If possible, set your office space up near a window, where natural light can make its way in during the day. Do some research on what kind of lighting you will need for your environment and find out what lights will work best for you. Good lighting can not only help you focus and be more productive, but it can also help minimize eye strain.

Make It Interesting

There’s nothing worse than being forced to work in a space that just doesn’t appeal to you. Try adding a bit of color to the environment around you, either with paint or some kind of decoration (as long as it doesn’t get in your way). Different colors can make you feel different things. According to an article on Forbes, green can spark creativity, pink can calm people down, and blue is generally seen as a positive color; a color like yellow can be a hindrance for some, and red is seen as more aggressive and tends to lead to reduced analytical thinking. Too much white can cause your mind to wander, and too much gray can lead to feelings of depression.

Of course, if you are working in your own home office and typically don’t meet with clients in your work space, what’s most important is picking colors that you find pleasant and that will help you keep a positive mood while you work, and help make you a better and more efficient employee as a result.

Properly setting up a home office space will pay off in the long run. By having a functional, pleasant space to work in, you will make yourself better at the work that you do.