Home Office Improvements That Make Working From Home Easier In Boston
Nowadays, working from home has become a way of life -- and brings its own challenges.
Whether you’re a work-from-home juggernaut or need to carve out a small office area temporarily, the idea of using your actual house doesn’t always have to mean sharing your dining room table. The key to an efficient home workspace is finding items that make life simpler for day-to-day activity. However, this area should also be aesthetically pleasing as you have to eat, play, and sleep here, too.
From slimmed down desks to Polywood plantation shutters, here are five simple home improvements that make work from home easier.
Your Home Office Should Be A Defined Space
While plopping down on the couch and flipping open the laptop may seem comforting at first, not splitting up “home mode” from “work mode” can become a damper to your productivity.
If you haven’t already, design a dedicated work center in your home. This room should be primarily for work, an independent space from your day-to-day chores. This may help you keep away from distractions. You don’t have to have an oversized oak desk with a wall full of motivational posters, but at the very least try to dedicate a small table and stool as your home office.
Have a corner in the family room that would you can use as a workspace? Create a independent space by adding a simple, elegant sliding barn door or panel track as a partition.
Find A Work Space That Accommodates Your Things
As a lot of the day is spent sitting down, you’ll need a workspace that has the proper posture support while accommodating your desired spatial needs. That means finding the perfect desk.
However, here’s one pro tip: stay away from a “that will do” desk solution. A decorative table that poses as your work surface during the day will only become frustrating. You need a space that adjusts to your daily workday. If you primarily use a laptop, a mini office desk or dedicated table can work. But if you’re juggling papers, or prefer a complicated PC setup, you probably want a larger desk.
If you can’t get a conventional desk, build one from alternative materials. An old door or stained board on top of storage cubbies can easily transform into a adequate work surface. The more your desk fit your needs, the easier work from home becomes in Boston.
Adjust Sunlight With The Right Window Treatments
The right lighting can affect your next video call. Not enough backlight and you’re bathed in shadow, but too much sun glare, and you’re flushed out. The amount of sunlight can also can make you energetic or lethargic.
To make work at home easier, you should install a window covering that can direct natural light. Plantation shutters, for example, have large louvers that can be adjusted so that your home office always has the correct level of outside light without sun glare. They will also help block outdoor sounds, like traffic or playing kids. And your chosen interior shutters are crafted from faux wood, they can also help with energy-efficiency.
Luckily, plantation shutters are a beautiful window treatment for your work space, not to mention they are easy to clean and operate.
Change Out Your Seat From That Kitchen Chair
Once you have some time in your newer work space, you might be realizing that sitting in that wooden dining room chair just isn’t doing it.
Try an an actual office chair to make your life easier, or enhance your current seat with a back support pillow if you need to make it last until you decide on your next chair. Or, you can always get a standing desk, and then you don’t need a seat at all.
It’s Alright To Experiment
One of the perks of telecommuting is that you are able to sort the room outside the usual cubicle configuration. However, sometimes settling on the optimal set-up takes time and a heap of trial-and-error. That means thinking from beyond the cube.
Always question yourself about what works and what doesn’t. Perhaps you need two computer screens instead of a lowly 15-inch monitor. Maybe you need three. Or you might find you work best by using a wireless keyboard and mouse and one or two larger screens hung on the wall. Standing desks, sound system speakers, and overstuffed couches -- it’s how you like it. And if it doesn't work like you thought, just switch it out without submitting an expense report.
