How To Smarten Up Your Home Office
There’s more to being productive in a home office that just pure organisation.This guest post looks at a few other ways you can make you working environment productive and comfortable.
Your home office needs smartening up and it’s time to do it so where do you start? Adam Robertson of Allard Office Furniture advises you firstly need to check its current status: what needs to stay and what needs to go.
This can be broken down into two sections: Furniture i.e. chairs and desks. Include decorative sections such as flooring and walls in with this and secondly items such as paperwork, displays, ornamental pieces etc. Once broken down into two sections you then need to start making decisions. What should be kept and what isn’t needed. This is your home office so you haven’t got to consider employees or the public and literally everything is down to personal choice and preference. Having said that you still will want to utilise your space as best as possible as you want it to be a productive environment where you can attain maximum results possible.
If you spend more than 6 hours per day at your work desk and normally experience pain in the back, shoulders and neck at the end of the day, it’s wise to investigate an ergonomic desk and chair. Your chair is something that will be in constant use and you will want one that is comfortable and flexible to your needs.. Ergonomic chairs, such as the Physio 24 hour task chair (see below), are the best types of chairs to use when you are sitting at your desk for long periods of time as they lessen the chance of back pain in later life.
The main desk you have in use that will undoubtedly have a computer monitor and keyboard on it should be compatible with said chair and be clean and tidy. Ergonomic desks can help increase productivity, decrease lost time at work, increased quality, decreased absenteeism, improve employee retention and improve health and safety. There are a few health benefits to reap from using ergonomic desks, including extending the life expectancy of an employee as well as allowing them to burn more calories as they can burn more standing up compared to sitting down.
To combat paperwork, correspondence, invoices, post, and receipts etc. you should use storage drawers and/or storage units in which all paperwork should be aptly filed with dates ready to the eye. Floors, walls, ceilings, and lighting should all be maintained with regards to decoration. As aforementioned all choices are down to you as it’s primarily for your use but just because you are the proprietor of the office doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take pride in how it looks. What I mean by this is that if the walls need painting don’t think to yourself to leave it because you are the only one that sees it. Make a proactive choice and get them painted. This will not only help with the upkeep of your office but it will breathe life into the place that you need to help make you feel happy and comfortable in to achieve the highest work results possible. You have the freedom to decide what you want done and how you want the outcome to be, within budget constraints, so why not use that power to your advantage and keep your office in top shape which in turn will help keep your work ethic in the best shape possible.
So there is the re-decoration to consider as well as the re-positioning of items such as desks, lamps, bookshelves, and storage units etc. Redecorating your office can help improve employee concentration in core working areas as well as brightening break spaces so they are more enjoyable to relax in. An overall tidy,clean and maintenance on the changes you are set on or have already made. Sometimes you may be stuck in your own ways because that is what you are used to and you have nobody to answer to. There is nothing wrong with that whatsoever but if you feel like your office is lacking something or does need a change then don’t be afraid to question yourself with regards to maybe leaving your comfort zone. You may have gut feeling that you never went with until now, you could make a decision that could ultimately change your office feel and in turn your own morale for the better. It could just be a small thing or two and hasn’t got to be an all out over the top makeover unless that’s what you ultimately decide on.
At the end of the day the decision is yours wherein lies the beauty of it all. I say this because you can change and rearrange as much as you like as the office is yours. However you must remember that as it is a place of work you must be as motivated as possible to complete said work to the best of your ability and your surroundings can play a huge role in making sure this happens so implement your choices wisely as you undoubtedly play a role in helping yourself improve.
Having a happy work life can lead to a happier life and vice versa so help take control of your destiny. Without sounding over the top this should be the base of all your ambition, some of this may sound like grassroots stuff but at the end of the day, at the very least, you can measure yourself on effort put into achieving success and the return on investment can be instant with regards to giving you a refreshed sense of ambition and work rate.
Ergonomic chairs, such as the Physio 24 hour task chair (see below), are the best types of chairs to use when you are sitting at your desk for long periods of time as they lessen the chance of back pain in later life.
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