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More and more people are working from home these days staying within the familiar four walls. We understand how distracting it can be sometimes. It is easy to lose motivation and the boundaries easily get blurred between the professional and private spheres. So, it’s important to decorate our interiors aesthetically to help you concentration and develop habits that makes working from home effective and pleasant.
The home office mode allows great freedom to work the way you like. This also means that we are able to carry out tasks during the hours when the traditional office is closed.
There are other vital and fun benefits too, of working from home – like saving travel time to work place, not having to wake up early, being able to prepare a nutritious breakfast, being able to pick and drop children to school…in general, being able to spend so much more quality time at home with kids and spouse!
At the same time remote working, is not without its drawbacks. At home, it's harder to focus and stop taking frequent breaks, so it often turns out that we don't get up from the desk until late in the evening.
To avoid losing work-life balance, it is worth decorating a comfortable corner where we deal with business matters only. The next step is to introduce specific rules so that nothing distracts us from them. Below we present 9 tips on how to work from home so that you do not spend excess time in front of the monitor.
- Environment matters - a comfortable place to work
For many industries, working remotely from home is as satisfactory as in the office. A functional space helps to focus on tasks at hand.
It does not have to be a separate office. If we do not have a free room, we may as well create a work corner in the living room or bedroom so that it will fuel creativity and support concentration.
It is worth betting on smart furniture that will ensure comfort and facilitate good decor. Usually, all you need is a desk with a spacious worktop, a comfortable chair or a swivel armchair and space for documents in the form of several hanging shelves on the wall or a separate bookcase. A practical solution will also be the square 4 You table with a multifunctional recess and boxes that act as drawers. We can easily store office accessories and other useful items in them.
A permanent place for remote work allows you to recreate an office environment. It promotes productivity and sends a message to the family members that we are currently busy. Sometimes wandering around the house with your laptop can change your perspective and can prove beneficial during a creative search. However, it is worth preparing an ergonomic place for yourself, where you can go when in search of peace and serenity.
- Quiet and easy - elimination of distractions
A casual environment is might not be conducive to business matters. There is no deficiency of distractions in any home. A small child, a dog demanding a walk, piles of laundry, lunch time or just a doorbell …sometimes it’s just not simple to maintain a discipline. Even if we live alone, we can lose focus because of external noise or just an extra break…having to get up from the desk to pick up the things we need.
Therefore, a separate work room is most helpful in ensuring full concentration. Once the door is closed, you can easily disconnect from the hustle and bustle of the household. In the inside, best is to decorate your room that brings alive your daily routine, you profession. However, if having a separate room is not possible then it is still possible to create a space that can zone you out from the distractions without literally cutting you off from the household. Soundproofing headphones and a folding screen can be helpful in this case.
It is also important to take care of proper lighting. Consider having a discreet lamp that leaves enough space for a calendar, notebooks and other stationary items needed at hand so you do not have to get up from your desk often.
- Order on the desk and in the head
Clutter not only makes us waste time looking for the things we need, it also lowers our mood, causing irritation. To avoid distraction from important projects, it's worth organizing your workspace regularly. This helps us sit at the desk every day with a clean head, open to efficient work and creative virtues.
If we use a many stationery items and documents regularly then our Nature Desk 130, with drawers and slot for cable organization fit our daily needs perfectly. This beautiful oak wood desk which is 130 cms in width and 2 drawers are enough to hold pens, paper clips and sticky notes, which can never be too many.
If you need a large work space, it is worth leaving the table top empty and moving all the items to cabinets under desks. Our Concept cabinet could be one such piece of furniture. Slipped under the countertop, it will not take up any additional space in the interior. Another piece is our table with raised top on wheels which you can drag and push along to place where you need to go while working. It's liftable top makes placing and working on the laptop so easy. On the windowsill by the desk, use a basket to keep your trade magazines. At a time of a creative block, we will be able to reach for one in search of inspiration.
- Personalization, that is, working remotely at home, in your own way
Although we have no influence on how our company office looks like, we can arrange our own home office exactly as we want. It is worth taking this opportunity because we feel best in the environment we like. To introduce personal touches, we don't need to clutter the desk. A practical way to personalize is to choose a stylish top cover that will protect it from scratches and make it easier to use the mouse. For example, people who start their day with a quiet yoga practice can place a minimalist Yoga mouse pad.
If you do not mind introducing additional items on the desk, a minimalistic photo frame with a photo of your loved one in it. A photo that reminds us of why it is worth trying. Working can also be made more pleasant keeping a row of your favourite books or travel souvenirs displayed. If the table feels small for this, then placing them on a wall shelf could also be a good option.
- Cutting off from home chores
When trying to work from home, blurring of the line between personal and professional space can be frustrating. Background noises and activities like vacuuming, cooking in the kitchen and kids’ activities, all happening in parallel is something very common. Therefore, often we find ourselves dividing our tasks in a manner that it suits to fit in between such distractions like replying to mails early in the morning or getting into the thinking mode only late in the night when the house is quite and everyone is off to sleep including children. This can be true for both men and women, mothers and fathers, as we all have different responsibilities and different routine.
So how do you keep work-life balance? First thing is to imbibe and get used to the fact that its possible to create a ‘work zone’ in the house. It is possible to cut off from distractions and focus on work.
Then next thing could be slotting your day by zones – email zone, thinking zone, chores zone, quality time with family zone so on and so forth. The same can be supported by either marking separate spots in your room or marking different furniture for different things – Like replying to your emails early morning using bedside table with raised top. Or using your desk for other research, documentation and correspondence work while using the chair in the next to the window for thinking time.
- How to work from home? Surrounded by plants!
The presence of greenery has a positive impact on both our well-being and productivity. Flowers and houseplants not only look beautiful, they also improve indoor air quality. By evaporation, they also increase humidity in the room and maintain temperature. Many of them also absorb harmful substances. Therefore it could be a great idea to fill you space with decorative and flowering indoor plants.
A small plant in corner will effectively enliven the work desk, setting us in a positive mood for a day of remote work at home.
Looking at the greenery, will also give our tired eyes some rest, looking away from the screen. If we do not have a green thumb, no worries, fresh flowers in a vase could also be an alternative.
- At work and after work, that is, the division of space
Maintaining a healthy balance between home and professional life will facilitate the functional division of space. This is especially important if we use a corner of a living room or bedroom for remote work. If we cannot close the office door behind us, it is more difficult to cut off our thoughts from unfinished business matters.
There are many ways to metaphorically return home from work. Once we are done, we can hide away our documents, notebooks laptops to mentally switch out of working mode and be ready for your evening guests or just all other family members. Without leaving the room, we will then have the feeling that we have closed a certain part of the day.
It is also a clear signal to the little ones that now we are available to play with them.
Even if we don't have to set boundaries with children in mind, it's worth doing it for your own mental balance. Browsing news and social media at the desk may be subconsciously associated with work. It is better to move to another place without regret. This will help avoid fatigue or even professional burnout.
- Fixed working hours - a way to be more motivated
Many people also wonder how to work from home and not take too frequent breaks. The best advice is to put them on your calendar as well as any other responsibilities. If we plan our day at the beginning, it may turn out that between professional matters we can easily find time to play with the cat and prepare a delicious dish.
The main thing is that the schedule should not exist only in our head. Writing down a list makes it more difficult to alter. If there is an organizer hanging above our desk with a to-do-list, it will be easier for us to push away the thought of tidying up the kitchen when we stop by for a fresh pot of tea. Having a wall or table clock right in front will be helpful in keeping an eye on the passing time. It might also be motivating to keep striking off the tasks that are done!
- The right attitude is half the battle
Just put on your workout clothes to feel the urge to train. The same is the case with work too. If we commute to the office, we spend time on makeup or carefully selecting clothes. Although at home office mode we do not have to worry about the dress code, it is worth maintaining the morning routine. The mere removal of pajamas and taking care of a neat appearance sends our head a message that we are entering a specific mode.
After finishing work, let's change again, so that rest will not be associated with professional duties. Other rituals are also worth recreating. If we started our stay in the office with a cup of coffee, let's brew a cup of this aromatic drink before sending the first e-mail and place it on a wooden Infra pad to protect the table top from stains or chafing. The rising scent will remind us of the concentration that accompanies the beginning of the working day.
Not all of the advice presented will be useful in all situations. It is worth experimenting and looking for your own answer to the question of how to effectively work from home. The treatment will completely differ from an accountant to a graphic designer to a translator. However, in the case of all professions, a well-organized work angle, reflecting individual taste, will be invaluable. Let's take all the advantages of being at home. If the weather outside is good, don't hesitate to move your home office to the balcony. Natural light and fresh air will improve our motivation. Regardless of the circumstances, let's make sure that working remotely from home is not only efficient, but also enjoyable.
