Your home office can be your secret weapon or your kryptonite. If you’ve tried working from home without a designated office or your workspace is constantly full of clutter, you know just how easy it is to get pulled away from your work or spin your wheels for a few hours without getting anything done.
Understanding how to set up a productive work office is a matter of eliminating distractions and keeping yourself motivated. To achieve this, you’ll need to seriously consider what goes into your office and what to leave out, as well as how these things are arranged.
Creating a work office isn’t as simple as dropping a desk and a chair in a corner and calling it a day. By carefully considering how each element assists or detracts from your ability to concentrate on your work, you can greatly increase your productivity in the comfort of your own home.
Separate Work and Play
Work and play are equally important, but you’re better off keeping them separate. The benefits of a good work-life balance, including less stress and a reduced risk of burnout, are all too important in our modern world. That said, the boundaries between work and your private life tend to blur at home if you’re not careful.
It’s all too easy to scroll through your Facebook feed on your work computer or to avoid creating a designated workspace at all. This confuses your brain and makes it harder to focus on the things that actually need your attention.
Despite the popularity of multitasking, most research suggests that we can’t actually do it. Instead, we switch our attention between two or more tasks in rapid succession. As a result, we can’t fully focus on either task, and it takes us longer to get anything done.
If you tell yourself you’re only going to work when you’re at your desk, you’ll cut down on multitasking and increase your productivity.
When setting up your home office, start by creating a dedicated working area. Commit to using it only for work, and keep it free of distractions.
Fully focusing on work when you’re at your desk helps you get into the zone and leaves you with more time to rest and relax once you’re done for the day.
Know What You Need for Your Work
When you boil your job down to its bare essentials, what supplies do you need to be successful? What can’t you live without, and what only serves to get in your way?
In other words: do you really need that third notebook you bought, or is it just taking up space on your desk?
You don’t necessarily have to go completely minimalist when decorating your home office, but if you’ve ever tried to work at a messy desk, you know how frustrating all that clutter can be. At the same time, a workspace completely barren of the tools of your trade isn’t going to help much either, especially if you have to keep getting up to retrieve various supplies.
A good workspace contains everything you need to do your job and nothing that only serves to distract or get in the way. Once you know where you want your home office to be, decide what you need to furnish it.
Your necessities will vary depending on how you use your workspace. For example, some basic essentials for writers include a sturdy desk and chair, a computer or notebook for writing, any notes or reference materials, pens and pencils, a printer, and organizational materials.
You can probably get away with just these, but you might need additional supplies for certain projects, so make sure to keep these within your reach too.
How Much Is Too Much?
It’s okay to have a few decorations or miscellaneous items in your work office, as they can help you feel more at home and relaxed in your workspace. But don’t go overboard, or you could jeopardize your productivity.
If you want to decorate, choose small objects like succulent plants or figurines that can sit somewhere out of the way, like on a shelf above your head. Avoid anything that could draw your attention away from your work or that encourages you to engage in bad habits like unhealthy snacking and repeatedly checking your phone.
If you notice you’re spending more time admiring your decorations or shoving things aside than working, that’s probably a good sign that you need to clear away the clutter.
Organization
The more supplies you need for your work, the more important it is to stay organized. If you spend half your day searching for things you’ve lost, that’s time you could have spent working on your next project, and it can interrupt your momentum too.
Create a system of organization and stick to it. Everything should have its place so you never have to go digging for it, and it should be easy to access.
Some common organizational methods include labeling a filing cabinet, highlighting important parts of books and documents, keeping supplies for certain tasks stored together, regularly getting rid of outdated materials, and writing yourself a to-do list to ensure you’re always on track to complete your goals.
Organization is vital in your digital workspace as well, which is just as important as your physical one. Make different folders on your computer for easy access to important files, and avoid the temptation to leave 50 tabs open at a time. Your workflow will thank you!
Don’t Spend Too Much
If you’ve resisted creating a home workspace before, chances are your hesitation was at least partially thanks to financial concerns. You might ask yourself, “Do I really need to shell out all this money for a desk and a fancy office chair when lounging on the couch would do just fine?”
If you’re tight on cash, buying new things for your office can seem like an unnecessary expense, even though a productive workspace can be an incredible asset.
These concerns aren’t entirely unfounded, of course.
Plenty of people go on uncontrolled spending sprees, getting so wrapped up in their excitement for something new and shiny that they fail to notice just how much they’re spending. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to figure out how to set up a productive work office is failing to budget and wasting money.
This isn’t exactly an ideal outcome, but the good news is that it can be avoided with some forethought, proper planning, and self-control.
It’s easy to spend too much money if you don’t take the time to research the purchases you’re making. If you spring for the first item you see, you might miss out on another one that’s similar in quality but far cheaper. Shop around online to see what the typical prices are for different office supplies, then see what’s available in your area.
Also, remember that you don’t necessarily need the newest and shiniest equipment when something a little older will do just fine. You probably don’t need top of the line headphones or a desk with more drawers than you could ever hope to use, and you might be able to get some supplies cheaper by buying them secondhand from local garage sales or resale sites.
Here are a few common home office items and some ways you can save money:
If you start making purchases with the goal of finding great deals, furnishing your office for cheap without sacrificing quality, you’re sure to find more success than if you just stroll into the store and buy the first thing that catches your eye.
Create a Budget
Another good way to make sure you keep your spending low is to give yourself a budget. A budget gives you a good idea of how much is too much for each item in your home office. It also encourages you to track your spending so you aren’t taken by surprise when you see the difference in your bank account.
While a budget is meant to keep you from going overboard, keep in mind that yours may look different than others’ budgets and it should be based on your needs and financial means. If you can afford to splurge on a slightly more expensive desk chair that offers better support, it might be worth the extra money but only if you’re actually getting an improved product and not just spending for spending’s sake.
The same is true for looking for cheaper supplies. Saving some money here and there is great, but don’t compromise too heavily on quality, especially where it really matters. If you spend your whole workday at your computer, the last thing you want is a cheap laptop that might crash and delete all your hard work.
Find a happy medium between these two extremes, and remember to always do some shopping around before settling on a purchase.
Consider Your Comfort
There’s a reason why few people use the tiny, uncomfortable desks common in most schools for their home offices. If you’re constantly interrupting your mental flow to think about how the backrest is digging into your spine and you keep banging your knees, you’re not going to get much work done at all.
Your home office should be comfortable, since you’ll likely be spending multiple hours a day there. This means buying a supportive chair and a desk with plenty of legroom, but it also includes smaller things like making sure your room is a comfortable temperature and your wrists are properly supported as you write or type.
Back pain is an incredibly common ailment for many people who spend all day sitting at a desk, and it’s just as much a product of poor posture as it is a result of poorly designed furniture.
First, consider springing for ergonomic furniture specially designed to give you support. You might end up spending a little more, but you’ll save this money in future chiropractor’s bills and save yourself a great deal of pain too.
Next, make sure everything is positioned so you can use it comfortably without any strain or unnecessary stress. Raise or lower your chair as needed, and position your keyboard so your arms can rest at a 90-degree angle. These measures help prevent everything from aches, pains, and general soreness to conditions like carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel.
Avoid Working in Bed
While you want your working area to be comfortable, you don’t want it to be so comfortable that you run the risk of falling asleep at your desk. If you’re trying to work while lying in bed or sitting in an especially comfy lounge chair, however, this just might happen!
Working in bed is especially bad for you because of the way our brains associate different activities and locations.
When you perform an action in the same area each day, you condition yourself to expect it on a subconscious level. This is why you might suddenly feel hungrier when you step into the kitchen. Over time, you condition yourself to expect a certain response to the location you’re in.
As previously mentioned, you can use this to your advantage by conditioning yourself to work and only work when you’re in your office. This makes it easier to ignore distractions and focus on what needs to get done.
However, it can also work against you if you start writing while in bed.
Normally, sleeping in bed builds a connection between the location, your bed, and the action, sleeping. When you do other things in bed like work or watch funny videos on your phone, you break down these mental connections and confuse your brain.
Not only will you have more trouble focusing on your work, you’re also more likely to have difficulties falling asleep, since you’ve worn away at the mental connection. This can, in turn, make it harder to focus as you get lower quality sleep and spend the day exhausted.
To keep yourself firing on all cylinders and ensure you’re getting a good night’s sleep, keep your work at your desk, and save the bed for resting.
Facilitate Good Workflow
There’s no one right way to create a work office. Everyone works a little differently, and the best offices reflect and account for your optimal working conditions.
No one knows what makes you productive more than you. Think about your ideal workflow, and try to build your office around it.
For example, do you prefer writing your notes down with paper and pencil, or is digital note taking more your style? You might need to set aside some space for a notebook within close reach, or you can ditch the paper altogether and opt for a bigger monitor.
If you’re at your most productive first thing in the morning, capitalize on this by waking up early and making some space on your desk for your morning mug of coffee or tea. If you’re more productive at night, make sure you have adequate lighting to prevent eye strain.
When you’re trying to capture that elusive magic that lets words flow from your fingertips and adopt good writing habits, routine is everything. Make sure your office space is conducive to the routines that enable you to be at your best so you can work with your preferences rather than against them.
Final Thoughts
Creating a productive workspace is the first step in being more efficient with your time. Whether you’re just starting your writing journey or you’re looking to get more serious about the quality and output of your work, a great home setup will help you accomplish much more each day and keep you on track to hit your writing goals.
There’s a lot to consider when creating your work office, but the most important thing to keep in mind is that your main goal should be removing as many barriers between yourself and your work as possible. This will affect your productivity far more than the decorations you choose or the specific arrangement of your desk and chair.
When there are no distractions or excuses in your way, you can let the ideas flow and perform your best work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I don’t have a lot of space?
You can set up a small-scale work office with creative storage solutions and good use of vertical space. Try dividing drawers to store more in them, stacking smaller furniture pieces on top of larger ones, and using wall-mounted shelves and hooks.
My office is optimized for productivity, so why am I still having trouble getting things done? Office design is only one piece of the puzzle. You’ll also need to incorporate good productivity habits like priority management and scheduling, as well as holding yourself accountable for completing your to-do list each day.