Proper organization and storage are key to a productive home office. Upgrading your home office can be a visual cue, inspiring you to increase your productivity and improve your general workflow.
Innovative renovations that boost your home office aesthetic and practicality, while bringing you closer to your work, can help you reach new heights. If you have a hybrid work schedule or are working from home, you can easily incorporate these six ideas into your existing decor.
6 Ways to Upgrade Your Home Office
Upgrade Your Lighting with Different Bulbs
Workplace lighting could be subpar if the space were designed to be something other than an office from the start. A well-lit home office has both natural and artificial lighting options, such as task lighting for illuminating specific work surfaces and ambient lighting for the entire room.
Consider a desk lamp that can be adjusted in height and produce different colour temperatures for your workplace. Researchers have found that exposure to warmer (more yellow) light encourages inventiveness, while exposure to more relaxed (bluer) light improves focus. Studies have found that one’s environment can affect their productivity.
Upgrade Your Workstation
Organize your desk so that everything you need is within easy reach. You need a large enough desk to keep everything handy and drawers or shelves to stow items you don’t use daily. You should be able to access your computer’s essentials, such as the printer, mouse, speakers, and any supplementary materials you might need, without having to move around too much. Less-used items should be stored further away so that you only have to shift position or get up when needed. It’s also helpful to have a sliding base for the mouse and keyboard and a raised platform for the screen.
Utilize Large External Monitors to Prevent Screen Clutter
For most people, the screen of their laptop or desktop computer isn’t enough. According to one study, a second monitor has increased productivity by as much as 30 percent. Choose a second monitor with a legible display to avoid headaches and eye strain. An additional rule of thumb is that the larger the monitor, the better it will serve you because it will reduce the need to scroll.
Find An Ergonomic, Comfortable Chair
If you’re sitting correctly, you won’t just be less likely to develop health problems; you’ll be able to avoid the temptation to constantly shift positions or get up to stretch for more extended periods. When selecting an office chair, it’s essential to look for one that supports your lower back by conforming to the shape of your spine, has a wide range of height adjustments, and can be swivelled to accommodate easy access. Ensure that your knees and elbows are at a 90-degree angle, that the armrests adequately support your forearms, and that the chair is soft enough to ensure proper posture.
Utilize Wall Space for Planning Purposes
Although we do a lot of documenting, planning and getting ideas on our computers, there are other places where we do so. The need for physical intervention is often inevitable. Consider a whiteboard or low-cost magnetic bulletin board that can be hung and used for keeping current to-do lists, project information, and motivational images close at hand.
Plants As a Stress Reliever
Even if you only have room for one tiny plant on your desk, it will go a long way toward reducing stress levels and motivating you to keep things neat. In case that isn’t enough to convince you, research has shown that having plants around at work can boost efficiency. Plants are a great way to bring natural texture and colour into your home office. Fake plants today are so lifelike and require no watering or sunlight.
Making Productivity-Improving Upgrades to Your Home Office
Before COVID-19, many people who worked from home used the dining room table or some other makeshift surface as their desk. The shift to remote work caused by the pandemic has highlighted just how important it is to have a dedicated home office.
Now that many employers are accommodating work from home, it makes financial sense to upgrade your workspace so you can work comfortably, concentrate, and get things done. A dinner-table workspace is no longer enough as a long-term solution. In any case, it’s wise to improve your home office’s infrastructure. Improve your efficiency, orderliness, and everything in between with the new office furnishings that come out every year.