Tips to Make your Home Office Work For You

When we all left our offices in March due to quarantine, I don’t think any of us thought 8 months later we would still be working from home with no end in sight, yet here we are. Some of us are expanding and moving into larger homes to accommodate this new lifestyle and some of us are still working on our laptops in the kitchen or in an office in the corner of our living room that we set up as a temporary solution. Whatever your home office situation may be, here are some helpful tips to improve inspiration, productivity and overall happiness.

Tip #1: Try to pick somewhere with a nice view. If you live downtown, maybe you have a skyline view. If you’re lucky enough to own Cardiff by the Sea real estate, maybe you have a window that looks out to the water. If you don’t have a gorgeous view, that’s okay too. A room with a window and natural light should do the trick.

Tip #2: Invest in a plant or two. Plants bring life into a room and are a very inexpensive way to add a pop of color without paint or all new furniture. In fact, scientific studies have shown that people who work in spaces enriched with plants experience an improved quality of life.  That’s reason enough for me!

Tip #3: Keep yourself organized and reset your desk at the end of each work day. Walking into a clean desk every day is a sure way to keep you productive and on your “A” game.

Tip #4: Buy yourself a comfortable, ergonomic desk chair. Sitting at the kitchen table may have worked for the first month or two but now that you are most likely spending 30-40 hours a week working from home, I promise a new office chair will make all the difference and your body will thank you later!

Tip #5:  Make sure your space is bright. Research has shown that greater light exposure improves alertness.  Natural light can reduce “tiredness” and improve productivity by nearly 50%.  Workers in offices with optimized natural light reported an 84% reduction in headaches, eye strain and blurred vision symptoms due to extended computer and device use.

Regardless of what your home office situation is, if you are tight on space and have to squeeze into a small corner with a tiny window, or you have a beautiful view from your beach house in Cardiff, I hope that these simple tips will make your workdays a little more comfortable and productive.