Working from a home office has its pros and cons. You get to work from the comfort of your house and avoid the hustles of dealing with the commute of going to work. You also create the space to your own liking and decorate it however you want.
But it can also get distracting if you don’t discipline yourself. There is no one to constantly remind you of your working hours or monitor your productivity. Hence, you will find yourself taking unnecessary breaks to catch up on TV, preparing a snack or even sleeping.
That is why, when setting up a home office, you need to think about how to put it together to increase productivity.
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Table of Contents
Which Colors Work Best in a Home Office?
You cannot ignore the psychology of colour. Colours bring out certain moods and emotions in people. They change a person’s energy and physical reactions. Colours play a role in architecture. Therefore, deciding which colour to have in your home is imperative if you are going to make a home office work to your benefit.
Green is a neutral colour. It brings out a relaxing, comfortable, fresh and peaceful environment. Concentration levels are high in a green office space.
Blue brings out a feeling of relaxation. It can make someone feel sleepy, therefore ideal for a bedroom and not an office space.
Yellow is used to grab someone’s attention. That is why people use it to highlight text. It evokes happiness and positive energy. When used excessively in an office, it can cause a feeling of anxiety and distraction.
Red brings out an energetic feel. It causes excitement in someone. If you plan on using red, remember to use it only as an accent colour and not in the entire room.
Purple invites imagination and creativity. This is another ideal colour for a home office in that it will help you to become more focused and concentrate on your work.
White is a subtle colour. It can work well with any other accent colours such as red or yellow. They make a room feel warm and relaxed. Remember to combine white with other colours to give the room an energetic feel to it.
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How to set up a home office in a small space
If you have limited space in your home to set up an office, the best thing to use to your advantage is a bare wall. Create floating shelves to store your documents and avoid using the floor space. This will make the room look bigger. When saving items, put the ones you use often at the front of the shelf for easier access.
When creating these shelves, use the wall space as high as you can then get a stepping stool for what is not easily within reach. Also, corner shelves are ideal when it comes to saving on space.
What will you need when setting up?
When creating the ideal home office, these are the major things you should consider to make you work more productively.
Office Desk
This is where you will spend most of your time. It will support your work-related items together with your laptop. When thinking of the desk size, pick a size that will give you enough space to help you keep your papers organized. Having papers lying all over the place will make it hard for you to find important documents, will leave your home office untidy and will decrease your productivity.
Chair
Your health and safety are of utmost importance. You will probably sit on this chair an entire day. Therefore, you need to find a comfortable one that compliments the office desk. When purchasing a chair, test its feel to make sure that your back is well supported. An uncomfortable seat will affect how much work you get done.
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Natural Light
Having exposure to natural light will increase your productivity and save on electricity bills. You don’t want to have your lights on the entire day when you are working because the room is too dark. Remember to put the office desk close to the window to use the natural light.
Good Internet Connection
It is quite frustrating to constantly have to wait for documents to download or web pages to open because of slow internet speeds. Because of this, you have to look for an alternative place to work like visiting a coffee shop which will waste your time and money. Getting the right internet service provider from the get-go will make working from home so much easier.
Like we stated at the beginning of this article, you need a lot of discipline to work from home. You also need to create an ideal environment that will increase your productivity. Finding the right balance will make you meet those crazy deadlines from the comfort of your home.
Work from Home Stress: Causes and How To Cope
Working from home has its perks – no commuting to the office, work from anywhere, wearing pyjamas all day and no direct supervision.
However, on the other hand, working from home has come with its challenges and if you don’t take time to manage the stress that comes with remote working, you could end up affecting your mental, physical and emotional health.
What are some of the challenges people are experiencing from working remotely?
Too Many Distractions
There is always something else you can do at home compared to when you’re in the office such as:
- Watching TV
- Spending a lot of time on social media
- Ordering and receiving packages
- Talking on the phone with friends or family
- Taking naps during the day
- Planning your children’s schedule
- Doing chores around the house
- Trying to avoid noise disruptions
No Working Structure
It is very easy to feel overwhelmed with work especially if you don’t have a schedule for your days. Sometimes you will work throughout the day without taking any breaks in between or working until late at night because you don’t have to move around or you have not set specific working hours.
Additionally, you have a home to run. You have to eat. If you don’t have someone to prepare meals for you, that’s your responsibility which can take up your time.
Our homes have been our comfort spaces, but they’ve been transformed to perform different functions – resting, working, exercising and socializing with friends.
Not having a specific area set aside for work reduces motivation to sit and focus leading to decreased productivity and lagging causing stress.
No Boundaries
People who know you’re working from home can take advantage of the fact that you’re your “own boss”. They could ask for your assistance in running errands, visit you or speak to you for long hours which will eat into your working time.
This means you won’t have enough time to complete the tasks you had planned for the day. Or will leave you feeling bad about saying no especially if you get a request from your family.
No Physical Activity
Remote working means longer hours of sitting in one spot and less movement around the house which can impact your mental health. Because you’ll feel less tired during the day, it could get harder for you to fall asleep which causes you to stay up late either watching a movie or scrolling through social media.
The next day becomes stressful because you are not well-rested which will impact your productivity.
Feelings of Loneliness
Humans are known to be social creatures. We were not built for a life of constant isolation. That’s why many people are feeling lonely and emotionally stressed from prolonged hours and days of working from home.
Isolation reduces emotional wellbeing, team productivity and could lead to depression from lack of interaction with people.
And not forgetting the constant calls now that we can’t be together physically in the office. They might seem like a good avenue to catch up with colleagues, but they are exhausting and make you feel worn out.
How to Avoid Burnout from Working from Home
- Have a Dedicated Workspace
- Create a routine
- Minimise on Distractions
- Catch up with friends
- Take care of yourself:
- Exercise
- Read a book
- Go for a walk
- Listen to music
- Enjoy a good meal
- Meditate (if it’s your thing)
- Get enough hours of sleep
- Watch your favourite show
- Stretch your body throughout the day
And remember, there is nothing wrong with asking for assistance when things get overwhelming or you feel you are not ok.
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Working from home comes with its benefits. But it could also get stressful if you don’t manage your time well and separate your work and home life. This is the key to creating a healthy working situation which will overall lead to work-life balance.
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