Working from home has plenty of amazing benefits: you don’t have to sit in morning traffic, you can cook your own lunch, and you can be home with your kids.
That being said, working from home can have some downsides. It can be harder to stay focused and get your work done, but it doesn’t need to be. Below there are five tips to help you make your home office as effective as possible.
Create A Distraction-Free Zone
One of the hardest things about working from home is that there are so many distractions. Often times when we work away from home we leave our distractions at the door. Unfortunately, when you have a home office you can’t exactly do that, but you can try.
Photo by Collaborative Interior Design
One thing to keep the area distraction-free is to make sure there’s no TV or electronics on. This can be a major distraction and make it way harder to get your work done.
Something else you may want to do is make sure your desk isn’t facing a window. While the natural light maybe nice, we can easily become distracted by looking at things outside the window. If you have kids or pets at home while you work, it’s important they know you’re working and can’t be bothered unless it’s important.
Photo by Muska Lighting Center
Lastly, when it comes to making your home office a distraction-free zone, don’t bring your cell phone with you unless necessary. Often times you will pick up your phone and scroll on social media and waste more time than you should. Keeping your phone out of the office is just another way to help you stay focused on your work. Or, you can set your phone to “do not disturb”.
Get Ready
Believe it or not, a great way to make your home office effective is to make sure you’re effective. It may seem incredibly convenient to be able to wear your sweatpants because you’re working from home, but it may actually make you less focused on the job at hand.
Getting ready for the day and putting on a proper outfit is one step to making sure you’re going to get work done. Shower, have your morning cup of Joe and a filling breakfast! Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you should slack on this!
Clean Your Space
Another great way to make sure your home office is effective is by making sure your place is clean. When you work from home it can be crucial to be as organized as possible. This can mean that you might need to add in some extra storage containers or even a file cabinet to your home office.
Photo by Steven Sears Building Company
You can also improve your space by adding in a plant or essential oil diffuser. Scents like rosemary and lemon can energize you and help you focus!
Make sure your desk isn’t too cluttered and that everything has its space so you’re less stressed about your environment and you’re able to effectively work from home! You want to be able to find important paperwork when necessary, so keep your area clean and organized!
Work Only
Another way to make sure that your home office is effective is to make sure that only work goes on in there. It can be hard to separate home and work but doing so is crucial.
One way you can do this is by making sure the door is shut when you are not working. This puts a literal separation between your work and home and can help you focus when you need to and allows you to relax when you need to. It may seem silly or trivial, but it can help quite a bit!
Take Breaks
As adults, we can often forget to take breaks when necessary. When you work from home, you don’t have the same allotted time as you do when you work in a brick-and-mortar building. You may not know when to schedule your lunch or a time to walk around and stretch, but it’s important to do so.
Photo by Cynthia Lynn Photography
Taking breaks allows our brain to re-focus so we can be better at our jobs. It can also be easy to forget to eat when you work from home. This is why it’s important to make sure you have lunch or a snack available, so your brain and body are functioning properly and you can be the best employee, even when you are working remotely.
With a little creativity and a little bit of hard work, you can create a home office that is inviting and productive.
Author Bio
Darren Robertson is a top-producing licensed REALTOR® in Northern Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. Valuing service over sales, Darren is known by his clients for both his extensive local market knowledge, as well as his patience and reliability as he helps them on their home buying and home selling journey. Darren is a tech-forward agent who places a heavy emphasis on internet marketing and blogging in his business. When he’s not helping his clients buy and sell homes, he enjoys going on adventures with his beautiful wife and two little ones, strategy games, movies, red wine, and traveling.