Work From Home Easier In Chicago With These Home Office Improvements
For some, telecommuting has become the way it goes -- and brings some unforeseen obstacles.
Whether you’re a work-from-home juggernaut or need to make a small office area on the fly, the concept of working within your actual living space doesn’t always have to mean using your kitchen table. The key to a productive home workspace is using items that will make life better for your daily grind. But this area should also comforting as you have to live here also.
From slimmed down desks to energy-efficient plantation shutters, here are five quick office ideas that make work from home easier.
Your Home Office Should Be A Separate Space
While cozying up on the sofa and banging away on your laptop may look nice initially, not delineating “home mode” from “work mode” can become a damper to your psyche.
If you don’t yet, make a committed office space in your home. This space should be primarily for work, an independent space from your day-to-day chores. This may help you steer clear from interruptions. You don’t necessarily need an executive oak desk and a wall full of motivational posters, but you should at least try to have a small table and seat as your home office.
Have a small area in the living room that would double as a work center? Create a hidden office in your large room by hanging a simple, elegant sliding barn door or panel track as a partition.
Pick A Desk That Fits With Your Things
As a lot of your workday is spent sitting down, you should consider a surface that has the proper posture support while integrating your desired spatial needs. And that means using the perfect work surface.
Now, a word to the wise: avoid a “fix for now” desk solution. A side table that doubles as your work surface during the day will only invite frustration. You need a space that adapts to your work needs. If you primarily use a laptop, a compact desk or committed table can work. But if you’re stacking books and papers, or prefer a dual-screen computer setup, you probably want a bigger desk.
If you don’t want to get a conventional desk, create one from alternative materials. An old door or particleboard on top of filing cabinets can serve as a usable work surface. When you finally find the correct workspace, the easier work from home becomes in Chicago.
Adjust Natural Light When You Use The Right Window Coverings
Balanced lighting can affect your daily video call. Not enough backlight and you’re covered in shadow, but too much sun glare, and you’re flushed out. The amount of natural light can also greatly affect your productivity.
To make work at home easier, you should install a window treatment that can direct sun glare. Plantation shutters, for example, have louvers that can be tilted so that your home office always has enough natural light without harsh sun glare. They will also help block ambient noise, like traffic or pedestrians. And if your interior shutters are crafted from Polywood®, they’re also energy-efficient.
Luckily, plantation shutters are an aesthetically beautiful window treatment for your home office and are simple to wipe down and operate.
Upgrade Your Seat From That Uncomfortable Chair
After a few days in your newer work space, you start to realize that working from that wooden kitchen chair just isn’t holding up.
Try an office chair that rolls to give your body some love, or upgrade your chair with a back support pillow to make it last until you decide on your next chair. Of course, you can just get a standing desk, and then your kitchen chair could suffice.
It’s OK To Experiment
One of the benefits of telecommuting is that you are able to organize your area outside the usual corporate configuration. However, sometimes figuring out the best order takes time and a heap of experimentation. And sometimes it takes thinking outside the box.
Keep asking yourself about what works and what doesn’t. Perhaps you need two computer screens instead of an underpowered 15-inch screen. Or why not try three? Or maybe you perform best with a keyboard and two oversized screens hung on the wall. Standing desks, sound system speakers, and overstuffed armchairs -- it’s how you like it. And if it doesn't work out, you can switch it all without submitting an Order Request Form.
