Find an empty room in your house, like a spare bedroom, flex room, attic, or basement, before you set up your home office. Choose a place that is quiet and free of interruptions so that you can easily take calls, join video meetings, and do work tasks. Have you got an extra room? Set up shop in a quiet area of your home or work at the dining room or kitchen table. To keep a healthy balance between work and life, don’t work in your bedroom or living room. These places are meant for recreation, and they should stay that way.
Find the most peaceful place in your home. Some people can’t concentrate without some background noise, but others find any noise, even kids playing or a dog barking, to be very annoying.
Finding a quiet place to work is best, since being distracted by your surroundings can have a big effect on how much you get done. Make sure the workspace has a flat surface to work on and is as useful as possible. This could be added to a wall, a kitchen counter, or a coffee table.
If you find yourself working from home out of the blue, you’re probably still figuring out how to settle in and focus. How can you turn a place where you usually relax into a place where you can do business around the clock? It doesn’t take much work to make helpful changes that could make your home a better place to concentrate. Here are seven small changes that will make WFH a better place to be.
First of all, you’ll need a place to set up shop and, well, work. It’s best if you have a desk in a separate office. When you live alone, it’s best if you can use the coffee table or kitchen table. If you don’t have the space to set up a separate office or if you share your home with someone else, you can set up a temporary office in an empty corner or along a short stretch of wall. Start by getting a fold-out desk like this one made of bamboo from The Home Depot. It’s not too expensive and will last a long time. It doesn’t take long to set up and take down in the morning. If you don’t have room for a desk or prefer to work while sitting on your bed, you can buy a lap desk like this one to give your computer and other things a solid, raised place to sit. The LapGear Bamboo Lap Desk is $39.99 on Amazon.