In the modern realities home office stopped to be just a luxury or whimsy of the rich people. Today many people got used to work from home, and even if their professional sphere is far away from the IT-industry, still most of job can be performed with the computer at home. And it’s not only about the recent pandemic which made many people to sit at home and do everything remotely – it’s also about the convenience and more flexibility. Now you don’t need to sit in the office till very late before weekend if you received some urgent project or contract – you can do everything in much more relaxable and convenient atmosphere at any time from home.
Of course, if we are talking about very rare occasions when you need to arrange a working space in your house, there is no big necessity to spend time and some budget for an arrangement of the proper home office. But if you started to notice that more and more often you have a necessity to arrange some private and quiet place for some additional work, it’s time to think about your personal home office.
Here we will cover the most essential parts which will distinguish your working area from other parts of the house. But whichever project you would choose, here is the main and basic idea of the home office – it should be separated from the rest of the house.
Ideas to take into consideration
So, you decided to have a separate working zone. What you need to think about?
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Location. We will not exaggerate if say that in regard to the home office the location and its privacy is the most important feature. Basically, for work on the computer or the laptop, even if you need to use a table for making some notes or drafts, you will not need a lot of space. Many people nowadays prefer to set their working area in the basement, on the balcony or even in the lumber room as soon as this place can guarantee for them quietness, calm and comfortable atmosphere without distraction from other family members or outdoor noise. Here is one additional tint. Not everybody can afford to give the whole room for the usage as a home office, and in this case, you can find a solution in separating the working zone from the rest of the room with wardrove, shelves or any other furniture which anyway you are using but didn’t consider as an artificial separator.
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Chair. The perfect solution if you are willing to arrange a really nice and comfortable working zone is to buy a special chair. Of course, all of us at home have a favorite sofa or armchair and at the beginning it can look like a great idea to work from such a convenient place, but, firstly, it will be hard to concentrate as before you got used to take rest on this armchair, secondly, from the perspective of spending there even few hours in front of the computer it will not be healthy and can even cause some essential pain in the back. The features of the ideal chair for the work at the computer or laptop are the following: - The loin should be tightly lean to the back of the chair so you will avoid additional pressure on your back; - There should be some extra space between your knees and the edge of the seat so you will have a free-flow of the blood and will avoid pressure on the legs; - The back of the chair should be kept in vertical positions, otherwise you can consider to use a special orthopedic cover for your back; - The height of the chair should be regulated so you can adjust it according to the height of the particular working area. Plus, in this case this chair can be used not only by you but also by other family members; - Your feet, especially heels, should reach the floor. If for some reason is not possible you should consider placing some extra support under your feet (it can be special adjustment which you can find in the shop or just a couple of books).Few words about the best height you should look for. Your arms should be at the same level as your elbows when you are sitting. If you are not sure, you can try slightly different variations within the next days so you will get a feeling which one matches perfectly for you.
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Table. Now, when you chose a chair, it’s time to arrange the working zone for the computer. And even if you are using a laptop, it’s highly unacceptable to place it on your knees unless it’s not a job of five minutes. The computer screen should be located at least 20 inch while the optimal distance is 30 inch. Also, it’s crucial to place the monitor in front of your eyes and not below – if it happens, instead of buying new table you can just use some additional pedestal. Portable keyboard is a great idea for the laptops as in this case you can use all the benefits of this device (and will not be stuck to one particular place). Basically, all the accessories and equipment for your home office should have the possibility to be regulated so you will not need to buy new ones if you decide to remove your working area to another spot. By the way, as we are talking about the accessories, Bluetooth-headphones will be almost irreplaceable, especially if significant part of your remote job will be linked with the phone calls. This device will not only make your life much easier but also will protect you from too much pressure of holding the phone.
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Light. Natural sun light is always the best option both in regard to the quality of the light and its convenience for our eyes. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to locate the home office near the window. Moreover, if you still have this opportunity you need to be very careful with the sun direction as if at some time of the day when you need to be the most concentrated the sun will be reflected from the computer screen or, which is even worse, will be shine straight into your face, and you will find more disadvantages than advantages in this choice.Therefore, if you are considering the artificial lightening for your working area, you should arrange not only the main light but also some additional lamps, especially on the desk. Today you can easily find numerous options which will not take too much space but nevertheless will help to make the overall atmosphere more comfortable and prepared for your activity (in comparison with cozy lightening which can make you feel sleepy). One more important aspect about the light is that you also need to be attentive to the specific color of the light. Pure white for the working area is definitely not the best decision as your eyes will get tired pretty soon. The greatest alternative is warm white color with parameters between 2500 and 4000 Kelvins.
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Sound-proof. The best idea is to locate the home office at the end of the corridor or at the quiet corner far from the living or dining room and of course far from the kids’ room. But sometimes there is no possibility or chance or the walls are too thin to avoid the sound and noise from the other areas of the house. In this case the best and easiest solution is to mute the external noise with a so-called white noise – any permanent noise which you will have to get used to but with time you will not pay attention to it. The most common examples of it are the sound of the fan, the humidifier or even the outside noise from the street with an open window. If you cannot afford the perfect silence, the best solution is the perfect noise.
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Interior. Of course, you home office should be comfortable and cozy enough but as you don’t place too many personal items in your traditional office at work, you should not do an exception in this case as well. Some flowers on the desk or funny design of the pen can work well but too much fun will definitely distract you and kill your working mood at any time.
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Wires. It’s almost not possible to arrange home office without some wires and cables but they should not be an obstacle for the comfort working place. Springs, clips and other small accessories will help you to avoid spending essential part of the time on unravelling the numerous wires every time you are starting work. Additionally, you can also hide them is special niches in the table.
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Order. To be more productive, you need to arrange your working area in the most convenient way. Of course, it’s always good to have everything at hand, but to avoid mess you need to sort all the things to the ones you are using on regular basis from those which you need from time to time. The second ones you can neatly place in the drawers or on the shelves (by the way, it would be a great idea if you could place some small shelves or at least nails on the wall near the working area). And, once again, personal items should be limited to the minimum as home on its own is already can be a very tempting reason to be not that productive and more distracted in comparison with the strict office atmosphere.
Overall, home office is a great idea for most of the jobs. But to be efficient, it should be arranged and organized in a proper way. With these advices you can indeed make it work.
