Productivity blossoms when space is well-organized, distractions are limited, and a healthy ambiance surrounds us. As such, it is crucial to maintain your home office whether you’re running a family business, working from home full time, or occasionally doing tasks at the comfort of your own place. Luckily, creating and keeping a productive workspace is not as daunting as you think. To help out, here are some of the best practical tips that will help optimize your home office for serious productivity.
Decide on what you need the most
To set things in perspective, you first need to consider and decide on what you need the most in your home office. Knowing the essentials allows you to easily imagine and design the things you have in line with available space.
Of course, you’ll need a chair, desk, and a laptop or computer. Would you need to add some shelves or cabinets? It’s for you to decide. What’s important is that you must keep all essential things together in a specific area of your office within your reach. That cuts the time you need to go around looking for the things you need. It will make your life pretty more manageable, and you also prevent your workspace from turning into a junk room.
Declutter your desk
Scattered papers, colorful sticky notes, pens, folders, and wires are typical things you see on home office desks. However, swimming with that array of stuff can distract you and impede your progress. If you want to stay productive, you need to keep your desk clutter-free. While those things can indeed be helpful, their purpose gets canceled when it swarms your desk. As much as possible, you want your desk to be empty so that you can focus on the job. It doesn’t mean you need to stow away all those things. However, keeping your area clean declutters your brain and allows utmost concentration.
Use proper storage
After getting things you need the most and decluttering your desk, your next task should be properly storing them. Storage is as significant in your workspace as in every part of your home. If possible, you can get a drawer to keep all your sticky notes, tapes, pens, and highlighters. A filing cabinet under your desk is also useful as you can quickly reach essential documents and papers. Having proper storage keeps everything organized, and you’ll also know when to search for them the next time you need them.
Use labels
So, you’ve organized all things in different storages, drawers, and cabinets. However, you still have a hard time finding the things you need? Well, not all are gifted in remembering things. Adding labels can be very beneficial as it allows you easily distinguish where exactly your items are. Using sticky notes can work, but getting a label maker can be pretty handy if you have extra money to spend.
Set a separate printing station
Printers are heavy and bulky devices that can be troublesome to keep, especially in a home office. However, they are pretty essential to the work dynamics of some people. If you’re one of them, be smart and avoid placing the printer on your desk. You won’t probably be printing every minute anyways. With that, find a separate, nearby area inside the room and create a printing station. That way, sacrificing a few steps to the printer station is all worth it as you get to give your desk much space.
Utilize your walls
Walls are vast blank spaces in your home office. Don’t just stare at them when your thoughts are wandering. Add some useful elements, such as a calendar, a whiteboard where you can write important some, or simply hang a beautiful poster to add some personality or an inspirational one that can motivate you towards the day.
Add in some greens
Bringing in some plants in your home office gives your space its much-needed breath of fresh air. Not to mention that the color green is very soothing to the eyes. After hours of staring at your laptop screen, having a plant at your desk can give you a visual break and calm your eyes. Don’t transform your area into a garden, though – adding one to two desks or floor plants can already suffice.
Takeaway
That’s are some of the strategic tips to ensure that you stay productive in your home office. If you’re just starting to set up your home office, don’t rush and work on these things step by step. Soon, you’ll get to get an efficient workspace that will bring out the best in you.