2020 forced most of us to start working from home, and by now, most of us have created a makeshift home office space for all our work needs. However, not all of us know how to properly tidy up and utilize the office space.
More than just having a space to work, our home offices should be comfortable enough to keep us stress-free, while productive enough for us to get work done. Working from home is not the most ideal situation, especially as the shift is so sudden, and you may still be waiting for the day you can come back to the office for work.
Here are seven ways you can make the most out of your home office. Take some time to make adjustments to your home office, especially as we seem to be staying in a work from home situation a bit longer :
1. Tidy up the place.
Cleaning the office is always a good idea to upkeep your workspace at home. After all, the home office is still part of your home despite being used for commercial and work purposes. If your work involves stocking up inventory, then all the more you need to keep your workspace clean and neat.
If you’ve moved your e-commerce store at home, then you need to clean up and organize your place to avoid losing items, as well as sending out dirty, dusty inventory to your clients. Keep your items organized, and make a list of what you need to clean up – this makes office cleaning so much easier.
Home office cleaning is much like commercial office cleaning. When it’s time to get back to onsite work, you’ll need to have your office cleaned professionally to get every inch sanitized and disinfected. Especially with the current global situation, disinfection is essential in maintaining a healthy office. Learn more here for office services for a clean workplace!
2. Keep your files organized – both digital and physical.
Almost every business keeps records and files on hand for when they need to refer back to a certain transaction, project, or client. Whether you have these files on physical paper or in your computer’s hard drive, a planned organization is in order so you can easily keep track of all these files you have with you.
Label files properly, and place them in categorized folders. Be sure to include the important details like client name, project specifics, and important dates so you can gain a quick picture of the contents of the file even before opening it.
By keeping both digital and print files organized, you’re less likely to lose those important documents, and you can easily search for these files right when you need them. For physical files, best to store these in waterproof folders in their own shelf or drawer. For digital files, upload these to a secure cloud storage for backup purposes.
3. Keep energized with a coffee space!
All work and no play makes anyone a tired, overworked employee! Keep your energy up with a pleasant coffee space, tea space, or juice bar to keep your morale high. In onsite offices, you typically have a pantry or water cooler for casual conversations, but in the home office, you may not have the luxury of meeting coworkers often.
Instead, revitalize the vibes of water cooler conversations by giving yourself a cozy corner to sip coffee, brew tea, or mix some fruity drinks to relax and let off steam. These will provide you with a momentary distraction from the stress of work, while giving you the energy to keep your work going!
4. Add plants to liven up the place.
Live plants or plastic plants can provide the same aesthetic benefits, but live plants give you the added bonus of a natural feel with air purifying properties. Taking care of your plants is a great, clean pastime as well, and can help liven up your otherwise dreary office.
Choose low maintenance plants that require little care, and can survive in low light conditions as they will be staying in your home office. Many indoor plants are perfect as desktop or table side additions to your workspace at home! Choose from a variety of succulents, or get some pothos for an extremely low maintenance plant.
5. Use separate footwear only for that room.
If you’re one of those people who like to use the same shoes outdoors indoors, then you may want to reconsider that habit. Outdoor dirt can carry different forms of bacteria and viruses, and you can track dirt indoors when using outdoor shoes. This will get you cleaning your floors and countertops more often too!
Take a pair of clean slippers or socks, and use separate footwear for your home office to keep from having to clean too often. As an added step, you can let your smart vacuum run throughout the home office to keep the floors clean as well!
6. Invest in a fun task board.
A fun task board keeps you up to date with deadlines, as well as social work events like work hangouts, coworker’s birthdays, and more! A task board does not have to be so stoic and boring – they can be fun too!
Keep a physical corkboard, blackboard, or whiteboard instead of a digital one so you can easily view your progress. Find designs online that appeals to you, and let your creativity run free as you decorate your own task board. This will help monitor your workload, and remind you of important events around the workplace, even as you work from home!
7. Keep it cool.
Finally, keeping your office cool is a great way to stay comfortable while you work on your daily tasks. The hot and sticky weather of the summer season doesn’t help keep you productive, so invest in an inverter air conditioner for your home office. Besides, this is the space you stay in for the majority of your day, so it makes sense to up the comfort of your home office a bit!
Worried about the energy costs? An inverter air conditioner optimizes your electrical consumption, and is most helpful when kept on for at least 4 hours a day. You’ll feel more comfortable, be more productive, and spend less on your electricity at the same time!