Working from home can be a minefield for low productivity and distraction – especially in the first few weeks of a home-based job where the novelty hasn’t worn off just yet.
By Suhayl Laher
Low productivity can harm your business, especially if you’re adapting to a home office from a busy office setting – and with this in mind, we’ve put together some ideas to help you out.
These home design tips will help you curate a space free from distraction, keeping productivity high while placing a focus on your work-life balance – as a home office can also be a place where you spend too much time working.
Curate calmness
Making sure your home office makes a clean break from the stresses of an open-plan, multiple-occupancy office is key. You need to accentuate the fact that you’re at home and away from the multiple distractions that a traditional office can produce. Helping create a calm feeling can be done as simply as adding some house plants to the room, and making sure plenty of natural light gets in.
If you have a view of your garden, then make the most of it. Make sure your desk is pointing in such a way that you can see the outside world, as this will help your productivity and make you more attuned to life beyond the four walls.
Move away from noise
If you’re designing a home office within a family home, you might end up being distracted by a noisy household – especially if you have kids that just got home from school or a pet that enjoys barging into rooms at inopportune moments. Everyone who works from home has an inconvenient story along these lines – to keep them to a minimum, make sure your office carves out a quiet zone in your home.
This can be as simple as electing to place your office in a quiet corner upstairs, away from high-traffic areas of the home, or installing a vestibule area so there are two sets of doors between you and the chaos of a family home in the late afternoon.
Create space for relaxation
Being at the helm of your own business can be tough and many business leaders have suffered negative consequences as a result of overwork – so it’s worth keeping this in mind at all times.
Making room for an area in which you can do nothing but relax in the middle of the working day is very important. Getting some fresh air in the spring and summer months on a patio built with some high-quality outdoor tiles will definitely help you recharge your batteries – and you could even curate an outdoor workspace if the temperatures rise enough to necessitate it.
Keep it ergonomic
Just because you’re in your house doesn’t mean that you won’t need proper office furniture in your home study. While your favorite comfy armchair might be your go-to perch initially, it’ll start to become uncomfortable sooner rather than later. Ergonomic office chairs with the appropriate lumbar support are essential for your home office, alongside a desk that is at a comfortable height for your posture.
Making sure your home office is as much of a professional workplace as possible will help to boost productivity – so keep off the soft furnishings until it’s time to finish for the day.
Ultimately, as a small business owner, your own personal drive to succeed should be your main productivity booster – but with a home office that is fully optimized to your needs, whatever they may be, you’ll find you’ll be driven to greater things a whole lot easier.
Suhayl Laher works at Tiles Direct, one of the UK’s largest independent distributors and retailers for quality tiles for outdoor and indoor use – bringing design inspiration to homeowners, architects and developers.
Office stock photo by sirtravelalot/Shutterstock
