Working from home may seem effortless and comfortable to many but it comes with its own challenges. Switching from home to work while in the same space is no joke. One may think by jumping on his couch or sitting in a cozy bed, with laptop in one hand and coffee in the other would make things work.
Never! To be in an active state of mind you need to upgrade your workspace or home-based office setup. It not only improves your productivity in terms of work but also has a profound impact on your mental and physical health. Learn how you can make use of the latest technologies and some simple things to make your home workstation heaven for you.
- Improve Lighting
Lighting plays an important role in keeping you awake and productive. You can update your home-based office with three types of lighting sources; natural lights, desk lamps, and ambient lighting.
Add more windows to your office or orient it in a way that it gets plenty of natural light. A desk lamp with multiple brightness settings would also prove handy. Improvise ambient lighting or skylights to create a calm and different atmosphere.
- Adjustable Desks
Even the most comfortable chairs would not keep you from getting health issues if you sit for all day long. A height adjustable desk is a must if you plan to work for long hours. Standing desks have shown the signs of improved health, reduction in weight gain and back pain, and lowered risks of heart disease. You can either buy a desk converter to change the height of the current desk, or buy a built-in adjustable desk. Also you can install a invisible under desk wireless charger which will help to make the workspace clutter free.
- Comfortable Chair
The lack of a decent chair causes a lot of annoying aches and health problems. Therefore, your first priority in setting up your home-based office should be a comfort-focused desk chair. An office chair comes with ergonomic settings that are designed to support your lower back, neck, and arms in a better way.
With the quality that lasts for years, it offers versatile features like adjustable lumbar, tilt control or lock, seat slider, adjustable or removable armrest, adjustable chair height and padded seat.
- Reduce Stress with Plants
Plants have a soothing and calming effect on the human mind. They provide a healthy way to channel your stress into nurturing. Keeping up with your mental health and productivity is of immense importance in remote work.
Install small or large plants according to the size of your workspace. Place them in decorative shelves, beside your workstation or around windows. Daily nurturing and gardening make you relax and stress-free.
- Ergonomic Workstation
Once you have set the desk and chair that is perfect for you, focus on adjusting your workstation or computer. Most people work merely on laptops for office-based work. But it adds to your discomfort and imbalances your body when you work for long periods with your back hunched over. Keep a few things in mind to overcome such problems.
Always position your screens top with your eye level. Keep the keyboard, mouse or trackpad at a comfortable position. An ergonomic footrest, laptop stand, quality speakers, smart assistants, blue blocking glasses, in-ear headphones, ergonomic wireless mouse and keyboard are some devices that can make your workplace ideal for you.
- Work On Aesthetics
To combat the strain and fatigue after working for hours, your eyes need a place to land for relaxation and freshness. For this, you can add visually attractive and soothing decorations to your office room. Hang some art work, old maps, and paintings. Such money saving decor would make your office aesthetically pleasing.
Make your office a representation of who you are. Place photos of loved ones, tchotchkes from past travels, your wish lists, your own art pieces, or instruments that you want to play in breaks.
- Utilize Wall
Utilize a wall of your office to jot out new ideas, schemes, and to-dos for your home-based office work. A white board or bulletin board is best in giving some relief from working on the screen. You can use these for scratch work.
Note down the brainstorming ideas that need space to conceptualize. You can also utilize these spaces to draw outlines, write down storyboards, goals, and flow sheet diagrams.
