Working from home offers a great opportunity for comfort and efficiency. However, if the home office is too casual, productivity can be compromised. You need to separate yourself from the rest of the household and all the normal home interruptions and sounds.
A distinction must be made regarding the physical boundaries of such a working space. According to The Interact Group, the most efficient way of doing so is by properly designing the space. Keep all of your work in your home office and make sure that all the non-office spaces in your house are free of any work items. This will promote a healthy balance and allow you to rest and relax if you’re not working.
1. Privacy
You can’t work efficiently in a sea of interruptions and noise, so make sure that your working space offers some level of privacy from the surrounding activities. Although you can use headphones to isolate sounds, you would not want to wear them all the time. Instead, use portable screens or divider walls with bookcases.
To further create the quietness that is crucial for true concentration and work, seasoned office designers in Dubai suggest creating a certain degree of white noise. Use low fans and air filters to soften other sounds and noise interruptions.
2. Ergonomics
Your health, welfare, and safety are vital. Thus, the office items you choose must be ergonomically designed to support good health and well-being whilst using them.
Today, there are chairs featuring free shoulder technology and a pelvis balance point. These innovations are kind to your spine and back during computer work. Aside from chairs, you can also opt for foot rests, soft keyboard pads allowing rest and relaxation for your wrists, and ergonomic mouse instruments shaped to properly fit your hands. All of these items will boost work experience.
3. Storage
Even if you rely on digital receipts, invoices, and work processor files, you will still generate a considerable amount of actual paperwork. So it is crucial to have enough filing cabinets, shelves, and cupboards for your stationery, files, papers, and books.
Today, there are storage solutions designed to accommodate everything that must be stored in your office. You can even have your old cabinets, antique tables, and other furniture restored and customized to meet your storage needs.
4. Equipment
Efficiency and speed are vital when creating a productive home office workspace, but always make careful decisions when buying equipment. Purchase readily available equipment so you won’t spend much time waiting for your office to function properly. On the contrary, do not invest in a piece of equipment that you won’t use frequently.
Moreover, use a wireless hub so you can work on your laptop from a table, your desk or your chair, and at both sitting and standing heights. This will boost your creative thinking and problem-solving skills.
5. Lighting
It is always helpful to have as much natural daylight as possible in the working space. Daylight is considered as the most evenly balanced source of light. But if daylight is not possible, a combination of task and general lighting is required.
A task light is useful for cloudy days or late nights. For home offices without windows, or in a basement, daylight-replicating light sources are excellent choices since they provide full spectrum, energy-efficient lighting.
Good lighting is crucial. Low levels of light can have negative psychological effects like depression. To ensure comfort, a yellow-cast illumination is an excellent choice. Avoid placing overhead lighting above computer screens to prevent glare, which can cause eyestrain.
The most crucial factor when choosing the best lighting for your home office is the ability to control its intensity.
6. Layout
Make sure that the working space will reflect your personality and show that you love and enjoy being there. Furniture should be arranged to complement the flow of your work, and it’s recommend that you display some favorite photos, artworks or keepsakes as looking at these will give you the break you’ll need if you’re exhausted from your work.
Home offices come in various shapes, styles and sizes. Create a home office design that works for you. The design must effectively connect you to your productivity. Most importantly, it must promote focus instead of distraction, and become a place you want to spend time in.
AUTHOR BIO
Shane Curran
CEO at Interact Group LLC
Interact Group is a design-led interior fit out company that aims to set new standards in the UAE interiors market. Driven by their dedication to total customer experience, the company’s mission is to bring truly specialized teams to complex design and fit out challenges, utilizing their unmatched ability to deliver spaces efficiently and above expectation.