These days, the easiest thing to do when you work virtually is to utilize a virtual office address and then keep a simple setup at home. However, that simple setup can get a little bit boring, impractical, or crowded over time.
To help you boost your working space for better functionality, productivity, and inspiration, check out these five tips for improving your home office setup:
1. Get Planty
Science tells us that plants can help us to feel much better about our work environment. A study completed in the Netherlands concluded that greener working spaces made staff feel more positive about the air quality. The greenery also improved their concentration and productivity while boosting their overall views about their working space.
All you need to do to get in on this planty action at home is invest in some green pals of your own. We recommend Monstera deliciosa, succulents (if you have a light home office), or a string of hearts if you have shelving.
2. Create a Healthier Space
A working space that promotes bad posture and unhealthy working habits can lead to all kinds of issues, like neck pain, eye strain, and joint stiffness.
In your home office, creating a healthy environment is your responsibility. To do this, invest in an ergonomic workstation setup and then adjust your overall environment with good health as your guiding influence. Learning how to do desk stretches can be helpful as the practice ensures that you’re actively avoiding sedentary habits.
3. Declutter Your Workspace
Clutter makes us feel more stressed, distracted, and prone to injury and issues with allergies. A decluttered home office, by contrast, can help you to be safer and more functional in this important hub of productivity.
Go through the drawers, get rid of unnecessary furniture, and filter out items that build up (like paperwork that needs shredding). The result will be a more streamlined, clean, functional space that boosts your daily working prospects overall.
4. Set Up a Pet Area
Pets, according to science, help to reduce blood pressure while simultaneously easing the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Interacting with pets can also help us to produce more oxytocin, which has numerous health benefits. So, if you do have a pet, why not let them become a permanent addition to your working space? Add in a pet bed under your desk, and include some toys and some treats. As long as they are generally well-behaved, they could be a real asset to your home office setup.
5. Give Yourself Better Tech
If working from home is something that you are likely to be doing for the foreseeable future, now is the time to invest in better technology. This could be a better computer, boosted home internet, smart tech like voice-controlled lights or music, or even smart security like a finger scanner on the door.
One vital area of technology to invest in as a remote worker is cybersecurity. Small businesses can lose thousands of dollars if hit by a cyber security attack, and in 2021, third-party attacks became more common. These highly organized attacks target businesses through their employees or supply chains, and as criminals become more sophisticated, the need for protection grows. So, investing in cybersecurity is always a sound idea.
Your working space is the environment in which you earn a living, so it is important to get it right. With the right adjustments, your home office will be more productive, functional, and safe moving forward – a true investment in your career and your health.
Leave a Reply