Your simple guide to home office productivity

Lily Cichanowicz Lily Cichanowicz
Midcentury Modern Desk, Biggs & Quail Biggs & Quail مكتب عمل أو دراسة
Loading admin actions …

It can be difficult to balance your work productivity with your home life when you are working from a home office. We are expected to meet deadlines on time and to accomplish just as much as we would if we were working from a conventional office. Still, there are obvious benefits to working from home that keep many of us from wanting to vacate this arrangement. It is a luxury to be able to work within our comfort zones, and it makes it easier to manage the household when we're only a few steps away from handling domestic tasks.  It’s not always intuitive that feeling relatively comfortable and at ease is actually a major strength when it comes to being our most efficient selves. Let us help you keep distractions at bay while enhancing the peaceful energy flow that makes work feel a little bit less demanding. Here are our tips for increasing productivity in your home office. Happy decorating! 

Is there enough lighting?

In recent times psychologists and researchers have realised that when it comes to improving concentration, creativity, and efficiency natural lighting prevails over harsher incandescent or florescent bulbs. Place your workspace in a room with good sunlight. It will help make the office more pleasant to work in and minimise stress. Notice how nicely this space is illuminated by the light emanating in from outdoors. The light provides a sense of clarity that makes it conducive to productivity.

One of the beauties of working from home is that you can choose the most optimal place in your house for working, so choose wisely! However, if you’re working on improving the efficiency of your existing office space and it has minimal access to a source of natural light, check out our tips for increasing the natural lighting in your office space. It is also wise to have a lamp on your desk for a more focused channel of light to aid in writing and reading documents.

Do you have an adequate desk?

This may seem obvious, but it is worth stating clearly: you are already on the path toward productivity if you are making a point of working at a desk rather than on the sofa, in bed, or at the kitchen table. Simply having any desk, however, is not necessarily going to maximize your productivity. 

As with many trends in design, less is usually more. Your desk should be spacious with only the most necessary implements on it. Keeping things minimal will help your mind to remain clear and make it less likely for you to be enticed by distraction. Therefore, you will be able to focus on the task at hand more easily. Having a minimalist desk also give your office a trendy appearance. The desk featured here, for instance, is sleek and unembellished. It's perfect for the office!

Other important features of your desk should be that it allows you plenty of legroom so that you don’t feel uncomfortable or claustrophobic while you work. 

Make sure your chair is comfortable!

While you should keep your desk simple, it is definitely worth investing in a chair that will remain comfortable when sitting for long periods of time. Discomfort is one of the most common distractions from our work. We love this chair featured in the office by Grupo Requiez, SA DE CV because it is designed to evenly support the back, neck, and tailbone. Many chairs come with adjustable features so that you can personalise the height of the seat and the angle of the back to fit your own preferences. Look for a chair with wheels to increase convenience and mobility. Stick with neutral tones like black, grey, or tan to so that you don’t have to worry too much about whether the chair blends well with the rest of the room. It’s also wise to get up and walk around once every hour or so to keep from getting stiff.

Incorporate the right storage

In order to maintain a desk space clear of unnecessary clutter, we must have adequate storage for books, papers, writing utensils, and electronics. A classic style with which you cannot go wrong is floor to ceiling shelving. This is great for fitting file folders and books. Additionally, invest in some monochromatic decorative boxes to fit smaller items like electronics and writing utensils. Here, we’d also like to pay special attention to what to do with all those extra little things that seem to accumulate on the desk. I’m talking about commonly used items like daily planners, notepads, favourite pens, and cell phones. For these, try adhering a fixture like the one in the picture within arm’s reach of your desk. This way, the items are still easily accessible but now they are off of your desk in a stylish container. It is also a good idea to utilise a corkboard for important documents and reminders so that you can see them without having them in the way.

Perhaps a sofa?

Although it’s certainly best to sit at a desk while you work, an office sofa has its purpose as well. For example, it’s great for meetings with clients. For this reason shoot for a respectable, yet comfortable sofa. The sofa pictured here has luxurious upholstery that gives the entire office the accomplished air of that belonging to an executive. Going for something in a complementary colour is a great way to give the office a little more pizzazz while still keeping things classic and professional. There are lots of other suitable options to fit your budget and style, so have fun with this one! Another point to note is that the sofa is arranged at a safe distance from the workspace, which helps to clarify its purpose primarily as a place for meetings with clients rather than for personal use.

Accessorise to your style

Simplicity and functionality are important when it comes to your furnishings, but you certainly don’t want the place where you’re spending your days to feel sterile. Surround yourself with meaningful mementos that will help boost your mood. Whether it’s a souvenir from a memorable trip, photos of the family, or a poster of your favourite musician, personalise the space. Doing so can also display a sense of taste and vitality to your clients because it shows that you are a well-rounded individual. Be sure not to include anything that will be overly distracting though. Select items whose colour tones fit those already existing in the space. The accessories on the walls in this office are all in neutral hues that go well with the wallpaper and the furniture. Hang these items on the walls instead of on the desk to keep the area clear.

تريد مساعدة في إتمام مشروع بيتك؟
تواصل معنا الآن

يبرز من مجلتنا