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Where do you work when you work from home? Here are a few ideas to transform your work life.
1. A Dedicated Space is Best I really believe that you wont get far unless you set aside a space and use it for work only. Why? Well, if you use your work space for things other than work, then you will get distracted by anything you leave there. Other people in the family might become frustrated by not being able to use the space, or you might find that you simply dont have anywhere to put all the important pieces of paper you acquire, meaning that they get lost. 2. The Art of the Home Office Dedicate an entire room as your work sanctuary. You shouldnt have too much trouble if you convert a small bedroom, as most bedrooms are actually surprisingly large once you take away the bed. Your essentials for a home office are a desk, chair, computer, filing cabinet and phone/fax. If you dont have spare ones of these lying around then you should buy them used, or from some kind of discount store - dont spend a cent more than you need to on your office furniture and equipment, at least to begin with. Still, though, do try to find things that dont look too bad, and that match. Do make sure that you have everything in the room that you will need for your business, and that your equipment is good enough that you will be able to use it for long periods of time without it becoming painful. If you plan to do a lot of phoning, for example, buy a headset so that you can do it hands-free. Its also worth spending just a little extra on that chair, if youre going to be sitting on it a lot. You should also make sure that the room is well-lit and decorated in a style you like: one that says serious, but not dull, terrible work. Keep it at a comfortable temperature, with good ventilation. Many people like to make their home office visibly different to the rest of their house, by having a differently-coloured carpet or wooden floor, or painting the walls an entirely different colour. Whatever you do, though, I have no doubt that itll be better than 99% of the corporate offices out there. The most important thing is that you dont spend too much, but that you make sure to solve any problems you have with your space as soon as they come up. 3. A Whole Other Building One thing that some people like to do when they set up home offices is to make it completely separate from their house: a business annex. This could be expensive - for goodness sake dont build a whole other building if you dont have something like a shed or garage to convert - but it is also one of the most effective ways to work from home. Its not so much a home office as an office that youve built right next to your home - and it gives you a much clearer sense of when youre working and when youre not. This option is especially worth considering if you do a manual trade, especially if you already have some kind of workshop space. I knew a carpenter who saved himself all sorts of headaches when he moved his home office away from his bedroom and into his existing workshop in his garage. 4. A Question of Tax Think about this; the area of your house that you do business in should be tax-deductible, and so should any equipment you buy or other work you have done. Dont use it as an excuse to get carried away, but do remember that youre not spending quite as much as you think. The investment in your peace of mind and settled feelings will be a great investment no matter how much money it takes to make a space for yourself to work at home. |
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