For home-workers, the central part of their work-life is the home office. For some, that would mean the kitchen table; for most of us, a specific room to be the headquarters of operations and try to work from there each day.
Now that we have to consider strategy before tactics, it makes sense that we should make it the room we enjoy being in, and also a space that gets us in a productive flow state, and by considering these things provide a strategic framework to hacks, we can implement in the office. At home, you have control over least most of the features of your environment, while in a corporate environment, you’ve pretty much just got your desk to upgrade.
With that said, we decided to take a look at the best work habits, design, and office improvement ideas that are not only suitable for remote working but create an ideal, concentration-boosting environment.
What puts you in a productive mood?
That's a central question to defining your work environment. Maybe being reminded of your goals, your purpose – the reason you do this each day- is enough to get your creative juices flowing—a great way to start upgrading your working space by reminding yourself of these goals every day. Perhaps there is a minimalist approach that puts you in the right mindset, so pop all the pads and pens on your desk in a cupboard and get rid of those browser shortcuts on your desktop.
If you can't find your "why" – you can't bear your "how." So as long as you can't identify the things that trigger your productive flow, you'll have a rough time improving your office on anything more than an aesthetic level.
Lighting and color.
Lighting, believe it or not, can considerably impact the way you concentrate and do your work. Today, according to recent studies, it seems that the lighting system in the working environment has a deeper impact on our lives than we had ever known.
What's more, according to a study, Philips claims that there is a valuable connection between light and circadian rhythms, also known as "build-in-clocks," which is what determines our relaxation, sleep cycle, and stimulation. Not only that, but the light has also been proved to decrease depression as well as improve our mood, energy, productivity, and alertness.
As for colors, it's been said that the color of walls in a working environment can influence not only your mood but it can also cause more arguments and stress in a relationship (yellow being that color).
In case your home office happens to be painted with an aggravating shade, then repaint it. If the current color does nothing for you either way – find a color that influences you, which puts you in a productive and relaxed mood.
A good chair.
It's quite simple to overlook the effects of your working space on your ability to be productive. If you're currently using a dining or deck chair, which supposedly isn't made at the proper high, they don't necessarily encourage the needed working posture.
Consider an adjustable professional chair such as those from Aeron, where you can set the right fit for your workspace and body. However, these chairs typically reach $600 or more- but there are also more affordable alternatives around $150 and $250 that will do the thing.
Be sure you test them personally, if possible, and reach for one with adjustable height that can roll and offer enough lumbar support for your needs. An armrest is also ideal, but only if you know to use it properly.
Proper monitor height.
Invest in a large monitor (maybe two) for your small productive corner- just as you would at the corporate office. Not only a larger monitor would go surprisingly well with your new setup, but it will encourage you to be more proactive during your most demanding tasks. Remember to keep a phone only for working purposes as you don't want to mix your professional pressure with at-home pressure- if your budget is limited, you can find one on those buy now pay later phones no credit check websites.
As for your monitors, those from Asus and Acer came up with ideal 24-to 27-inch monitors, but any major brand will offer high-quality monitors. What to avoid? Don't skimp on buying the cheapest product as they can easily lead to eye strain over time due to their lower resolution and thus amplified fuzziness.
Although display resolutions are only available in a whole alphabet soup of terms, you should look for one that offers you desired higher sharpness, such as QHD, QWXGA, WQHD, or 4K. Broadly speaking, the display connector may reduce the screen resolution, which can make screens larger than 25-inch appear quite fuzzy. But if you're aiming at the best video quality, then look for monitors and computers that support HDMI 2.x, USB-C connectors, or DisplayPort.
Good internet connection.
Most suburban and urban areas come up with at least one high-speed internet provider; 50Mbps is the minimum speed available, and the more internet users this provider has in one place, the more you want to get a higher-speed.
What's to note is that your bandwidth within your house matter, as well as some of the best connections, are wired Ethernet, so if that's possible, try to connect your PC to your router using an Ethernet cable – WI-FI works great too, but that's only for basic office work, therefore you can't connect your PC to the router, try WI-FI.
When it comes to the perfect home-office setup, there are no hard-and-fast rules. There are only hacks for productivity and small upgrades that work for each of us. If these upgrades don't work for you, that's fine – you got the liberty to experiment until you find what works best for you. What matters the most is being happy and motivated in your home office and that you never stop trying to improve it.