Working from Home – Set up a Designated Work Space

When you’re going to work from home, it’s important to create your work space. This area should be separate, if possible.

It doesn’t have to be a home office or even a desk if you don’t want that, but it should be a dedicated work space. To help you make the mental transition from work to relaxation, your work space should be separate from places of relaxation.

Try not to have it on the sofa or on the bed if you can help it. The most important thing you want to create is a place that’s comfortable – but not too comfortable!

You may choose to work a 9 to 5 schedule, or you may choose to work at various hours throughout the day, depending on your other obligations. Being comfortable will help prevent lower back aches, tension in your shoulders, and more.

If you’re always in pain after working, that’s going to be stressful. You might have to consider investing in an ergonomic chair or a work station. When you have a work space that’s solely for your career use, it helps you create structure.

This will allow you to be able to switch gears and can boost your focus. It’s hard to procrastinate if you have an ideal work space set up. Plus, when you have a space that you use for work, it can cut down on other distractions and barriers to getting work done.

If you set up your work station on the sofa, then when your spouse, roommate, partner, or children come into that room and want to be on the sofa to watch television, it’ll interrupt your work. This could cause you to get behind or lose your train of thought with a project.

Once you get your work space picked out and set up, you’ll need supplies. Whatever you would normally use to do your job outside of the home is what you need to have access to. Consider choosing a spot with a shelving unit or an extra drawer you can dedicate to your office supplies.

You’ll need to have a good laptop or a desktop computer. You might also need a printer. Having a separate dedicated phone line might be needed – or you may need a cell phone just for business purposes.

You should also consider having a monthly planner as well as pen and paper in or near your workspace (or your digital planner, if that’s what you currently use). If you often have video conference calls, you may need to invest in a good microphone and webcam if your current computer or laptop doesn’t have a good one.

These are just a few suggestions on how to choose a suitable workspace and what to have close by so that you can work as efficiently as possible.

If you’re serious about working from home, check out our online course, How to Start a Work From Home Business. It will walk you through all of the steps of setting up a work from home business, including the following:

• Identify your goals for your work-from-home business, so you can determine if working from home is right for you
• Decide on your business model and how you will earn money, both in the short and long-term, so you know what you can do right now and what you can work towards in the future
• Choose your payment processor and build your budget, so you have a system in place to access your funds and determine how much you need to cover your costs
• Identify the basic tech that you need and any specific tech for your business niche, so that you are prepared to work from home in a professional environment
• Establish your work-from-home daily routine, so that you can maximize productivity and avoid common organizational pitfalls
• Explore digital marketing strategies, so that you can find the most effective ones for your niche and start growing your business’s presence online
• Map your steps to becoming location independent, so that you can take your work on the road and run your business from anywhere in the world
• Consolidate and implement your learning and plan your next steps, so you can achieve the goals you set for this course

It’s available on both Udemy and Tabletwise platforms.

Enjoy!

Barb