How to Set Up Your Home Office

If you have just started working from home, or if you’re looking to revamp your existing office, you need to take a look at some of these basic tips for how you can cheaply, quickly and easily get the most out of your home office space.

When you’re thinking about your home office, it’s all about the space that you are going to be working in. After all how are you going to want to go there day after day if the space isn’t set up exactly how you want it to be? You need to make sure that the space you have chosen is a quiet spot, and is out of the way enough so that you can work in peace for long periods of time.

A great place to start to check out some inspiration is magazines and other online blogs and features about home offices. Once you have an idea of the kind of work space that you are after, it’ll be much easier to source the furniture and to position it in such a way as to be aligned with your vision and goals.

The Setup

The set up for your desk is going to be vital. If you’re lucky enough to have a room or space that is all your own for your home office, have a think about where your windows are. After all, you don’t want to have glare going all over your screen, so think about making sure that your work area is on the same wall as a window, or at the very least adjacent to any open space.

If there is just no way to keep your screen away from the glare of light, think about getting some good window coverings. If you have some money in your budget, think about getting some blackout blinds – these are about $40 at IKEA. Something like this is going to help you darken the room when you need to.

You want to think about the kind of lighting you have in the room – it needs to be soft, but not so Zen so that you fall asleep during the day… Think about getting a floor lamp or something else like that.

The Desk

You desk is a vital component of your home office space. After all, this is where everything is going to happen for you! If you’re working on a pretty basic table, the chances are that your monitor is too low for you. Use a couple of thick books to raise it up to your eye level. If you have only a laptop, think about raising it up on some books, and plug in a keyboard and mouse for ergonomic typing.

Keep your laptop mobile while you’re keeping your desk free of clutter – while still making use of your keyboard, mouse, and monitor. A laptop docking station can get expensive but if you have awesome cable management, you might not be bothered by the costs! Simply get yourself a USB hub and plug everything into your one USB slot – then when you need to get up and go, you can!

The home office has a lot of different benefits, from never needed to change toner cartridges again to not having a boss breathing down your neck. Make the shift today and welcome in a new era of working.