6 Home Office Solutions to Make Working from Home Easy For You

If you work from home, then you must setup a home office. However, you may encounter several problems because, after all, your home may lack the office environment. There are many types of home office solutions that may help you increase your efficiency as well as maintain the level of professionalism while working from home. Here are some of the best home office ideas for work-from-home professionals. ~ Ed.

As technology improves, jobs and work becomes flexible. More companies reward their employees with opportunities to work from home.

If you’re one of them, congratulations! You don’t have to endure traffic or follow a dress code. You can work anywhere — in your bed, in your family room, in the kitchen, on your patio, or in any place where you feel comfortable and relaxed. Sooner or later, you’ll feel tired of working from point A to B or C. You will need a stable place where you can keep all the work-related stuff. You will need something to separate work from your life.

You need a home office.

Here’s the thing: your home office is more than just a chair and a table. When you set-up your office space at home, you also need to address the challenges that come with it. And you need affordable home office solutions for efficient and quality work.

Working with architectural designers in Australia, I’ve realised that those problems are solvable through proper design.

6 Home Office Ideas to Solve Your Biggest Work-from-Home Issues

Here are some of the common home office dilemmas, solved:

Getting Privacy

It’s heavenly to work from home if you’re alone in the house.

However, it’s a different story when you live with your family, and you have little kids. The rugrats might run around and bother you while working. If not, they might sneak into your work files and accidentally destroy something important.

You can avoid this.

The best thing to do is to locate your home office in a separate room. Do this to attain the privacy you need while working. Close the doors if you don’t want anyone to disturb you when you have a meeting, or you have an important task to finish.

If you don’t have an extra room at home, you can also set up a double duty room. Merge your office with the living or dining room. Use a sliding door, folding screen, or a room divider in order to make this space more private. This is commonly done when the homeowner has an open floor plan format home or if you downsized your humble abode.

The least ideal place to put your study is in your bedroom. Your bedroom is the go-to place to sleep and relax, not a place to remind you of your job. But, if you have no choice, you have to do something to balance your rest and work hours.

Set up a table and chair in a way that you don’t face your bed. If you don’t see the bed, you’re less likely to feel sleepy and take a nap.

You can also technically divide a bedroom with curtains. Close it, so you don’t see your computers before bedtime. This will drive your mind away from work and will help you sleep better.

Controlling Noise

Most people who work from home don’t need to follow the regular nine-to-five work hours. This is why some people chose to work during the quiet hours at home. This is the time when there are no more loud neighbours and kids.

But what if it’s impossible for you to work in the wee hours of the day? What do you do about the noise that distracts you?

Here’s the solution. There are two ways to control noise. It’s either you add surface to absorb sound or to block it from entering your space.

For example, your floating hardwood, concrete or cork floors can absorb sound. Maximise their noise absorption capacity through laying thick rugs or carpets on the floor. You can also hang wool and velvet drapes to keep the noise out.

To block sound, use a solid wood door. The material suppresses the sound as the sound waves try to pass through it. Never use pocket doors because it’s light and hollow. It won’t block noise at all.

Organising Mountainous Piles of Paper and Folders

This is a common problem, whether at home or office. If you’re the type of person who likes a clean office table, then cluttered paperwork and office stuff are too much trouble for you.

Don’t let clutter take over your workspace. Go over these things and papers again and identify the ones that you still need and you will dispose of.

If possible, produce a digital copy of the papers and store them in the cloud. Go paperless — it cuts trash and operational costs of your business. In addition, put all the items that you regularly use on a nearby shelf or in the drawer of your table.

Hoarding

Some home office solutions for small spaces come through practicing minimalism and simplification.

If you find it hard to let go of the items you really don’t need, you are probably hoarding. I have a friend who keeps a lot of highlighters in his home office. The highlighters alone ate half of a drawer storage. He’s not alone.

There are other people who keep pens, notebooks, and even ketchup sachets. They can’t let go of it because they think they might need it someday.

The best way to solve this is to throw in a monthly cleaning scheme. This is when you scan your office to throw out what you don’t need any more. You can donate or recycle the stuff you get from this regular de-cluttering session.

Post-it Note Pollution

Your post-it notes are life savers, but too much of these colourful papers sticking in your place is nerve wrecking. Its clutter, and it takes up space in your office and in your mind.

If sticky notes don’t work the same way again for you, it’s time for a change. Decide where to place your post-it, so they look fine even if your tasks are piled up. You can also switch to a digital to-do list.

There are a lot of productivity apps available for download, and I’m sure you’ll find the app that suits your work style.

Hiding Exposed Wires

Wires all over? Here’s a smart idea for your home office. Conceal and organise your wires through arranging all your electronic devices in the office. Make sure all of their plugs can reach the outlet. Run them all in a single route so you can tie all the wires in a bundle.

A desk with a built-in grommet is nice too. It helps organise wires that you connect to your devices.

Additional Tips

For people who have home offices in the secluded areas of the house, it might be helpful to install a wireless doorbell extender. This device informs you if someone’s at the door, waiting for you to open up. It can be anyone especially the delivery guy. You can also install a remote garage door opener, so you can let someone you know in, without leaving your office.

I hope these ideas help solve the problems you face at your home office.

Over to you –

Do you work from home? If yes, then what are your solutions for your home office problems? Share your ideas in the comments.