Many employees have been working from home for a while now. Whether this is something you’ve been doing or something completely new to you, staying productive and organized can be a challenge. When working in an office setting, you’re given the basic necessities and tools to stay organized.
The work setting also promotes productivity. You’re at the workplace, surrounded by other employees who are working as well. You most likely have a supervisor there to ensure everyone stays on task.
How can you ensure all of these things when working remotely? Knowing the best home office hacks is a great start!
In the guide below, you’ll find several home office tips to keep you organized, productive, and stylish. Once you discover these hacks, you’ll never want to go back to working at the office.
Continue reading below to get started.
Becoming Organized
Organizing a home office doesn’t have to be overwhelming. The first thing you want to do is gather all your organizational tools and supplies. Head to the store and pick up a few items from the office organization section.
Then, use the helpful advice listed below to start organizing!
Use a Color-Coding System
A color-coding system will come in handy if you have a large number of files or paperwork to store. When you file all of your important documents using color coordination, it’s much easier to spot what you need quickly.
For example, you can have all your financial paperwork in the green section, all of one client’s files in an orange section, and so on.
Build a Mail Holder
Do you receive important documents in the mail for your job? Is one of your work tasks to mail out different documents? If so, you’ll want to build a mail holder in your home office to help keep these items organized.
Have a section for outgoing mail and incoming mail. You can build a mail station on one of your home office’s walls. You can even create different sections such as medical, bills, client documents, and more depending on what type of mail you send out and receive.
Use Utensil Organizers
Utensil organizers for the kitchen work well in a desk drawer for office supplies! Grab a few of these organizers and place them inside your desk drawers for storing paper clips, pencils, pens, staplers, and any other office supplies you might have.
You can also use decorative baskets and bins for storing different office supplies, including paper, envelopes, and more! These organizers don’t only keep your items organized, but they help keep things neat and out of sight as well.
Take Advantage of Wall Space
Don’t forget to take advantage of your wall space either. The wall above your desk or to the side of it is a wonderful place to hang organizational tools.
When you’re able to use wall space, you prevent taking up space in your actual office. On the wall, you can hang a whiteboard or bulletin board. You can place a calendar here as well and hang boards with clips on them to hold important notes.
Work With a Service Manager
Aside from staying physically organized in your home office, you need to stay organized virtually also. Having a service manager to organize your tickets from emails, ticketing from any type of customer, and to help send out emails is a great way to remain organized.
There are companies that offer this type of service, which can be beneficial for someone who has many tasks of their own and several tasks to delegate as well. Using this company is a good starting place.
Staying Productivity
How can you stay productive while working at home? There are chores to be done, repairs to be made, and other distractions. If you’re used to working in an office setting, then you also might not be used to having this much flexibility.
Working from home requires a good amount of self-discipline. Here are some tips on how to stay productive when working from home.
Give Yourself a Schedule
One of the first things you can do is give yourself a schedule and stick with it. Working from home means you’re not expected to be at a certain place at a certain time. This can then lead to not waking up at a specific time each morning and not getting dressed for the day either.
Both of these should be avoided. Even though you don’t have to physically be at work, to ensure you’re there mentally, create your own schedule.
Wake up at the same time each morning, get ready for the day, eat breakfast, and then start your day at the same time each workday.
Set Your Own Daily Goals
What goals would you normally meet when working in an office setting? Do you push yourself to finish a certain amount of tasks before lunch?
You should do the same when working remotely. Give yourself hourly, daily, or weekly goals to reach. Setting goals for yourself gives you something to work towards each day and helps you stay motivated.
Take Lunch Breaks as Usual
Don’t forget to take lunch breaks during your day. Although you might eat throughout the entire day, now that you have access to your kitchen at all hours, you still need to give yourself a lunch break. A lunch break is a perfect time to relax, enjoy a full meal, and then prepare to get back to work.
If you’re staring at a computer screen during the day, then you’ll need to give your eyes this break as well. You can also take 10-minute eye breaks randomly throughout the day if needed as well.
Build an Ergonomic Work Station
Focusing on a painful neck or back will prevent you from getting work done. You need to build an ergonomic work station to prevent this from happening.
Find a desk that adjusts its height. It should have a platform for your laptop or monitor that’s adjustable as well. You want your screen to be at eye level.
The type of desk chair you use is also important. It should adjust as well, and your feet should be flat on the floor.
Stay in Touch With Co-Workers
Staying in touch with co-workers can help you stay productive. When you lose contact with everyone, it can make you feel distant. stay in touch with those you used to share an office space with.
Vent about remote work life, speak about different job tasks, bounce ideas off one another, and consider scheduling a day to work at home with one another as well.
Finding Your Style
Making a home office that fits your style is also important. It’s your own personal workspace so feel free to put your own spin on things when decorating! You’ll want to add things in there that’ll boost your mood while working.
Here’s what you need to know.
Bring in Lots of Natural Light
Before you start decorating the walls, make sure to bring in lots of natural light. Place your home office in a room where you’ll receive a good amount of natural light throughout the day.
You should also have great ambient and task lighting as well. With the right home-office lighting, you’ll feel great and stay productive.
Decorate With Green, Live Plants
Hanging plants inside your home office will help boost your mood. Inside plants not only bring lots of green into the room, but there are even some inside plants that’ll help purify the air as well.
Surrounding yourself in nature is good for mental health. Do so in your home office by bringing nature to you!
Hang Family Pictures on the Walls
Display a few family pictures on the walls. It’s always nice to be able to look up and see your family when you’re feeling down or not as productive.
You can place a few picture frames on your desk as well, as long as they don’t take up too much desk space or get in the way. If you have any artwork from your children, then consider framing them and hanging those up as well.
Focus on Colors That Brighten Mood
There’s no need to keep things plain and boring. Sure, it’s an office, but you can have some fun with it. Try to incorporate fun, vibrant colors that you love.
Research which colors are best for painting the walls in an office space. Some colors help enhance your mood and productivity, while others help you relax. Choose wisely but don’t feel obligated to stick to all-white walls.
Hide the Wires and Cables
Staring at tons of wires and cables all day long isn’t too appealing. Instead, hide all the wires and cables in your office using cable covers. You can also feed all of your wires through a hole in the back of a drawer on your desk.
Drill a hole on the back of one of the drawers and keep all your wires inside that drawer for a clutter-free space!
These Home Office Hacks Will Make Working at Home a Delight
Working at home seems wonderful at first, but it doesn’t come without a few challenges. Remaining organized and productive are two of those challenges. Using this advice for working remotely, we hope you’re now able to create an ideal office space for you.
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