In recent years most homeowners have found a need to have a home office in their living space. But how do you design a home office for maximum productivity? Here are some top tips to make the most of your home working space.

How to organize your home office for maximum productivity?

One of the legacies of the pandemic is that working from home is now a more acceptable occurrence. Businesses were surprised that productivity was still high with office-based roles working remotely, even among teams.

For the individual working from home there are many benefits;. There are fewer hours commuting. You have fewer commuting costs. And most importantly you can make better use of free time and liberate more time. In the past couple of years, a home office has become a necessity for many people.

The pandemic crisis forced many businesses to close their doors and unnecessary travel was restricted. Hence most of us found the need for a working space in the home. Fortunately, we have affordable technology that could make this happen relatively easily.

Design a home office with a comfortable working space

You may already have lots of  office design ideas in mind, and are looking for ways to improve to create a more comfortable space. Indeed you may want a more luxurious home office  design to fit more readily in your home. Or perhaps you are reading this blog for advice on how to design a home office that will be productive and comfortable?

We’re going to be looking at how best to lay out your office for the most effective working environment, so let’s begin by talking about furniture.

Choose simple style furnishings

The key to a workable home office lies at first in finding the right space. If you are lucky enough to have a spare room that is the ideal choice. Some homeowners have converted a loft space for an office, others a garage or basement, and you can use a corner of a room that is not used by others during the day. Let’s say you have your space identified, and now you need to furnish it, so where do you start?

Simplicity is another key factor in a productive office design. There is no need for a large fancy desk in the modern office and if you start by looking at these mid-century design brands you should see why a simple, modern style desk and comfortable dedicated ergonomic chair need not cost the earth.

Choose simple styles, a small office chair to suit your personal needs, make sure it fits the space you have to use. Then you’ll have all your basics in place.

Equip your office with the right tools

You also need to invest in – or get your company to – the right apps and tools to perform your role to the best of your ability. Whatever your job, you will know that you need a well appointed computer system to get the job done. There are many great apps for accounting, for example, or booking and appointments.

There are also various tools for video calls and communications. You and your team should look closely at the all the options to choose the best for you.

Check the office tools suit when you want to design a home office

Next you need to ensure you have the right tools to fulfil your role effectively. It is a vital point to consider when you design a home office. This means you have a PC or laptop, a good broadband connection, and a telephone connection. If your job involves taking regular calls from customers you may also want to invest in a headset. This will make answering and making calls easier.

Now, how do you lay out all the items and equipment you need? Well, there should not be much in a modern office – although it will depend upon your job – so let’s have a look at why having everything you need within easy reach is essential.

Plan everything within reach when you design a home office

Where ease of use of the equipment and other tools you need to do your job is concerned, having everything in the right place goes a long way to helping improve your productivity. Think of your car: all the controls, buttons, and switches are where you’d expect them to be. That’s what you need when you design a home office – an ergonomic set up that aids efficient working.

Even if we’re talking minor items such as pen holders, or larger devices – perhaps a printer or scanner – having them where you can reach without having to get up and walk to them is a major bonus. It’s worth getting together all the items you regularly use and laying them out on the desk as you want them for a trial run. These are some of our favorite home office designs where it is all practical and to hand.

What to do about storage ?

• Use the Cloud for space saving – There is no need for a computer with massive amounts of storage anymore as you should be using the cloud. This is the most efficient method of storing documents and information – as well as the safest and most secure – and many tools are available to enable you to use cloud storage.  This also means you don’t need a PC with a large external box, you can buy a slim all-in-one PC that does the job just as well – and often better – while taking up less space.
• Go paperless and eco-friendly – One area in which a home office should be looking at is that of becoming paperless. It’s not a new concept. However, not storing hard copies of information does mean you can use the available space more readily. And you no longer need a filing cabinet or storage unit.

Of course, these are modern home office ideas. There will be roles where this is not possible, yet you should attempt to limit the use of paper as much as possible. Using the cloud – see above – is one way of becoming more eco-friendly.

A final word on how to design a home office

The above is simply a brief guide on how to design a home office and if you are looking to do so, start by defining the space where it will go. That way, you know what you have to play with in terms of available area.

Further reading on working from home and housesitting

At Housesitmatch.com we like to share useful blogs and practical advice about housesitters, housesitting and pet sitting. We hope you find this small selection of our blogs on house sitters useful.

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Working from home with pets

Housesitters keep pets safe at home and save money

What a housesitter does – Top 10 responsibilities

Top dog sitting tips for beginners