According to the ONS, flexi-time is on the rise, with a 12.35% increase over the 2012 – 2016 period. ONS data shows a whooping number of 4.2 million people already working from home on regular basis in 2015. Since then, this number has tremendously increased, as more and more companies started to acknowledge the benefits of allowing their employees to work from home.
Whether you are someone else’s employee working from home or you are running your own small business, you may have realised the great advantages of not having to commute to and from work every day. Unfortunately, many of us need to put up with endless distractions. Drawing the limit between professional activities and personal life can be a tough challenge.
This article shares some of the best home office setup tips to help you gain a better understanding of what works for other professional like you.
– Ergonomic work setting that allows you to alternate sitting and standing
– Comfortable office chair is an absolute must
– Enforcement of office hours
– Comprehensive insurance coverage
– Separation of your home office from the rest of your living space
– Keeping interruptions at a minimum
– Clear separation between business and pleasure (from financial standpoint)
– Securing your personal comfort
– Keeping a work routine
– Taking frequent breaks from work
– Daring to break up your routine
Working from your own home can easily lead to dissolving the boundaries between work and your personal life. One idea that can help keeping things separate is to set up a separate business phone number for your home office.
Julia said she often finds that if she has to sit and work for a long time, she becomes uncomfortable. “The more I focus on my work, the more I start to feel uncomfortable in my sitting. Investing in a high-quality office chair is an absolute must, if you want to protect your health and well-being and to prevent distractions caused by various pains and stiffness in your body”.
Finding a dedicated space in your home to set up your office will allow you to work without distractions and without interfering with the activities of other members of your family. Also, you can create a more productive work environment by personalising it to suit your needs and your preferences.
Check your insurance policy to see whether it covers your home office. You may need to buy additional coverage or even purchase a separate commercial liability insurance policy.
One of the most frequent pet peeves among people who work from home is that their friends and family feel free to interrupt them since there’s no boss to hold you accountable for your working time. You need to make it very clear to everyone that they shouldn’t interrupt you when you are in your “office.” Set your boundaries right off the bat and don’t allow anyone to break these boundaries without a solid reason.
Keep your business and personal checking and savings accounts separate. This will save you a lot of hassle at tax time. O enjoy working from home because I can work when, where and how I want – dressed on not dressed, on my couch, at my desk, or even in my backyard. I also love that I can create the type of environment I feel good living in.
The best way to avoid getting sidetracked is to keep a to-do list for the day and stick to it as closely as possible.
Bring real plants into your home office. Not only they are beautiful, but they also help clean the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen instead. If you’re not good at caring for your plants, choose some that are extremely resistant such as aloe vera and dracaena.
Working in a real office forces you to take occasional breaks from work, whether you feel the need for a coffee or you want to have lunch. When you work from home, you may not feel this urge to stop working. Remember to take breaks to have a coffee or even to take your dog to the park.