Work Home Money

What are the most important five things to consider when you’re setting up a home office?

1. Equipment.

Speed and efficiency both are very much critical at your home office. Your computers, Internet connection, software, copier machines, phones all should be fast and efficient. Otherwise you tend to waste your valuable time. I suffered from it personally. My laptop had some problems and it became very slow. After wasting good amount of time, I got it formatted and fixed by a technical guy. I had a broadband connection for my home office that offered me actual speed of 512 kpbs. Later, I switched to 2 Mpbs speed broadband connection. Get the fastest equipment possible.

While buying any equipment, makes sure to decide carefully. Some of the equipments you do not use regularly. In that case, you may not need to buy it. If you do not use a copier all the time, then it is better to pay a visit to the nearest copier shop.

I prefer a wireless hub for my home office and so I have a wireless broadband connection at my home office. It offers me flexibility to work from any space in my home office. Flexibility to move around in your office offers great help in creative thinking and problem solving.

You also need a separate phone line for you home office because if your clients calls you twice or thrice and finds the busy tone every time, then you may lose many clients. Having a conferencing system in your phone really helps.

Get a local responsive computer support team that comes to your home office when you need them.

Do not forget to get insurance for the equipment. In case of a loss or a disaster, the insurer will pay for the damages. There are special policies for home workers.

2. Lighting

Lighting, specifically good lighting is very important. Allow more natural light in your home office. Having a window will help you to get maximum daylight. Daylight or the sunlight has every color in equal proportion and so it shows different color based on reflection and refraction. Having as much daylight as possible, in your working area not only helps your eyes but also helps to reduce your cost.
If you do not have natural daylight, then what do you do? In that case you would need a combination of general and task lighting.  A high-quality task light will help you during late nights or cloudy days. In case you have your office of your work from home business in the basement, then use daylight-replicating light sources, which provides energy-efficient, full-spectrum lighting.

Avoid glares and so do not place overhead lighting directly above computer screens. Also avoid putting a computer screen directly in front of a light source. These measures will help you to get rid of eyestrain.

Colors have their own qualities and the most effective lighting brings out the fullest quality of the colors. If your workspace has low levels of lighting, then it may have negative psychological effects (depression, tension and others). A yellow-cast illumination is the best for human.

You should be able to control the brightness and intensity of the light sources you use.

3. Privacy

You need privacy in your home office, because without privacy you will not be able to 100 percent effective. If there is noise or interruptions, then you cannot concentrate and produce the maximum work. You need support of your family but it should not hamper your work. While planning and designing your office space, make sure you take enough care to get the desired privacy.

You should be able to stop noise, interruptions, unwanted people and activities from cutting into your time. Wearing headphone to avoid noise is a short term solution. You need something permanent here. You can use bookcases as dividing walls or portable screens to create dividers.

Get a door to your home office if possible. If not add signage (”No interruptions” or “Quiet please” or “work time”) to remind others to avoid disturbing you.

4. Layout/organization

Organization is - “a place for everything and everything in its place.” It’s true. To avoid stress later and to become 100 percent productive, you need to organize your home office. Your home office layout should be able to keep you organized.

Your desk in your main work area and it should be clean and organized. Your desk will house your laptop, desktop or other machines that you need. There will be papers on it. You need to file them perfectly. Your “work going on,” “pending,” and “completed” papers and items should be in there proper place. Organization of your desk should be so that whenever you need any item or paper, you should be able to pick it up within seconds. The desk should be clean.

Finding items or papers on your desk wastes lots of time which reduces your productivity.

Solution:

Use different files, pencil trays, pencil cups, business card holders, paper filers etc. to keep pencils, papers, business cards in their respective places. Buy containers, pencil stands, trays, paper trays etc from a good stationary shop.

Check out:

Italian product designer and manufacturer EmmeBi (It has amazing examples of how it organizes an office)

Find items you need at Target, Ikea and other stores.

5. Ergonomics

Working on your work at home business is important but your health is also important and so you need to take care of your ergonomics. Your health, safety and welfare are very much critical. So while shopping for items used in your home office, make sure you understand and keep in mind ergonomics.

If you use a computer most of the time, then check for a computer chair which is suitable for a long time sitting. Chair manufacturers have evolved and they have created designs after researching the biomechanics of seating. Task chairs are good for people who sit and work on a computer the entire day.

Chairs:

Keilhauer has some chairs that feature a pelvis balance point and free shoulder technology. It supports your back and spine during computer work.

Humanscale is another manufacturer which has done research investing great amount of time and effort to study the needs of the human body and has created some really good options.

Invest in the best furniture so that they take care of your health. 

Also consider other furniture and equipments such as foot rests, ergonomic mouse instruments (ergonomically shaped to fit your hand) and soft keyboard pads that allow rest and relaxation for the wrist. 

All these well researched products will ensure your safety and well being while working at home and will provide you comfort.

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