Working from Home: How to set up A Comfortable Workspace
Three simple tips to creating a comfortable home office space
- Define Boundaries, Separate and Isolate
If you live alone then boundaries may not apply to you but if you have a family or live with other people it may be a big deal especially if they are not working from home like you are. It's always advisable that you also schedule your work-from-Home time, so if you used to resume at the office by 9 am to 5 pm try to maintain that, it will definitely help your productivity level and endeavor to observe the lunch breaks too. Avoid spending all your time working because you work from home. Separate work time from family time, that way, your family or friends at home will give you that work time-space.
Isolate yourself and don't give room for distractions. Build your own home office or use a makeshift space as an office and make sure to keep your relaxation space and workspace apart. Some workdays can be critical and would require deep thinking you must find some inspiration maybe through music so that you don't get overwhelmed.
- Make the Space Comfortable
Creating comfort in your workspace is very important. Comfort can be both physical and mental. You don't want to have a bland space, a dull space can be uninspiring and boring, few things to get your workspace appealing are rejuvenating your walls with wall treatment that appeals to you, mini wall decor that can help you think or calm you down. Maybe a beautiful painting, also make sure to declutter the space. If you can, let an ample amount of sunlight in, install bright lights especially if you need to read or handle physical documents. I have white light and warm light, most times I prefer the warm light because I work on my system most of the time, so it kind of balances the light that gets into my eyes.
A little bit of greenery also helps make your space comfortable, get miniature table plants, wall plants, or flowers, it can calm your mind and ease up your workflow.
3. Choose Furniture for your Home Workspace.
Earlier we said separate and isolate in your home office but what if you don't have enough space at home to create your home office? That's where time and space management comes in. I don't have a separate workspace at home, but I have a foldable desk and a swivel chair. So I can work in the bedroom or the living room sometimes, and when I'm done working I fold the table and put it aside. So this is something you can do, get a foldable mobile table or a small office desk that doesn't require much space. Your table and desk are as crucial as the work you do. I’m a furniture expert too so I know how bad furniture can affect your health. A client contacted me and said he needed to get a new chair that he had added weight sitting at home during the lockdown and His back had been injured because of a long time seating in a bad chair, so he wanted a recliner massage chair which is really good but expensive, too bad he can't afford it right now.” prevention is better than cure” it’s cheaper to prevent an ailment because treatment may be impossible or costly.
Let's talk about ergonomics for a bit, when working from home a lot of people think it's just ok to sit at the dining table. The dining chairs are good, but they are not built to give you comfort or protect your back from sitting for long hours, they are often hard and not adjustable. Ergonomics is the process of designing or arranging workplaces, products, and systems so that they fit the people who use them, According to Safe Work Australia, the total economic cost of work-related injuries and illnesses is estimated to be 60 billion dollars. Recent research has shown that lower back pain is the world’s most common work-related disability – affecting employees from offices. when you go to buy a chair and table ask for the ones with proper seating ergonomics. if you are not sure your setup has the proper ergonomics, this is how to test it "sit appropriately in your chair, put your hands in your lap comfortably. Where your elbow lands is the same height that you want your tabletop to be, to check this, sit and slide on to your table; if you have to lift your arm to reach the tabletop, you are too low. You should be able to slide your arm over the table without lifting your shoulder up.” this should protect you from little back injuries that will begin to show up later in life, this is called “microtraumas”: the tiny strains we put on our joints and muscles that slowly worsens over time. But if you still insist on sitting on your sofa to work, which I sometimes do, put a lot of pillows behind you so your back can be upright and not curved forward to keep your spine safe. Take a glance at our furniture store; you can shop for the best items to make your work from home easy.
There is however a huge temptation to get lazy and become sedentary while working from home, if you don't have an active fitness lifestyle, try to pace around or stand for some moments while working, use an adjustable work desk so that you can stand and work too, or plan to take evening walks or early morning walks to keep your mental and physical health intact as well as crush your work and productivity goals.
Be kind to share this piece with a friend who needs to see this and drop a comment if you have been working from home, let's know how you have been keeping safe and productive. Share your own tips with us.