Making WFH work for you
For a lot of us, WFH is the new normal. In an ideal world we'd all live in giant houses with a dedicated room to use as an office, where you could shut the door at the end of the day or week and leave work behind.
If you're anything like me then unfortunately that is not the case. So I've compiled a few tips to help make working from home that bit easier.
Zone your space
Without a commute, the "new normal" means that the line between work and home is now a blurry one.
If we can’t physically leave the home office, it is so important to be able to mentally leave it so that we’re not carrying our work and stress into our evenings and weekends. We can do this by dedicating parts of our room to working and other parts to relaxing.
There are a few ways we can visually divide a room into zones:
Rugs can be used to literally mark out the zones in your room to create a good visual separation of the spaces.
Furniture can be used as a divider. If you have a modular sofa they're perfect for cornering off a zone, or even pointing an armchair inwards, with it's back towards your office space.
Use lighting to your advantage. Have task lighting, like a bright desk lamp for your office zone, and turn it off in the evenings in favour for some mood lighting in your relaxation space.
Point your furniture away from your desk so you can turn your back to it when you need to. Mackenzie Schiek
The office space is very clearly in a different zone in this living room; with armchairs and sofas pointing away from it.
Lighting
Speaking of lighting, if you're prone to headaches like me, then lighting is a very important part of your set up.
If you have natural light then you can use it to your advantage. Putting your desk in front of a window will 1) light up your workspace, 2) help avoid eye strain (and boredom…) - and 3) help provide even, natural lighting so that you don't look like the Phantom of the Opera on zoom.
You'll want a desk lamp, ideally with a cooler hue to help promote alertness and concentration. Just remember to switch it off at the end of the day, and switch on your warmer ambient lighting. This is the first thing I do once I finish working for the day, it signifies that this is now time to relax.
Use multiple light sources to separate out your task lighting from your ambient lighting. Source: apartment therapy.
Comfort
Since 2020 we’ve been hunching over our desks like the Hunchback of Notre Dam. Without ergonomic office chairs and desks, remember to try to keep your screen at eye level, feet firmly on the floor and your keyboard should be in line with your elbows.
Desk chairs don’t have to be ugly! HeadedSomewhere.com
Eames style office chair from Kallevig, pink desk chair from Sklum.
Ergonomic desk chairs don't have to be giant black plastic monstrosities, and having one of those in the corner of your room is going to be a big reminder of work. Choosing an aesthetic chair keeps it decorative and will help to blend into your decor when you’re not using it.
Storage and disguising your desk
Putting away your work stuff, if you can, means that you can forget about work and use your home to relax and unwind in. Desks with storage space is ideal, or use storage boxes to pack everything away into.
You can go one step further and disguise your desk at the weekend; where your laptop would normally be, swap it with a plant, some flowers, a lamp... anything non-work related. The last thing you want when you’re chilling on a Saturday night is to look over at your desk and think “oh, yeah, work…”
This desk folds away so you literally don’t have to look at it when you’re not working! Wayfair.
Hope that helps! Happy working :)
If you’d like my help with your next project whether it’s your home office or otherwise, check out my services to see how we can work together.