Working from home has become a “new normal” for most of us during the second quarter of 2020. In this set-up, the central part of your working hours will take place in the home office. For others, this means using the kitchen table and the living room. For some, a home office must have its own room of operations and so all the tasks must be done there each day.
When you have a designated room as your home office area, you should make it an enjoyable and comfortable working space. The home office should increase your productive mood by doing some strategic hacks that can help you look forward to work every day.
What puts you in a productive mood?
Before improving your workplace, the main question is to define your work perspective and mood variations. Perhaps reminding yourself of your goals is enough reason to start and be productive each day. Consider your work ethics and take note of the things that keep you motivated. Perhaps the idea of minimalism puts you in the right mindset or maybe adding item organizers will do. You should identify your lifestyle and point of view first in order to increase the functionality of your home office
If it’s hard for you to define the things that trigger a productive mood for you, then you will really have a tough time improving your workspace on anything more than a cosmetic level. Spend some time recreating this area, look for useful safco products, and put everything in place! Here are some hacks that can help you!
Play some good tunes going.
Have a high-quality speaker in your home office. You can attach it to your computer or phone. It is recommendable to have a specific playlist for different kinds of work and concentration levels. For many individuals, listening to music while working gives an unexplainable boost to their creativity, productivity, and memory retention. This might also work for you!
If you need to internalize some analytical works, like financial related tasks, you need to play something relaxing like jazz and other instrumental classics. Let’s say you are working in the entertainment industry as a graphic designer, you need to play something that can upbeat your creativity. If you need to brainstorm and analyze, use soothing sounds. When you need to wake up your imagination, use your own preference of playlist. Listening to music while working might not be helpful for everyone. But for those whose good mood is triggered by good music, this is such an incredible idea.
Keep all distractions away.
It is necessary to remove all distractions around you. Distraction is the root of procrastination. During your break time, it is advisable to do something just for fun because it can help you feel energized when you return to work. You can play for half an hour with your kids, watch your favorite tv show, or make an espresso. It may be an online game on your computer or just play a guitar in the corner – whatever you find enjoyable, and can be enjoyed in a relatively short amount of time.
But remember to keep them out of reach and out of sight during working hours because you might end up spending more time distracted and playing than actually working. If you find you spend a lot of time in the office but not working productively, it may be because your distractions are out in the open where you’re easily tempted to do it. Hide them, or learn to follow some serious self-control.
Use your task routine to get you excited.
How do you start and end each day? What is the first task that you do the moment you enter your home office? Open your email? Check out your schedule? Open Skype for everyday huddles? Whatever comes first, you need to have a routine. Focus on one task at a time. Some immediately send all emails in the morning and do follow-ups. Others end the day with emails and follow-ups, too. Whatever makes your day productive, stick with that routine.
Apart from creating a strict schedule, you can hack yourself into getting excited. You can bring a cup of coffee while browsing on daily tasks. You can have a light and healthy snack every 3 hours as a reward. You can try saving hours of work by focusing on the list of things to be done and using the extra hours for yourself.
Get an indoor plant.
Plants have this amazing touch that can convert any place into a relaxing one. These greens do not only add beauty to your home office but also cleanse the air pollutants. It makes your atmosphere cleaner, when your air is clean your mind will become clear. If your area is next to your garden, opening the window for a few hours is an awesome hack that can save you from buying an extra indoor plant. Make sure you search about the variety of plants before you buy because some of them are poisonous when consumed. So be mindful, especially when you have kids and pets.
Lighting and color.
Yes, this is the thing that most interior designers talk about. It is true that the color of the walls in a room can detect your mood. Yellow walls can trigger stress and arguments when used in a home office. Orange and red walls can make you want to shoot your head by the heavy vibe it can give to you. As the experts say, you can never go wrong with a white wall. This is absolutely true! But if you cannot stand a plain white wall, adding an accent of any color on one side is fine. Choose the color that makes you in a good mood. If your office walls have been painted with an exaggerating color, you absolutely need to repaint it.
A good home office must have plenty of natural light in, without reflecting on your computer screen. If you don’t have access to natural light, synthetic cool white will do. Do not choose warm white as it can make you dizzy because it’s designed for relaxation and sleep. So the best choice is still the cool white or daylight, the beam can may you productive.
Working from home is an exciting opportunity. The real challenge is how to be productive without someone’s supervision from time to time. Do some of the hacks above and make it easier to accommodate your client’s schedule. Changing your environment can help you accomplish more from your workday.
