While working from home lends to its fair share of benefits, i.e., car-free commutes and improved work-life balance, these setups can force working professionals to slay dragons exclusive to WFH life. According to Stanford News, one of the pitfalls of working from home is the distraction of restless children and dishes that pile up. Not to mention, with your memory foam mattress within walking distance of your home office, optimizing productivity can feel like yet another burdensome and mentally-taxing to-do list item.
However, despite popular misconceptions, optimizing workday productivity can be as simple as making a trip to your local office supplies store. While it may seem like an impossible task, boosting at-home productivity is also possible by communicating with your team, setting goals, and furnishing your workspace in a way that meets your needs.
How to set up your home office
As a first step, consider signing up for a virtual office. That way, you and your team can maintain optimal productivity, despite the unconventional circumstances. Besides boosting your business credibility, virtual offices can help business owners manage packages, phone calls, and emails through the app, granting them complete access 24/7, no matter where they are.
With affordable virtual office packages on the market, you can find a deal that meets your individual needs whether you’re a solo professional, a small business looking to reach a larger audience, or you’re working for a large company,
After finding the perfect virtual office, business owners and executives’ next step is furnishing the optimal work-space—and here’s how.
The essentials
Quality furniture
Spending an entire day hovering over a desk isn’t ideal. However, since it’s a necessity when working from home, the comfort factor is critical. Consider investing in high-quality pieces that provide maximum support. Desks and desk chairs are the central points of your makeshift office, and investing in the best will pay off in the long run.
Technology & High-Speed Internet
If you work for yourself, or your company doesn’t equip you with the necessary technology, make sure your computer is updated. Additionally, make sure downloading all the required programs is a top priority. For example, downloading Microsoft Office will be your jump-start to completing day-to-day tasks with ease. A strong Wi-Fi connection is also a key ingredient in the success of any work assignment, so be sure that your Wi-Fi is up to speed so that you can keep the pace up. For those remote workers looking to cover all of their bases, keeping up to date on modems and routers is the best way to ensure optimum productivity levels.
Work-from-home attire
Zoom meetings have become the norm when it comes to interacting with clients and colleagues. With this in mind, you’ll want to keep background noise to a minimum. In most cases, the sounds of slamming doors, side conversations, and kitchen appliances at work will distract employees from the vital information discussed.
Are you looking for a solution? Noise-canceling headphones allow users to communicate with their peers and focus on the tasks at hand. If you’re looking to keep up with the latest-and-greatest WFH home trends, splurge on a pair of noise-canceling headphones—2020’s most popular accessory.
While a reliable pair of headphones is a must, the work-from-home dress code suddenly becomes flexible when peers only see you from the waist up. However, if you find yourself struggling to get work done, try slipping on professional business attire to pull you out of your slump.
Organization storage
Working from home typically means there’s an overlap between your workspace and living space. To keep these spaces separate, purchase extra storage bins so that you can put away your work when it is time to clock out. With a few affordable bins and baskets, you’ll keep the area looking homey and inviting without draining your bank account.
Flash-drives, pencil holders, and filing cabinets are all great options to keep things nice and tidy while still showing off personality through designs and colors.
At the end of the day
Remote work requires adjustment but investing in the right tools to ensure productivity will swoop in to save the day, should you find yourself idling. Since there isn’t a foreseeable end to the work-from-home norm, you’ll need to channel the interior decorator inside and shop for office supplies wisely.
