Many of us are getting used to the idea of working from home ever since the MCO lockdown started. However, working from the same spot at home day in and out without a change in scenery can get boring real quick.
Whether you’re a freelancer or a newbie at WFH (work from home), here are some ways you can add a spark to your home office and increase your productivity at the same time.
1. Carve out a home workspace
First things first, you have to clear a space to be converted into your home office. This helps you to separate your work from your life which is especially useful when you sign off from work. There are several ways to do this.
Other than having a work table, you can use curtains as space dividers to section off a corner at home. If you don’t have the luxury of using a different room as an office, you can easily create a workspace reserving a section the dining table or utilising a lap desk too.
2. Organise the chaos
Once you have your workspace picked out, it’s time to organise the chaos. Use drawers, containers, letter trays, files or bookends to manage the stationery, papers and small items such as pen drives on the desk.
To organise the number of cables around you, you can fashion a DIY cable box using old cardboard boxes or plastic containers with holes cut in. Items that aren’t used for work, such as books and opened letters, should be relegated to the bookshelves or drawers.
3. Take charge of your schedule
With the chaos in order, you can now take full charge of your work schedule. Some items that can help include a desk calendar and a clock to help you keep track of time.
For those who feel creative, you can also design your own calendar or schedule template using apps online. Online task management systems such as Trello can help reduce the clutter, as well as old-fashioned Post-it notes.
4. Decorate your space
A sterile work environment does not encourage much productivity either. This can be easily remedied by decorating the workspace with small items.
It can be as simple as having a small potted plant to brighten your day or beautiful coasters to protect your table from watermarks. A cute pen holder also makes a nice addition on the table with some photos.
Set a calming ambience by lighting up a candle or put an aroma diffuser in the room. Perhaps, it’s a good time to bring out the old cork or magnet board to decorate the home office, and to get some creative juices running too.
5. A change of scenery
After working for weeks at home, it may get a little boring because it looks the same every day. When working in the same space no longer inspires productivity, it’s time for a change of scenery.
If you don’t have another room or area in the house to switch places, you can experiment by making a sit or stand workstation in the same spot. Worse come to worse, you can always change up the décor of your home office.
And the beauty is, you can even get everything you need to create the perfect home office online!
Link to the BUZZ iPaper, click HERE
