5 Ways to Design Your Home Office With Productivity in Mind

5 Ways to Design Your Home Office With Productivity in Mind Feel unmotivated to get work done at your home office? Working from home shouldn’t fill you with dread or stress. There are ways to make your work-from-home environment feel more comfortable and efficient. Your work space needs to be customized to your needs. A few simple design tweaks will make your home office fit for productivity. 5 Ways to Design Your Home Office With Productivity in Mind 1. Create a Stress-Free Zone Ideally, working from home should remove the stress of going into the office. But alas, stress is still going to find you, whether it’s a clueless client or a frozen computer cursor. Maybe you’re a yogaholic. Pick a beautiful area within your home or near a window in your work area, and create a personalized yoga space. Remember that it’s okay to take breaks. What brings you zen? What does your stress-free zone look like? Just be sure it won’t relax you so much that you end up falling asleep. 2. Watch the Clutter! Clutter can be constructive, but there’s a point that clutter threatens to eat both you and your productivity. Be conscious of how clutter may be functional for you, and lose the clutter that isn’t conducive to you getting work done. Minimizing your possessions, especially in your work space, helps you to focus on functionality. You won’t struggle to find what you need, even if it’s in a designated office junk drawer. Don’t keep anything out of guilt, and form a clutter attack and disposal plan. 3. Channel Your Dream Work Space And Find A Focal Point How do you work? What atmosphere do you perform best within? Are you a freelance graphic designer who has been working out of various coffee shops? Do you need a big work space to spread out your swatches and design roughs? Write down what comes to you, and keep your needs in mind. If it’s coffee, set up a mini coffee bar near your desk. If it’s a big table, focus on creating convenient shelving and ambience around this focal point. Push your coffee bar or large work table against a wall. On the wall, add a personal mantra with vinyl lettering for daily motivation. 4. Adjust the Driver’s Seat and Mirrors Metaphorically, that is. Translation â€" your desk chair and computer, silly! You’re going to be at your work space for hours on end. Might as well be sure you are comfortable at your work station. No ten-and-two position necessary here, unless those are the times that you want to take your breaks. Sit in your office chair. Does your chair offer good support for your back? Can you recline just enough to relax but allow for a healthy posture? Your thighs need to be parallel to the floor, and your arms should be perpendicular to the floor. For your computer, the monitor should be at eye level but not strain your eyes. Stop craning your neck. If you know you’re going to keep odd hours, use applications and software that will help reduce the brightness of your screen. 5. Get a Plant Instead of staring outside at nature, bring nature into your home office. Choose a plant that prefers some sun and does well in shade. Basil mint plant smells delicious and does well indoors by a window. Even if you aren’t working by a window, studies show plants have restorative effects on employees who have a plant on their desk. A plant is a great way to get a boost of productivity during work hours, with little nurturing required. Design your work space around your needs and preferences. You know what your distraction temptations are and how best to motivate yourself to get work done. These quick design fixes will enhance your productivity and happiness in your home office. All it takes is a little determination and imagination.