Most people working from home eventually ask themselves, how
can I squeeze more work out of my office in order to reach my
goals? They wonder if the home office was such a wonderful thing
after all.
The following five tips are designed to help you
stimulate some creative thought toward making your office more
serious.
1.
Location, Location
Since most home offices move at least twice,
you can save yourself a bundle of time by choosing the right
room the first time. A dedicated room with a door, well away
from the noisy kitchen or family room, works well. The quietest
rooms in a house tend to be in the attic, the basement, and
the last bedroom at the end of a hallway. If you can't create
physical barriers, consider visual ones. Plants, bookcases,
cabinets, and even lighting can create the illusion of a boundary.
2. High Performance = High
Output
Imagine an airline pilot trying to land while
constantly being bombarded by low priority information. How
does she find that most critical piece of information needed
to make a decision? It's easy to become frustrated and disoriented
when so many things are competing for your attention. Your
office is the same. You, too, need a priority sequence of
tools and information right in front of you, and everything
else can be stored away until you require it. Decide your
top three activities in a day and have all items that support
them within arms reach. Items you use daily or weekly should
be no farther than a roll of a chair away. But, those hard-to-part-with
things that you may need some day; put them in labeled boxes
in the basement or garage. The cost of having too much stuff
in your office is reduced productivity and frustration. If
you can save yourself just 10 minutes per day, that works
out to 40 hours per year.
3. Surface Works
Your work surface must be able to accommodate
the variety of tasks that you do - reading, writing, researching,
and computing - all require a different surface. Most computer
workstations don't even allow enough room for the computer.
The most efficient work surface that allows for multiple functions
is the U-shape. It takes up more floor space, but it wraps
around you like a cockpit.
4. Let there be Illumination
Lighting is the number one contributor to productivity.
Your back may be able to tolerate a bad chair for weeks, but
your eyes will feel the strain of poor lighting within minutes.
Never let any light source shine directly into your eyes,
and remember, brighter is not better. Eliminate all glare
from your computer screen by keeping your monitor at 90 degrees
to all light sources, including windows, or use a glare shield.
And make sure you have a mixture of natural and artificial
lighting, and use multiple light sources - the source for
the room should be dimmer than the one used to illuminate
your immediate work surfaces. And a quality task light should
cast a soft, even light and not a single bright spot on your
desk.
5. Creatures of Comfort
Because we humans thrive on comfort, personalize
your space with golf clubs, riding boots, or your favorite
movie posters - but make sure it doesn't interfere with the
function of your office. Since white paint costs the same
as orange, go wild. Cool colours, such as blues and greens,
tend to slow people down and promote creative thinking, while
hot colours, such as reds and pinks stir people up and promote
interaction. The trick is to find the right shade and mix
with other colours to achieve the desired effect. When you
work from home, you will spend more time in your office than
in any other room of the house; so enjoy.
William Speake is from Design Connection Inc.,
a company specializing in the in-home computerized design
of high performance, high workload Home Offices. They also
carry more than 100 different styles of furniture and accessories.
To visit their Home Office Showcase, call (416) 245-5575.
E-mail
to wspeake@design-connection.com
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