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9 Hardworking Home Office Ideas to Keep You Focused
If you work hard, so should your home office. Stealing some of these targeted ideas will keep you on task
Serious at-home workers aren’t afraid to invest in fixtures and fittings that will transform their home office into a place that encourages a diligent work ethic. To create a home office that is a buzzy hub of ideas or a haven of calm, and to keep you to your deadlines to boot, adopt some of these hardworking ideas. Some you may need to incorporate in the planning stage, others you can adapt to a pre-existing office, but all will keep you focused on the task at hand.
2. Shine brightly
You should try to enforce a strict nine-to-five regime, but if you must work till the wee hours occasionally, you’ll need to ensure you have quality LED down lights or similar bright lighting. If you need directional light on your work, buy some standing lamps, but if space on your desktop is tight, you can still have task lighting with wall-mounted jieldé-style lights that can extend over your work, as seen here.
You should try to enforce a strict nine-to-five regime, but if you must work till the wee hours occasionally, you’ll need to ensure you have quality LED down lights or similar bright lighting. If you need directional light on your work, buy some standing lamps, but if space on your desktop is tight, you can still have task lighting with wall-mounted jieldé-style lights that can extend over your work, as seen here.
3. Spread out
It’s essential that you have plenty of table space when you are working. Use a desk that is at least a couple of metres long and at least a metre wide. A large desk (or two) means several people can work at the same time. Enamelled paint or two-pack poly surfaces are clinical but are great for feeling like you are in a smart work zone. Desks with caster wheels on the base of the legs makes them easy to move around. Also, a handsome and generous sized desk doubles up for both dining and working.
Where to put your desk
It’s essential that you have plenty of table space when you are working. Use a desk that is at least a couple of metres long and at least a metre wide. A large desk (or two) means several people can work at the same time. Enamelled paint or two-pack poly surfaces are clinical but are great for feeling like you are in a smart work zone. Desks with caster wheels on the base of the legs makes them easy to move around. Also, a handsome and generous sized desk doubles up for both dining and working.
Where to put your desk
4. Be inspired
Get your creative juices flowing by building up a mood board full of inspirational images. A long panel of cork is ideal for this purpose. An extra generous area gives you the opportunity to pin up plenty of favourite photographs and illustrations for stimulation. Perhaps even a few holiday snaps will provide some additional motivation to keep you committed to the end game, and its possible rewards. This mood board can also help you keep track of a project as it develops and firmly focused on the task at hand.
Get your creative juices flowing by building up a mood board full of inspirational images. A long panel of cork is ideal for this purpose. An extra generous area gives you the opportunity to pin up plenty of favourite photographs and illustrations for stimulation. Perhaps even a few holiday snaps will provide some additional motivation to keep you committed to the end game, and its possible rewards. This mood board can also help you keep track of a project as it develops and firmly focused on the task at hand.
5. Shelve it
Custom-built floor-to-ceiling shelving is the perfect way to store an abundance of files or reference books. Invest in storage you can tailor to your needs. Choose a storage system with lots of units in different sizes and shapes so that there is a combination to suit. Keep documents and other items neat and accessible in smart, semi-opaque stocking boxes.
Custom-built floor-to-ceiling shelving is the perfect way to store an abundance of files or reference books. Invest in storage you can tailor to your needs. Choose a storage system with lots of units in different sizes and shapes so that there is a combination to suit. Keep documents and other items neat and accessible in smart, semi-opaque stocking boxes.
6. Make it work
Utilise every inch by squeezing a work station into a corridor. Fit a desk and floating shelves and add doors to shut the mini office away. Even if you don’t have scope for a dedicated work area, some creative thinking can put even the smallest spot to good use. Whether its a workstation in your living room, on a landing or even tucked under the stairs, there are lots of nooks that can double up. Defining the area by using different furniture helps to draw a line and make it easier to focus – and also to relax when you are away from it.
Space-saving ideas for small home offices
Utilise every inch by squeezing a work station into a corridor. Fit a desk and floating shelves and add doors to shut the mini office away. Even if you don’t have scope for a dedicated work area, some creative thinking can put even the smallest spot to good use. Whether its a workstation in your living room, on a landing or even tucked under the stairs, there are lots of nooks that can double up. Defining the area by using different furniture helps to draw a line and make it easier to focus – and also to relax when you are away from it.
Space-saving ideas for small home offices
7. Remember: tidy desk, tidy mind
Keep your desktop clear of clutter, and wipe it down regularly. Computer screens should also get a once over with a wipe now and then – a microfibre cloth similar to the type used to clean spectacles is ideal for this purpose. Aim for lots of natural light, as a vibrant ambience will make you more productive. If you can, take advantage of the light source flooding into the room and place your desk under a window.
Keep your desktop clear of clutter, and wipe it down regularly. Computer screens should also get a once over with a wipe now and then – a microfibre cloth similar to the type used to clean spectacles is ideal for this purpose. Aim for lots of natural light, as a vibrant ambience will make you more productive. If you can, take advantage of the light source flooding into the room and place your desk under a window.
8. Personalise with style
A work area should be the most uplifting space you can create, so an office full of things you find inspiring will help. Make it easy to integrate a work station seamlessly into the room by choosing a sturdy secondhand desk and office chair. You also might like to include industrial antiques, such as old filing cabinets and vintage sorting units from decommissioned post offices or train stations, to help you sought your storage.
A work area should be the most uplifting space you can create, so an office full of things you find inspiring will help. Make it easy to integrate a work station seamlessly into the room by choosing a sturdy secondhand desk and office chair. You also might like to include industrial antiques, such as old filing cabinets and vintage sorting units from decommissioned post offices or train stations, to help you sought your storage.
9. Consider purpose built
An architect can combine all the best features that you might want in your home office, such as a library and even a view. This built-in mezzanine office includes computer desks, walls of bookshelves and beautiful timber panelling.
TELL US
How do you keep yourself focused on your work in an office at home? Tell us about your home office’s best feature in the Comments section.
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An architect can combine all the best features that you might want in your home office, such as a library and even a view. This built-in mezzanine office includes computer desks, walls of bookshelves and beautiful timber panelling.
TELL US
How do you keep yourself focused on your work in an office at home? Tell us about your home office’s best feature in the Comments section.
MORE
Dream Spaces: Home Offices You’ll be Delighted to Work In
Working From Home? Set Up an Office That Gets You in the Flow
The Home Office Detox … That’ll Prep You for a Productive New Year
If you work at home on a full-time or even part-time basis, it makes sense to devote an entire space to the cause. Aim for lots of natural light, as a vibrant ambience will make you more productive. In this attic conversion, a smart, spacious office has been created under the home’s roof. A dormer skylight admits plenty of natural light that bounces around the white walls; a soft grey feature wall provides a contrasting backdrop to white shelving, framed artwork and an office pin board; a couple of white desks provide plenty of work surface area; and a cowhide brings warmth to the space.