Own your workplace
In my opinion, for anyone who works at home, not having a dedicated workplace is a time and energy waster.
You do not require an entire room for your office, you just need a dedicated space where everything you need is within reach, and you can safely leave work-in-progress.
Over the years I have had my workplace in lots of different rooms – on the bench in the gym, island in kitchen, table in the living room under a window and now, a lovely functional JYSK desk in our home office. You don’t need a ton of space, but it needs to be your own!
Here are some simple tips for setting up your personal workplace:
Find a permanent location. Our living room is usually free during the day, but at night, this is where sports are watched, puzzles are picked at, and laundry gets folded. Who’s winning? Just one more puzzle piece. All distractions throwing me off my game completely. I found the island in kitchen was the perfect height and deliciously close to snacks, but come mealtime, I was constantly packing up and moving stuff around. Complete waste of time and energy getting newly settled when it was time to get to work. Find a quiet space, preferably with a door you can close and make it your own.
Make your workplace functional. Let’s be honest, sometimes people can be unpleasant to be around, and uncomfortable situations do occur. Sitting at your desk for hours at a time, should not doom you to a career of neck and posterior chain pain (wink) or sore wrists and fingers. Proper ergonomics, including correct chair size and positioning, adequate desk space for monitors and room to spread out can alleviate working at an uncomfortable angle.
I drink 2 to 4 liters of H20 a day and have a designated safe zone for my water, within arms reach yet far enough away from files, electronics, and my heart-warmers. My heart-warmers are a framed cartoon, a pic of my handsome hubby and a silly magnetic rooster on my desk.
Keep supplies at your fingertips. This means you don’t keep the spare toner in the trunk of your car, tape in the gym, and the stapler on top of the fan in the bedroom. Yup, that is where I found the stapler, oscillating on top of the fan! Everything you use for work needs to stay in your workspace, ideally you will too, let your family know these are your money making tools - paws off.
Stay afloat in n a sea of paper. In any given day I deal with receipts, invoices, and checklists, dealing with paperwork can feel like a time-consuming chore. I created a business support system consisting of a small filing cabinet that doubles as the printer stand, shelving in the closet and banker boxes. Boxes are great, I label and date them, making it fast and easy to refer to when needed. Plus, it is perfect for when it comes time to shred them, eliminating the need to sort through them again. In the past we have popped a dresser in a closet for storage. I used one drawer for supplies, one for files and the other for books and manuals. Removing the delays and burdens that come with managing a never-ending paper trail, reduced costs, mistakes and wasted time.
I hope you enjoyed this read, pop me a comment, I would love to hear what heart-warmers you keep close by.