The arrival of an unprecedented pandemic has prompted many of us to think creatively about our working arrangements. Since congregating in the office constitutes an unthinkable risk, we must instead think about how we can get the same workload done at home. In many cases, this is a bit of a tall order, as some of the spaces we found ourselves using just haven’t been built with work in mind.
This situation is far from ideal, from a productivity point of view. And thus many of us might begin to take action to fix things. But exactly what might this action look like?
Decluttering
Being surrounded by junk has a proven negative effect on a person’s state of mind, and the ease with which they’re able to focus on the task at hand. Thus, a clear-out becomes necessary. Superfluous items can be ejected from the spare rooms into nooks, under beds or stowed away into lofts. Once the junk is removed and the room cleared you can start to add in the office essentials like a desk, chair, whiteboards, lighting and indoor plants. Extra storage can be purchased, and, once tradespeople are allowed in, fitted solutions can be brought to bear on the problem.
Access Control
Having just anyone in your household be able to waltz into your office space is just asking for trouble. Therefore, ensure that the office spaces came with a door, and that everyone respects the boundary that it represents.
Fitted Furniture
Installing custom-fitted furniture allows us to make optimal use of the available space. Those smaller corners, which had been sitting there unoccupied, end up being filled. This, in turn, generates space elsewhere in the room. For many of us, our improvised offices are made from rooms where space is at a premium; fitted furniture allows us to make the best possible use of it.
Getting the Right Chair
If you’re going to be sitting in the same chair for eight hours a day, for months on end, then it follows that you should make sure that it’s not only comfortable, but conducive to long term spinal-health. This might mean splashing the cash on a huge leather chair – but sometimes, this ambition didn’t match with the size of the space, and a more compact alternative office chair can instead be brought in.
Balancing Work-Life
When your office is just a few paces from your bedroom, it can be difficult to find that winning balance between your home life and your work life. Getting around this problem might mean setting a rigid schedule, aided by productivity apps which block distracting websites. It might just mean remembering to take five every few hours to refresh yourself.
