Creating a Home Office: Best Practices and Essentials

Suggestions for a Solid Home Office

In light of global events, many people are required or are choosing to work from home.  Here are a few ideas to help set up a stress-free home office to assist you in your new work environment.  

Choose the Right Space

When choosing the space you will set up your home office, it is important to remember to find space with windows and good lighting, preferably natural light. This can help increase productivity as well as help to decrease the effects of prolonged isolation.  Having a designated space that you get ready and go to every day will help continue the routine you are used to.

Setting up Your Space

Having certain essentials will help ease your transition to a home office.  We have compiled a list of must-haves and then a few perks to help you set up the perfect home office.  Remember that colors matter when decorating your space.  Soft tones can help minimize the amount of stress a transition like this can cause.  Try to keep your space clean and clutter-free as well.

1.  Stand up/sit down desk-  research shows that sitting for long periods of time can be detrimental to health.  We recommend purchasing a desk that can be both a sit-down and stand up desk to help you stay active.

2.  Essential Oil Diffuser- essential oils can help you enhance your workspace in a natural way.  Many essential oils have shown stress-relieving and energizing effects. 

3.  Conferencing speaker/headphones- your job will more than likely include more virtual meetings during this time so a good pair of headphones or a conference speaker can go a long way.  

4. Conferencing software- a good conferencing software will help you stay connected and allow for ease of conferencing.  Try Zoom, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams or GoTo Meeting.  

5.  A good water filter- in order not to be reliant on store-bought plastic water bottles, another option would be to buy a quality water filter to make sure you stay hydrated! 

Good Practices to Remember

1. Take walks and stretch once every hour

2. Stay hydrated- drink 4 oz of water every hour (or more) to stay hydrated and productive.

3. Stay connected- if you have employees, schedule morning telemeetings to answer questions and keep employees reassured of how things are going within the business and within their lives.  

4. Exercise when the afternoon slump hits- see our exercise at home blog for ideas of a quick 10-20 minute workout.

5.  Take time to breathe and meditate- see our mindful blog for more information and resources on this topic.