The coronavirus pandemic has dictated mostly our life decisions for the past few months. From how we need to adjust to social distancing, dining out, and attending to our usual routine.

Most of us are also forced to work at home. Especially for those who are used to starting their day with everything else all set on your table and all you need to do is log your time in on your office computer and you are good to go for the day. You might think of it as very disadvantageous, as you need to do a lot of adjustments before you could start working in your very own home, but it’s not as hard as most people think.

Here are five helpful tips to set up your first ever home office: 

Separate your professional from your personal self. Although you have your office at home, you cannot simultaneously look after your house while you are within the hours of work. The same way as you cannot deal with your work when you are already supposed to be attending to your kids, or retiring for the day. 

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Designate a dedicated area for your office. Your office should be in a quiet place, free from distraction and with full privacy. You might be able to assign a spare room where you can set up your work computer and other work-related equipment. Make sure that the room catches only minimal noise from within the house so that you won’t be disturbed if you are having a video conference with your workmates. Put up decor on your walls that will remind you of your office to add to the vibe. Maybe you can add modern farmhouse wall signs to bring more vibe in the room.

Know what you need. Depending on the nature of your work, you need to make sure that you’ve got everything that you need inside that dedicated room for your work. You might need to add more shelves or tables. Make sure that cables are properly installed for your phone and the internet. Clear your walls, your floor of any clutter that will be distracting for your eyes. 

Make sure you have sufficient light. You need to set up your home office as if it is your real office. Consider putting sufficient light – both the natural and the light that comes from your bulbs. Natural light promotes relaxation, productivity and alertness. The light that is coming from your lamps or your computer monitor also needs to be regulated. Make sure that you have a good balance of both.

Use dedicated gadgets. Assigning a dedicated phone for work allows you to maximize the equipment only for work use and not be used for your personal calls at home, whether by yourself or by your family members.

It would be best if you can manage to set up a dedicated phone line (not just the gadget). If not, set up your dedicated mobile phone with only your officemates or clients are allowed to contact you. 

Schedule your activities properly. When you are in the office working, make sure that you only work within the designated number of hours in a day. Sometimes you cannot help but be carried away by your own high productivity level that you will no longer notice you are already working past your hours at work, and you will no longer have any more time for your family. Make sure that you have set your alarms or reminders for work, especially before the start and end of your shift.

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