Working from home is a challenge. It can be wonderful and freeing, but it can also be isolating and stressful. Much of my experience working from home has not been by choice, but for health reasons. Most of the information I find about home offices don’t apply to me very well. They require significant dedicated space, or suggest working from a corner or closet; those are not for me. My home office solutions are fairly unique. But what I have learned about creating comfortable and productive work spaces can apply to anyone,
Working from home has been a component of all of my jobs for over 20 years. With progressing arthritis, I would often have to work from home simply because I could barely walk that day. I could not sacrifice my productivity every time my body didn’t cooperate or my career would be going nowhere. And when I was housebound for the last 6 weeks of my pregnancy, it really tested my work-from-home productivity.
The Home Office Desks
A home office or work space at home can take many forms. Really it comes down to how you work and where you are comfortable. Keep in mind household routines, especially if you live with others. Children, pets, house cleaning and other distractions may dictate where you have to work at specific times. Which is another reason why I rarely stay in one place all day.
Working solutions are not one-size-fits-all, but some of these should work for you:
1. Traditional Home Office
This is the home office most of us see online and in pictures; the one we visualize when we hear home office. This office works well for those who have a lot of equipment or privacy needs.
My partner works from home supporting technology. He has a super comfortable setup for this purpose, and usually has all 3 screens running at once. He sits at his desk 8 or more hours a day, five days a week. This works well for him, but it is not for everybody.
This kind of complex setup takes a lot of dedicated space (at least 4 ft wide by 5 ft deep), taking a good chunk of a room, potentially all of it. But it is the only space where he can work, because everything is installed, and it works very effectively for jobs like his.
2. Shared Home Office
Until very recently my office was the dining room table; I think this is true for a lot of people. This works well if your office equipment is stow-able and space is limited.
My new desk serves many purposes:
- Office: for my job, my blog and our home.
- Spare bedroom: It has a Murphy bed for company.
- Arts & Crafts: It is our arts and crafts space.
- Storage: Office and craft supplies as well as household filing.
As such, I do not have a desk with a lot of accessories. Often, when I am finished for the day, everything gets packed up and put away, so that we can use the space for other things. This may seem like a nuisance, but it works well.
This type of office works best if you need to spread out occasionally, but don’t have the space for a dedicated desk. The trick to this kind of work space is easy storage to move your equipment around.
- Pen holders and such are in a shoe box lid, so they can be moved all at once, with no hassle.
- Laptop goes on a shelf next to the desk.
All papers and pads are kept in a master notebook for quick access, updating and cleanup.- Cell phone, tablet, notebook and any key items go into a basket that travels to any room with you.
- All of the cables get stowed in a bin next to the desk. All of the plugs and connections stay put, so it is easy to hook computers and such back up when needed.
This setup has evolved from years of working wherever was either comfortable or convenient, knowing I would probably need to move again in an hour.
3. Other Home Office Spaces
Because I wasn’t comfortable for long at a standard desk, I have work spaces all over my house, and have acquired multi-use pieces of furniture and tools to help me move my work from one room to another fairly seamlessly. These can be fit in any space, including my first tiny apartment (except the last one).
Stand Up Desk
A collapsible portable table that adjusts to bar height and a pretty tablecloth makes for a perfect stand-up table that can be stowed in a closet when company comes or the work day is finished. Meanwhile a laptop stand and shoe box of office supplies makes this an instant office in any room of the house.
This setup works really well for almost any kind of work, but I do find it takes a lot of getting used to. Standing up and typing does not feel natural at first. You may want to start at 30 minutes at a time and work your way up.
I find this setup works really well for responding to email, conference calls, and any tasks where you really spread out. Being on your feet allows you to reference multiple sources and work in several physical areas at once.
Recliner
Combine a laptop desk and your favorite recliner and you can work for hours with your feet up and your body relaxed. This is a personal favorite of mine for extended writing or research. I have spent hours resting from arthritis while still getting my work done.
Move the desk to the side and cover it will a scarf and it will double as a side table when company comes. Although, this can be a little too comfortable and you might want to find a reason to get up every hour or two before the day passes without you noticing.
BED
Everyone needs a lap desk. It allows you to work in bed, in the car or on a park bench comfortably. It provides protection against the heat of technology sitting in your lap for too long term, as well as a more comfortable and sustainable work surface for typing. Some of the fancier ones provide cup holders, table stands and other conveniences; although I find that they largely get in the way.
The easiest way to turn any space into an instant office is a TV tray and a lap desk. Just put your feet up and type away. Works best when you are not tired. Especially important to move around to other spaces throughout the day, if you are going to work like this. If you work in your bed all day, you may find sleep evades you at bedtime. Staying in your room for too long and for too many purposes can get you down and interfere with your rest. Might be best to limit this to an hour at a time. I used to work from our spare bed and then move to our room at nigh when I had no choice. The change of scenery helped.
Treadmill
Not all tasks can be done effectively from a treadmill. I have tried many of them. Conference calls work, but only if you are on mute and mostly listening in. Nothing worse than the background noise of a treadmill and someone breathing hard over the phone lines. But if it is one of those where you will mostly listen, it is great. I love it for taking online courses, reading and reviewing materials.
If you can walk 2 or 3 times a day for at least 15 minutes, then it combats the stiffness and atrophy that can come with working at a desk all day.
An exercise bike is equally effective.
Home Office Storage Tools
Moving your work around the house can be very rewarding if you have physical limitations, are restless or just like a change of environment from time to time. For many of us, working from a single, stationary desk all day would interfere with our productivity and be too stifling. For others, it would just require too much space. Either way, you don’t want to spend too much time setting up and putting away your work space, so efficiency is key.
Task Boxes
Now I favor practicality over appearances, but you don’t have to sacrifice one to get the other. Beautiful boxes can be found cheaply everywhere. If you are crafty, you can customize shoe boxes, or you can spend a few
dollars at your local home decor store.
No matter how you store your things, keeping everything you need in one box that can be moved to your desk in the morning and then stored on a shelf at the end of the day can be very handy and time saving. Try putting all of your pencil and clip cups into the lid of a shoe box so that they can be moved as one unit.
Mobile Baskets
A basket that holds your laptop cable, cell phone, headset, notepad, pen and any other work items you need can allow you to pick up your desk and move it in less than 5 minutes, with no noticeable impact on your work. The reason I prefer the basket to my briefcase or laptop bag is how much faster it is. I have been known to relocate on the fly, mid-conference call, because I needed more space than I anticipated. With these systems, I could do it in no time.
I find the charity shops (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc…) is especially good for finding these, particularly right after Christmas when everyone donates the lovely gift basket containers from the holidays. Otherwise, pop into your local flower or gift shop; they often have a decent selection.
Rolling Carts
If you have more equipment intense work, requiring a lot of tools, consider a rolling cart. These allow you to roll your entire office around and many of them can hold a decent amount of weight.
Consider whether you want a really sturdy one the will be stowed in the bottom of your closet, or a really pretty one you can leave out all of the time. Most of the home supply stores carry a selection of both now. You can even get some really nice kitchen utility carts that have built in storage solutions.
Stock up everything you need and roll it over to wherever you plan to work that day and you are instantly set up, no fussing required. This can be especially handy if you are an artist or photographer who follows the light around your home. No need to pack up all of the time; just roll to the next location.
Comfort = Mobility
I find the key to working comfortably in your home is moving around. Changing your surroundings and your scenery can add to your productivity and your state of mind. It lessens the feeling of isolation that working an a small space can give you. No matter how attractive it is, working in it alone all day can be boring.
Changing your surroundings can also be good for your physical health and fitness, especially if you can squeeze in some of the health-centric spaces.
Try out some of these suggestions the next time you are lamenting your home office.
