The Double-Edged Sword of Working From Home

The revolutionary age of many jobs transitioning to remote platforms is very much upon us. When it all went into hyperdrive at the beginning of the pandemic, lots of people celebrated, happily swearing off office life for the foreseeable future. As time went on, however, the negative aspects of working from home became clearer.

All of a sudden, people had to adapt their normally relaxing spaces into spaces that could accommodate equal productivity as a downtown office. The lines blurred, as did the precious and coveted work/life boundary. Now in calendar year three of the pandemic, home office spaces have never been more popular. Let’s look at how to set up this space in your home so that it facilitates your work efficiency and also remains separate from your off-the-clock life.

The most important step of setting up your home office is the separation of it from the rest of the home. Many homes are blessed with an unused four-wall room to stick a desk in, but many smaller homes don’t have this luxury. The key is to create as much of a boundary- be it physical or more imaginary- as possible. One strategy is to have your primary work surface occupy its own wall. This will prevent other physical distractions from seeping into your primary frame of vision while in work mode.

Another productivity-increasing idea is to position your workspace near a window. Natural light and a view can help spike your inspiration like no other, as well as making the space seem far less suffocating and dull. Adding plants and other greenery will boost the space’s oxygen flow and make it more inviting.

If you’re short on storage, affixing a few shelves or cupboards to the wall above your desk will prevent cramping by giving you more space to keep items. Don’t be afraid to put a few non-work-related items on these shelves; decorating them with a small plant, pictures, or accessories will not only look more aesthetically pleasing, but will also keep the shelves from becoming a jumbled, disorganized mess.

Give your workspace character by hanging bold art pieces that make the room seem brighter and more attractive. Solid-white accents are popular in home offices due to their capacity to reflect light, but adding splashes of color can pique the mind and offset the sterility of plain-white everything.