When you work in your office, you tend to put your best foot forward and show off your professional side. However, working from home is a bit too close for comfort as the barriers between your personal and professional lives are blurred. You may feel that your productivity dwindles in a home office setting, but that isn’t something you can’t fix!
When working in your home office, are you typically surrounding yourself with house clutter, children, pets, or other distractions? If so, then you might have trouble keeping up with your work as you continue to lose focus to the distractions around you.
Don’t give up on your career just yet! Here we have some tips and tricks for you to upkeep your home office, and increase your productivity so you can keep climbing up the ladder at work! You don’t need any special tools or cleaners, just a good old-fashioned organization and redesign.
1. Declutter Your Desk
The first thing to consider when increasing your productivity is to keep your desk clean. A messy workspace makes for a messy worker, and those small trinkets, food wrappers, and fidget toys are nothing but tiny distractions that shatter your concentration.
Declutter your desk the Dostadning way – which is to reflect on your possessions, and only keep items completely necessary to your work. Take some time to go through all your desk items. Throw away all the trash pieces, and work your way to clearing your desk of any items that are not conducive to a productive work environment.
You’ll find that, by clearing your desk, you are not only giving yourself a clean space to work with, you are removing attachments to items that will only distract you from your work. Take out those hoarding tendencies along with your unnecessary items!
2. Organize Your Files
This should go without saying, but organizing your files, both digitally and physically, is a step into the right direction when it comes to document storage. Those old files from two or three years ago have no place on your desk, so shred them or keep them if you still find use for them. Otherwise, they are just taking up space in your storage.
Organize your files, and place them in properly-labeled folders for safekeeping. Keep the oldest and most unused files in untouched areas, while recent and frequently-used files should be stored at the most accessible location for convenience.
3. Purchase only essential equipment
Before replenishing your home office equipment, you need to better understand your needs. For example, if you are dealing with the only printing process and do not need huge equipment, wireless desktop printers would be a great option for you.
However, for those whose work mainly requires not only printing but also copying and scanning process installing multifunctional printers in the home office can cut costs and save space while increasing productivity at the same time.
4. Schedule a Weekly Cleaning
If you can’t find time to clean your home office daily, schedule yourself for a weekly cleaning instead. A weekly cleaning would include vacuuming, sweeping, and mopping the floors, dusting the surfaces, re-organizing files and books, throwing out the dry trash, taking note of inventory and office supplies, sanitizing door knobs, light switches, and other high-touch areas, and more.
If you still can’t find time to do a weekly cleaning, don’t allow yourself to work in a dust-filled office. Instead, look to part-time cleaning services that can bring back that pristine cleanliness into your home office. This way, you’ll keep your space clean as the cleaning specialist does the chores for you!
5. Keep the Curtains Open
Cafes have terrific stimulants to productivity for most people – they are typically well-lit, cozy, yet have energizing smells and sounds. While you can’t run a coffee machine in your office all day, you can mimic a similar ambience by keeping your curtains open to let some natural light in!
Too much light would hurt your eyes, but too dim a room would make you sleepy. You’ll need to find that sweet middle that gets you going throughout the day, without tempting you to doze off or make the room too hot. Install light curtains to keep the brightness in, but the heat out of your home office. You’ll find that you may be more focused in a well-lit room.
6. Keep Kids and Pets Out of the Room
Sometimes, you have no choice but to keep your kids and pets in the room with you, especially as no one is there to help you watch over them. However, this can be detrimental to your productivity, as you place your focus on your kids and pets instead of work.
Keep your kids and pets out of your home office as much as possible. Keep a baby monitor with you if you have to watch over them, but you can also keep them safe by giving them a separate space to play, eat, or sleep. This way, you can focus on your work, and manage your time as a busy parent as well.
7. Redesign Your Workspace
Maybe you just need a new look for your office: a redesign might help you differentiate your work from home setup from the rest of your house! By redesigning your workplace, you are convincing your mind that you are working in a professional and different location from your home, which removes the comfortable and cozy feeling.
You can find tips on redesigning your workspace for good productivity online. Find tips that work for you, and do a little interior decorating. This way, you’ll keep up that barrier between your personal and professional spaces, keeping you motivated and focused on your work!