Does this sound familiar?
Every time you start to focus on your work, someone or something interrupts you. Whether it’s a roommate, family member, or even a lovable pet, their distracting presence takes its toll.
Before you know it, a simple work project that should’ve taken an hour winds up taking all day. If this story sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Reports show 71% of Americans struggle with constant interruptions that affect their workday productivity.
Luckily, by creating a small home office, you can finally have the space you need to get the job done right! Don’t let interruptions bring you down.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about setting up the best home office in a small space.
Creating a Small Home Office
The first step in creating a small home office is to choose the right space. You don’t want to pick an area where there’ll be a lot of foot traffic or distractions.
You may find you need to convert your garage into an office space or find a far-off kitchen corner you can claim as your own. Once you pick your spot, you’re ready to start setting things up.
Manage Your Cables
There’s nothing more distracting than sitting down and dealing with clutter. That’s why you need to make sure you have a way to manage all of your cables.
We suggest you try tucking your cables and wires behind your desk or around the walls. You can also try using zip ties to prevent your cables from tangling up. When everything’s in its right place it’s easier to solve problems.
For example, let’s say you’re troubleshooting the sound not working on Mac. Now, instead of fumbling through different wires, you’ll know exactly where each wire is going. Organizing your wires will also make it easier to clean your workspace, or move things around.
Dedicated Work Phone
You’re a professional and you should treat your phone line that way. Here are a few reasons to set up a phone solely for work:
- Professional appearance
- Prevents confusion for clients
- Helps you focus while working
Sharing a phone line between your home and your business can cost you, clients and time. After all, it’s unprofessional to have a voicemail that isn’t solely dedicated to your cause. That’s why we suggest having a dedicated phone that you only use for your home business. You can either use a cell phone or an internet-based phone.
Gadget Spots
Since you’ll have a dedicated work phone, you should also have a dedicated spot to store your phone while you’re working. Setting up a gadget spot will allow you to avoid distractions by removing them altogether.
First, grab any of the electronic devices that you don’t need for work, such as your smartphone, your tablet, and any other gadgets you use. Next, find a designated space in your home, that’s outside of your office space. Put all of your electronic gadgets in the gadget spot, and forget about them until it’s break time.
Lovable Lights
If you don’t like the lights in your home office, you won’t enjoy your workday. That’s why we suggest setting up your home office in an area of your home where you’ll have plenty of natural light.
Having exposure to daylight can be life-changing. Your mood, ability to sleep at night, and overall stress levels, directly relate to the amount of natural light you get during the day. Try setting up your office next to a window, so you can get as much natural light as you need.
However, be careful to not place your computer monitor directly in front of the window. Looking at the sunlight straight on can strain your eyes. Instead, it’s better to set things up so that the window is beside you.
Know Your Office Ergonomics
Having an ergonomic office means making your workspace comfortable and supportive. Proper office ergonomics, will help you protect your joints, no matter how many hours you’re working.
Here are a few tips to set up an ergonomic friendly workstation:
- Pick a chair that supports spinal curves
- Keepkey objects within reach
- Place your keyboard and mouse with an easy reach
- Consider using a footrest
- Use the right desk height
- Have your monitor in front of you
Your chair needs to be able to support your spinal curves. If your chair is too high for your feet to touch the floor, then you need to use a footrest.
You’ll also want to make sure that key objects, like your stapler, keyboard, and mouse, are all easy for you to reach. Next, double-check to see if your knees and thighs can comfortably fit beneath the desk. If not, look into finding a way to raise your desk’s height.
Finally, have your monitor sit directly in front of you approximately an arm’s length away. The top of your monitor screen should be right at your eye level or slightly below. As we mentioned before, you’ll also want to avoid putting the monitor directly in front of a window.
Make Your Small Space Feel Huge
Are you able to dedicate an entire small room for your home office? If you’re lucky enough to have an entire small room, instead of a small corner, you’ll have more freedom to maximize the space.
Here are a few clever ways to make a small room feel large:
- Paint it white
- Floating tables
- Differentiate spaces with color
- Display above eye level artwork
- Choose multi-purpose furniture
First, consider painting the room white to help lighten the space up. Painting your walls white will also make it easier for your furniture and accessories to pop.
Even though you’ll be painting the walls white, that doesn’t mean you can’t use color to differentiate each space. We suggest picking a 3 palette color scheme to decorate the room.
The first color will be white (for the walls). The second color should be neutral (could be your rug choice), and the third color needs to be a bold choice (for your decor). Orange, green, and red, make great bold color choices.
Finally, if the room is large enough for a table, try using a floating table. Instead of weighing the space down, floating tables are both functional and pretty to look at.
Get to Work on Your Office
We hope our article was able to inspire you to start setting up your own small office at home, today! Creating a small home office is all about functionality and appeal.
When you enjoy the space you’re in, and you can focus, the sky’s the limit for your productivity. For more ways to maximize your productivity, we’ve got you covered. Go ahead and check out the rest of this site.
