Working from home tips

Is your home office furniture fit for purpose? Need some motivation to maximise your productivity whilst working (and juggling everything else) from your home office.

For the vast majority of us, the country’s recent situation will have been a big change from the norm.  So, whilst we adapt to the new rhythm of daily life, it’s important to create structure and routine in order to keep productive and motivated. It’s no surprise then that online searches for ‘Home office furniture’ has rocketed.

We’ve asked friends, trawled the internet and drawn from our own experience of working from home to offer some helpful tips on how to maximise productivity from your new home office. If you’re looking to invest in an office chair – we have some great ergonomic options here, but if it’s a home office desk you’re after, please get in touch via the contact page for tailored advice.

Man working from home with multiple monitors setup
Eliminate Clutter and distractions – it will help productivity
  1. Get out of bed (seriously)

This sounds obvious but there is some seriousness to it. It is important to separate work life from life-life.  Making sure you don’t work in bed or in your pyjamas is a great way of getting yourself into the right mindset for work.  Just because no one is going to complain if you stay in your dressing gown all day doesn’t mean it’s a good way of ensuring you’re being the best possible you!

2. Create a work space

Find a space where you’re less likely to be distracted.  When working from home, the sight of the laundry bin could be distracting; thinking about house chores when trying to write that press release isn’t ideal. rewire.org suggests working outside if the weather permits…it’s almost warm enough with another layer and as long as you maintain social distancing. 

Quarantine is set to continue for a while longer and could lead to long-term changes regarding this new found working from home culture. So, it may be worth investing in some home office furniture.

SitStand desks are a great way to supercharge your work environment and paired with active seating options (like saddle stools) it brings a host of physical and mental wellbeing benefits. More on the benefits of using a SitStand desk in our previous blog here.

3. Set your schedule…and stick to it

success.com says that it is important to set out your work schedule (to-do lists, etc) in order to keep your work structured. By setting out your start time, break time(s) and clocking off time you’re creating a focused environment and it shows your availability to colleagues. One of the tricky and obvious quirks about working from home is that work is very hard to leave at the office. Let’s not feel laptop bound. 

4. Limit distractions…

This might be easier said than done, especially with schools closed, but it is important to limit distractions even from your computer.

Rob Volpe, founder and CEO of virtual strategy firm Ignite 360, has been working remotely for more than 12 years. All the firm’s employees work remotely too.

“There’s nothing worse than having notices flash in front of you” he said. “It’s like when a dog sees a squirrel and leaves whatever it was doing to chase the squirrel.”

Closing email and messenger apps is a good way of reducing noise and distraction.  Some go as far as to only respond to emails at set periods of the day.

5. Log off and switch off.

It is really easy to lose track of time and plough on with emails and tasks. Turning off your computer at the end of the day makes it harder to ‘quickly log on’ and check an email. The physical act of turning off your computer offers a level of finality to the day – and it’s a good feeling! Here’s a funny tip:  success.com suggests developing a phrase to say out loud to signify your day is over. What would yours be?

However you cope with working from home, staying safe is the main name of the game.

Not sure where to start?

Our team of experts are ready to help you find the best solutions for your office.