Did you know that 36% of the US workers are freelancers who work from home? Additionally, Nasdaq predicts that 43% of the US employees will be freelancers by 2020, which means that more and more people will embark on the journey of flexible working in the comfort of their own homes.
But as much as you might love your living room, working whilst your kids are playing nearby can be disturbing – especially if you have an important deadline to meet!
This is when a dedicated office space comes into play. A creative workspace is good for your creativity, and that’s why companies such as Apple and Google have open and innovative workspaces.
If you would like to get one of your own, keep on reading, as in this blog post we’re going to show you some creative home office tips and designs to maximise your performance and spark creativity!
Get a dedicated office
…It’s easier said than done, right?
Creating a dedicated working space is vital to help you keep productive and organised. This is especially true if you work with multiple files, and other resources that might simply get lost if aren’t stored in one place.
If you’re lucky enough to have a spare room in your house, you can effortlessly transform it into your own office. However, if your house doesn’t have enough capacity but you happen to have a sufficiently sized garden, you might want to consider building a garden office instead.
Another good alternative is a coworking space. These flexible workspaces are gaining more popularity day by day, conquering different corners of the world. The number of shared spaces continues to increase all over the globe. The United States is a world leader in terms of coworking spaces with more than 80 million square feet ahead of the UK. Among the major players in the country are distinguished California, Texas, New York, and Florida accordingly with 111, 100, 87, and 39 new shared spaces opened each year. Therefore, when searching for an appropriate place for running your business you may consider renting a shared office space in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, or in each of these locations. Since these spaces go already well-furnished with necessary amenities, you are free from any space-organizing hassles, and just need to go in and work.
Create ergonomic space
When organising your office space interior, your first consideration should be “how ergonomic can I make it?”.
Ergonomics is the study of how equipment and furniture can be arranged in such a way that people can work more efficiently and comfortably, while minimalising any physical effort or discomfort.
For example, your super-stylish dining chair may feel very comfortable for sitting on whilst you’re having dinner with your family, but it may not be a suitable chair type for your office, as it could cause you some serious long-term health problems such as chronic lower back pain. Therefore, investing in an appropriate office chair that is comfortable, the right height, and one which provides proper back and arm support for the type of work you’ll be doing is crucial – especially if you’re spending quite a long time behind your desk each day.
You might also want to consider investing in a small footstool, which will help with resting your feet without having to get out of a chair. Using an ergonomic footrest can ease leg problems and lessen lower back issues, both are common ailments for anyone with a sedentary lifestyle.
Keep it simple
Whether it’s a dedicated office in the house, a garden room or just a corner space in your living room, to keep yourself organised and efficient you should try to keep the clutter to an absolute minimum.
Obviously, you want to keep everything you need to hand, but you’d surprised what you can live without – could you do without storing a large amount of stationery (including colour pens, various sizes of scissors and a bottomless box of staples) in your office space?
Instead, how about getting a few absolute essentials such as document trays and colourful ring binders to keep your documents and work project files safe?
Inspire yourself
One of the benefits of working in a regular open-plan office is the daily dose of socialisation, encouragement and motivation shared with your colleagues. These things are, however, a bit more tricky to muster on a daily basis when it comes to working by yourself!
To help you to perform at the highest levels possible, surround yourself with objects that inspire you, such as pictures, quotes, or artwork. You can use a whiteboard to note your best ideas. By doing things such as this day-to-day, you will feel more empowered to achieve your goals, but you’ll also get a daily reminder of what needs to be done/improved, to keep you on track!
