Working from home can be anything between a relaxed working atmosphere compared to the normal office environment to a complete nightmare full of distractions and inconveniences. It doesn’t matter if you are new to working from home or if you are for example self-employed and working from home is how your usual workday looks like, either way, you will definitely take something useful away from this blog.
1. The ideal desk setup
First of all, it is important that your desk set up is convenient and comfortable. More often than not, we do not make ourselves fully aware of the fact that we spend a considerable amount of time just sitting in front of a screen. It is not just important for our physical health to make ourselves aware of that and for example, stand up every so often or stretch our muscles, it is also important for our mental health that we do not subconsciously set ourselves up for failure without even realising. Both our mental and physical well being are connected and influence each other. Therefore, taking care of both is a good starting point to achieve the best results not just at work but in life as a whole.
In order to work towards the best result whilst working from home, make sure your chosen workspace is located in a well-lit area, ideally somewhere where you can adapt the brightness to your needs through additional lamps or a curtain.
Next to light, the most important point to consider is the table you are working on. If you are lucky enough to own a desk this problem is already sorted, if you don’t, don’t worry either. You can obviously also use any other table in your house, the only thing to consider here is that this table is not located in a room full of distractions like the living room, e.g. if other members of the family or household use this room during your working hours.
If working from home is your usual way to work you might also consider investing in a standing desk or a standing desk converter. This solution makes it possible for you to stand up whilst working which reduces the strain on the back and neck muscles and therefore supports a good posture, which is one of many benefits of a standing desk. If you would like to look further into workspace solutions at home that even look nice, why not take a look at this useful blog: “10 Practical Home Office Design Ideas That Also Look Great”
2. Preventing Data Breaches
Next to your overall well being you also need to make sure your company’s data stays safe and sound as well whilst working from home. Just because you are at home in your private surroundings with people you trust doesn’t mean you can behave like that and possibly unintentionally share the company’s data with anyone in close proximity during your work hours.
Especially phone calls and video conferences can uncover very sensitive data not just to members of your household but also neighbours and other people nearby. It might just be a thin wall, an open window or you are working in your garden due to nice weather, you always have to expect that someone is listening and if it’s the wrong person it can cost your job and even the company’s whole existence. But it is not just phone calls and video conferencing that lead to data breaches. If you are working from your private pc, avoid sharing this pc with others like your roommates, spouse or kids, to a lesser extent because they would sell the data but more so because every user adds a cybersecurity risk e.g. one malicious email accidentally opened by someone or one dodgy site visited and your data could be leaked. So better be safe than sorry and ensure your companies’ data are kept safe whilst you are working from home.
If you are interested to find out even more reasons to avoid data breaches we found a useful blog that covers this topic here: “Why it is Important to Avoid Data Breaches”
3. Make saving energy fun
Working from home also means increased energy usage throughout the day. But this shouldn’t add another worry to yourself!
A fun and energy-saving way to make working from home even more interesting are to use your outdoor accessories throughout your workday.
Using your outdoor gear during your workday will boost your morale because it’ll make you reminisce about previous outdoor adventures and make you look forward to new ones.
You can, for example, fill your coffee into an insulated travel mug or use a stainless steel drinking bottle to keep your drinks at the desired temperature. Why not even take a whole cooler bag and place it next to your desk to minimise trips to the fridge? The ideas are endless. Check out some other outdoor accessories you can use around the house to save energy in our other blog “5 Outdoor Accessories That Are Also Energy-Saving Products” and make the most of working from home!
