Standing Desks and Other Tweaks You Can Make to Your Home Office

Here are three tweaks for your home office to make it a more pleasant and productive space in which to work.

 

When the coronavirus pandemic first hit, sending office workers home full time, many people had to hastily construct a home office overnight. Thinking the work-from-home time would only last a few weeks, most people probably didn’t put a whole lot of thought into their workspaces. 

Now that many of those formerly in-office jobs have been converted to remote jobs permanently (or at least for the foreseeable future), it’s time to rethink the office setup and make it more comfortable, more productive, and more attractive. 

If you are one of those new remote workers (or even if you’ve always worked from home), here are three tweaks you can make to your home office to make it work better for you going forward. 

Standing Desk

According to Yale Medicine, prolonged sitting can lead to a host of medical issues, ranging from obesity to cardiovascular disease to spine problems. If working from home involves you sitting at a desk all day or on your couch with your laptop, it’s time to look into alternatives that won’t negatively impact your health. 

One great option is a standing desk converter, which turns an ordinary desk or table into a standing workstation. This allows you to work while standing and helps eliminate the negative effects that sitting all day can lead to. 

Not everyone has the luxury of a dedicated home office, which means the kitchen table may double as a desk during the day. In these cases, a standing desk converter that is easy to move when the workday is done is a great option. In addition, look for one that has a small footprint that won’t substantially minimize your workspace. 

You can take things a step further and also purchase a balance board. Working while standing on a balance board will help you burn calories, strengthen your body, and stay alert throughout the day.

Clutter Management Solutions

Office clutter can take over before you even realize it if you don’t have a way to manage it effectively.

First, take stock of what your clutter typically consists of and see how much of it can be eliminated altogether. If you still get a lot of paper bills mailed to you, try to get them delivered electronically. If receipts are your issue, look into a receipt scanner (either an actual device or an app on your phone).  For everything that’s left, purchase a filing cabinet or bin and then spend a few minutes at the end of each day filing things away. Make sure you honestly evaluate what you need to keep and what can be shredded or thrown away. If it’s something you can easily find online (instruction manuals or product catalogs) or have delivered to you in a digital format (insurance policy details or bank statements), don’t bother saving a paper copy. 

Another thing that can clutter up your office space is all the cords from various devices such as computers, printers, speakers, tablets, etc. Purchase a surge protector that can accommodate all your devices and then use inexpensive cable ties or straps to keep all your cords and cables bundled together for a neater, more organized look. 

Better Lighting

Good lighting can go a long way in making your working environment more pleasant and productive. Natural light is best, but make sure you position your computer in such a way that it won’t have a glare from the sunlight coming in your window. 

If natural light is at a minimum or completely unavailable in your office space, purchase a combination of task lighting and ambient lighting. Again, avoid creating a glare on your computer screen by placing floor lamps somewhere other than behind your head. Task lighting, such as a desk lamp, should be placed on the opposite side of the hand you write with, so your arm and hand don’t create shadows while you write. 

These three tips can go a long way in helping to make your home office space a more comfortable and efficient place to work. If your situation allows, you may even be able to convince your employer to pay for some of these home office upgrades!