Having a dedicated workspace at home has a lot of benefits. A dedicated space allows you to focus, mentally gets you into a work mode, minimizes distractions, and helps create a work/life balance while working from home. Below are some helpful tips for creating a dedicated space for work at home.
Find a Workstation Location
Pretty simple but also think this through. If you have a spare room, that may be the best option for you as a standalone room will give you privacy and a sound barrier between you and the rest of the household. However, this is not always an option.
Setting up a remote workstation in your dining room/kitchen may be ideal. The lighting in these areas is usually pretty good and you have ample counter space. Setting up shop in a bedroom or living room may also be your solution.
Wherever you decide to create a workstation make sure it allows for privacy to make calls, you have access to natural light, and you aren’t in the middle of other people’s activities in your household.
Organize it
Keep your workstation/desk clean and organized. It may get cluttered throughout your workday but decluttering at the end of the day ensures you start your next workday on a fresh slate.
It is also important to make sure your screen real estate is organized. Your monitors should be relative size and arranged by the size and arrangement of your desk.
To learn more about how to say organized while estimating projects. Click here.
Make it Welcoming
Create an environment you WANT to work in. The great benefit of working from home is developing a space that helps you thrive and be productive. Add a plant, hang a painting, have an adjustable light so you can adjust the light settings as needed, include a picture of the family, etc.
Reduce Aches and Pains
Having a good chair to sit on will save your back if you are sitting for long periods. Getting a standing desk is also an option. If you don’t have access to an ergonomic chair you can create a more comfortable chair with blankets and pillows.
Keep Work at Work
When working from home it may be more difficult to separate home life and work-life since your computer is right there 24/7. However, having a dedicated workspace helps to turn work off. If you are using a separate room as an office a good practice is to ONLY use that room for work. Once you leave the room you are no longer at work.
If you are using a common area, be sure to put work stuff away. Being able to visually remove your work environment will help you disconnect from work and be a cue to your brain (and family) that you are not working.
Having a dedicated work area will help you be a productive employee as well as maintain healthy relationships with your co-workers and family.
More Resources
Beck Technology is a hybrid work environment, with some employees who are fully remote. We have learned how to stay productive while working from home. For more ideas on how to work remotely from home, check out these other resources:
- Blog post: Encourage Your Estimators to Work From Home
- Blog post: How Estimators Can Work From Home
- Podcast: Working Remotely in Preconstruction
