With the COVID-19 pandemic causing work-at-home setups, how exactly do you put up yours? From choosing the right lighting to furniture, this guide will tell you how to set up a home office.
How to Set Up a Home Office: The Ultimate Guide
To those who are working from home (WFH), consider yourself lucky. Make your stay more comfortable by following these steps on how to set up a home office.
1. Pick a dedicated room.
The first step in our how to set up a home office guide is picking your space. It’s ideal to choose a room where you can completely focus on work. In short, the room must solely be for your work.
You don’t need to overthink this though. A small room is fine as long as you know you’ll be comfortable in it. However, we understand that not everyone has a spare room. Alternatively, you can convert a storage or guest room into your home office. If you just don’t have enough space, don’t worry. Your bedroom can also serve as your home office. Just make sure to pick the right home office furniture.
2. Choose a theme.
One of the most common mistakes people in terms of setting up a home office is not picking a theme. A theme puts everything together. It also guides you in picking the color of your furniture and accessories. Plus, you might want to make your office look professional.
When choosing a theme, ask yourself these questions.
Do you want your home office to be as simple as possible? Must it include your favorite color? Should it look like your real office?
If it’s still hard to pick a theme, Google some ideas.
3. List down everything you need.
Now that you’ve chosen a theme, it’s time to list down what you need.
What exactly do you need for work? Is it a new executive desk? How about ergonomic chairs? Whatever you need to work comfortably, list them down.
Don’t forget to list the quantity as well.
Pro tip: It doesn’t matter if you already have some things you need. It helps listing everything you need. This lets you double-check things after setting up your home office.
4. Set up the lights.
The next step in our how to set up a home office guide is putting up the lights. If you think the current lighting at your home office is great, congrats! You can skip this step. However, if you’re like the many people who don’t have lighting yet, consider these.
First, the lighting must be adequate so you can work properly. If your work requires lots of Zoom calls during the day, consider opening all your windows.
Second, the lights must help reduce eye strain. If you have to work during nighttime, picking warm light is great.
5. Pick the right desk.
The right desk makes your days smoother. On the other hand, the wrong one makes you miserable. Thus, it’s crucial for you to pick the right desk.
There are 3 factors that can help you choose the right desk.
First, you must consider how you’ll use the desk. Are you going to use the desk for computer-related work? If yes, you need a computer desk. Are you going to use it for computer work and paperwork? Then an L-shaped desk is the right choice.
Second, your desk must have enough leg space. You should be able to properly move and freely stretch your legs.
Lastly, you must consider the surface of your desk. Do you prefer a laminate, metal, or wood surface?
6. Choose the right chair.
One of the most important steps in this how to set up a home office guide is choosing a chair. Working from home usually involves a lot of sitting. Hence, the right chair must have comfortable padding, ideal seat height, and lumbar support. After all, you don’t want your back to hurt, do you?
Adjustable chairs are among the most common choice among WFH people. Specifically, these chairs have adjustable heights, tilts, and width.
Another popular choice is executive chairs. They’re comfortable and provide great back support. These can be credited to their excellent padding.
7. Consider your storage needs.
Many desks come with built-in storage. However, the storage space is sometimes not enough. If that’s your case, getting a file cabinet can help.
You must choose your storage furniture as carefully as your desk and chair. For starters, your cabinet must fit the things you must keep. If those things are tall or thick, get a vertical cabinet. If you need to store wide documents like architectural plans, get a flat cabinet. Remember to consider the cabinet’s handles as well. They must be easy to grab and use.
8. Decide on the gadgets.
Another crucial step in this how to set up a home office guide is choosing the gadgets. Your gadgets are the lifeline of your WFH setup.
Think about these. You can’t expect to have flawless virtual meetings if your laptop is laggy. You can’t expect to clearly hear your co-workers if your headphones are not working well. If you think all of your gadgets are working well, you can skip this step. If not, then it’s time to buy new ones or upgrade your current gadgets.
For instance, if your laptop’s memory (aka RAM) is not big enough to handle long calls without lagging, it’s time to upgrade its RAM. If you don’t have noise-canceling headphones, considering getting a new pair.
9. Stock on office supplies.
Working from home means that you have to decide which office supplies you need. It also means you have to buy them. It also means that you don’t have an endless supply just like in your real office.
Since you’re taking them out of the company’s WFH budget (we hope this is the case), consider stocking on office supplies. Buy supplies that can last you for many weeks, if not months. By doing this, you can save money. It’s because most stores offer bundle discounts.
10. Add some decor.
The last step in this how to set up a home office guide is adding decor. This is important because a bland home office is a recipe for disaster.
Remember, a boring home office can negatively affect productivity and motivation. To avoid this, make your home office a place you’ll enjoy working at. Decorations don’t have to be fancy though. You can put up pictures of your family, graphics, or a clock.
Now that you know how to set up a home office, what are you waiting for? Start rocking that WFH life now!