A home office is an interesting place. It has the status of being a place to work, yet sometimes people are unable to work in it.
If its a home office that people cant work in, then its purpose is defeated, isnt it?
The thing thats fairly common at the bottom of this is that a person has turned their workspace into a non-work space just by being disorganized.
Sometimes when that happens, the person or the work has to move to other parts of the house. Can you guess what happens from there?
Papers have to be shifted from one piece of furniture to another, often getting lost in the shuffle or accumulated piles. Dining spots are transformed into paper clutter central, leaving meals served on laptops or coffee tables (if there is space on them).
Yes, it gets pretty ugly once papers and work leave the official workspace.
This defines the reason we need to have an official work environment. The space must be made functional for work, and kept that way in order to continue working in it.
Firstly, this area has to be a defined workspace. Whether its in its own room or in a corner of a room, all work-related items need to be in one place.
Even if the office is set up for after-hours production, or a household workstation to manage affairs of the home, this space should be in a designated area.
Secondly, the area must have certain things in the space to enable a person to carry out the functions of their work. A desk, files, and computer are some symbols of a workspace.
These pieces of furniture and office equipment are there to help us produce work. Now, if one of these is used for another purpose, like a desk being used for paper storage rather than a surface to work on, then the chaos begins.
Thirdly, the area needs to contain tools that organize our work items. File holders and file cabinets are places to keep our files organized. Calendars and appointment books organize our appointments, schedules, and events.
There are many such organizing tools that keep our information and office paraphernalia in order. Without these, items can get placed anywhere and everywhere, making it difficult to do work productively.
And lastly, if the area receives frequent distractions, then it becomes an unsafe work environment. Family that enters the space often during work hours, or lots of personal phone calls that take you into chatter mode for indefinite periods of time, are among those distractions.
Without rules that set the standard for working at home, little work can actually get done. Yet, setting rules is one thing, enforcing them is another thing.
So, to make a home office a place that allows you to do work efficiently and productively, we need to ensure that all four elements are in optimum form.
Whats optimum form then?
A defined workspace, necessary office furniture and equipment, office products that keep our work items organized, and guidelines that remove work distractions are all things that bring about optimum home office form.
Now, thats just about the workspace. But, working from home goes beyond the space. To get work done in the workspace involves a little more than the space itself, proper furniture, equipment, and tools, and household rules.
It involves managing time and information. And, although working from home has its conveniences and advantages, if the work is not managed, little work gets done.
You could say, thats the fifth element. So, if you start seeing completed work, youll know youre there.
