Readers' Choice, Volume 2
You asked: How do I make a home office lovely on a budget and in tight spaces?
The question of the year … am I right?! While we are still undoubtedly fumbling through this one, we’ve done some research that will hopefully help you create a peaceful and productive home office.
- For starters, part of designing a good office is also designing a meaningful structure for your week. If you can, try scheduling some daily breaks, some dedicated blocks of time to check emails, make calls, complete project work, brainstorm, catch up on our ever-changing news, etc. It will help to feel like at least some things are under control these days :)
- As for your physical space, we went to some fellow experts for our favorite tips:
- HGTV’s pointers are great for small spaces:
- “Things need to double or triple dip into something else - everything has to have a home and serve a purpose” (or two or three!)
- Organize vertically and horizontally - “Hang floating shelves on the walls to get papers and office equipment off the desk, and use vertical file folders on the desk to keep important papers within arm's reach.”
- “If you prefer a clean desktop, designate one drawer for your ‘to-do’ papers.”
- Experts at The Mayo Clinic … are much smarter than we are :) AND they put together a guide to office ergonomics. We’ve also seen adjustable-height lap desks - Sarah (Sal) has her eye on this one, and many of her coworkers are opting for IKEA furniture for their own home offices.
Other Things to Consider
- Depending on where you’re working these days, we recommend earplugs, earbuds, and/or a productive playlist to keep you focused and on task (or queued up for your dance breaks!)
- Plants are always a great addition to improve air quality and add a little life to your space. If desktop space is tight, consider a hanging plant.
- Trays! If you are like Sal, you may need a change of scenery every once in a while to keep the creative juices flowing. These days, the scenery doesn’t change much from the sofa to the kitchen table to spreading piles all over the bed, BUT! When you need to move around, trays are a great way to keep things tidy.
What have we missed?! What are the best tricks or products you’ve found as you’ve adjusted to this new way of working? Tell us all about it!
Get to work,
The Uncommon Team
