The pandemic taught us all one thing: most businesses can operate by allowing their employees to work from home. As this trend continues, more and more people are setting up home offices in their current or new homes. Starting this process can seem stressful, which is why Daymakers wanted to provide you with a list of what you need to set up a home office.
Establish a Space
The first step, whether you’re moving into a new home or adding an office to your current home, is to establish a space. Your workspace shouldn’t be distracting, quiet, and comfortable. So, if the dining room is your first thought and you have 2 dogs and kids… that might not be the best place.
Set up a desk in your bedroom, spare room, basement, or even in a heated/cooled garage! You want to make sure you have enough space for your office equipment and for yourself to get up and stretch a bit. If you’re going to be working from home from here on out, you’ll be spending most of your day in this space. Make sure it works well!
Desks
Office desks may seem like an easy task, but have you seen the options? You’ve got your standing desks, desks that can transition into a standing one, desks that are large and have many drawers, or some that are just a piece of furniture to home your computers, paperwork, etc.
The best way to decide which desk is best for you is to measure the amount of space allowed to decipher what size you can get, figure out if you need a lot of storage space, and think about if you’ll have two monitors, a printer, a smart charging station, etc.
Also, think about your lifestyle. Are you active? Then, you’ll probably want a standing desk. You may also want to fit a treadmill in your office to pop a laptop onto. Think about how you want to live your at-home office life and start planning from there!
Lighting
Lighting is super important when it comes to working. If the room you chose isn’t as lit up as you’d want it to be, find some energy-efficient lighting that is soft on the eyes! Try to stay away from fluorescent lights, as they have been proven to cause headaches after a long day.
A simple desk lamp would also help and there are some that actually have USBs on them, making your charging station a little more convenient!
If you chose a room that has windows, that’s ideal! The more natural light coming in, the better.
Personalize It
Since you’ll be spending most of your day in your home office, you should decorate it the way you want! Personalize it with a tapestry, pictures, art, etc. This will make your space more comfortable physically and mentally.
You shouldn’t dread heading to your office, it should feel like another comfortable part of your home that you don’t mind working in!
Plants
Studies show that plants have done wonders with mental health and work performance in offices, both at home and in a building. They help cleanse the air, bring in positive vibes, and they’re beautiful to look at. If you think you can fit some plants in your home office, get some!
You can grab desk plants, hanging succulents, and even large plants to put on the floor next to you. Bring in all the good vibes for your workdays.
Wifi
If you chose to set your home office up in the basement or a heated/cooled garage, chances are the wifi might not be too great. If you have strong wifi, awesome! If not, simply buy a wifi extender. You can plug it into any outlet and it’ll help bring the wifi right to you!
Strong wifi is important when you’re working. You don’t want to be one of those people that fall behind in a Zoom meeting and miss parts of it! You also want to make sure you can get your work done in your 8 or 9-hour window without wifi hiccups!
Setting up your new home office can be fun and we hope this little checklist helps you out! If you’re getting ready to move into a new home, grab a FREE quote from our website! We can help with packing, moving, unloading, and storage services! We want to help make your move as seamless as possible, giving you more time to set up that office!
