Remote working: How to create the right home environment for your business
The current pandemic has impacted many aspects of our lives, from how we communicate with others to how we conduct business.
And while what the nearest future will bring is still uncertain, it is undeniable that the current travel restrictions have opened endless opportunities for home-based and remote businesses.
Given this, It’s a good idea to start thinking about your home as a place not just to eat, sleep and live, but also a place where you can work, and grow your company, projects, and ideas.
Indeed, due to the current social distancing measures and travel restrictions, our homes have become the place for self-development, self-care, and business creation. With creative do-it-yourself projects, you can decorate your shared flat without spending too much.
So creating a place that is efficient, sustainable, comfortable, and full of beauty is essential. And to help you here are some ideas to create the right home environment for your business.
Design a clever home office
To get started, it is essential to create a well-planned home office. Even if you have been comfortable enough working on your living room table so far, it is time to invest in creating a place that can benefit your business.
Below you’ll find the home office’s must-haves that you need to include – even if you are not planning major remodelling work.
Make it client-ready
While most of your communication with clients and partners might happen virtually, at some point you may need to invite your clients into your office. And, if your business is growing and expanding, making sure that you can communicate your professionalism and brand values is paramount.
For this reason, you might decide to locate your home office near your home entrance, so clients won’t have to go through your personal space to meet with you.
Adding couches and chairs can also help you create an environment where your clients can feel at ease – regardless of the industry you operate in.
Invest in tech
We all rely on tech for our daily tasks, but this is even more essential if you are launching or running your own business from home. Indeed, you might need to upgrade your Wi-Fi and even add a network extender near your desk. This is crucial to ensure that minor technical problems do not impact your calls and daily operations.
Adding a conference phone and a virtual personal assistant or AI system, as well as upgrading your laptop and smartphone might be essential to get started. While this seems like a significant investment at first, the set-up cost is extremely low if compared with setting up a standard office.
Make sure your home office has fresh air and natural light
Choosing the right room for your home office might be challenging, but you should always aim for the part of your home that receives enough natural light and fresh air.
Indeed, a study by the Harvard School of Public Health shows how a lack of these two elements can impact your productivity, morale and wellbeing.
Enough fresh air and natural light can help you be more productive and become a quicker decision-maker by improving cognitive performance. Everything you’ll need to do is ensure that the room you have picked is complete with large windows!
Don’t skimp on lighting
Sometimes you might need to work late at night, or make the most of nights in and work on your projects. So it’s important to make sure your new home office is just as comfortable in the evenings as it is during the day, by adding enough light in strategic places.
Your desk needs enough light for you to work easily, and adding extra soft lights around the room might help you prevent eye strain too.
Complete the look with designer furniture and art
You might have just started to transition from working on your kitchen table into your home office, and you might consider this an unnecessary investment at first. However, especially during your business’s early days, you are likely to spend most of your time in your home office.
Making sure this becomes an inspiring place where you can focus on future projects is essential. Adding designer furniture and works of art can turn any room into a sophisticated, well-designed place you will be proud to welcome your customers into.
Separate it from your personal space
While you will be spending most of your weekdays in your home office, it is essential to separate your professional and personal life. Indeed, it is easy to get distracted by working from a kitchen table because there is so much going on around you. In your home office, you can cut off all those tasks and duties and purely focus on your work.
At the same time, keeping your workplace separated from the rest of the house allows you to fully enjoy your time off without having your laptop in the background!
Look after your health
Choosing high-quality furniture and facilities for your home office might be essential. Indeed, you might consider opting for an ergonomic chair or even a standing desk, which can be helpful to look after any entrepreneur’s health.
Design tips for a timeless home for your business
Being able to count on a well-designed home office is crucial. However, looking after your home has also never been so important. Indeed, due to the current social distancing measures and travel restrictions, our homes have become the place for self-development, self-care, and business creation.
So, once your new home office is set up, have a look at the aspects of your home you could improve.
Create a place To relax
With some restaurants and entertainment facilities still closed, it is essential to have a place to wind down after a hard day in your home office. And due to the current circumstances, that has to be your home. So, creating a comfortable environment for you and your family to spend even more time indoors is essential.
Investing in a home theater system and high-quality furniture is essential. For example, sophisticated, comfortable, and long-lasting fabric sofas can be an excellent addition to any living room.
A place to keep fit
Just like restaurants and other establishments, gyms are still closed in most countries. However, regularly exercising and practicing meditation is essential to check in with your body and kip fit.
Regular exercise can also help you feel more energized and productive, which is essential to work on your projects. Make sure there is an area of the house dedicated to your home gym.
Bring nature indoors
Bringing nature indoors can be one of the best ways to create a healthy environment for you and your family. Indeed, something as simple as introducing more house plants can help you make your home more sustainable, purify the air, and create a focal point in any of your rooms.
As house plants can also help you boost your mood and reduce stress, you might want to introduce a couple of them in your home office too!
Use neutral colours
Using natural colors and materials to decorate your home can be much more than just a fashion choice. Indeed, the colors and patterns of our home’s walls can influence our mood and wellbeing. Picking neutral colors will ensure that you won’t grow tired of them in just a few months and will help you create focal points in any room with high-quality details.
If used in your home office, too, these colors can help you create a professional outlook for the home of your business. And, it can help you prevent eye strain!
Don’t fall for fast fashion
Fast fashion can be extremely detrimental to the environment, and it is definitely not a budget-friendly option for your wallet.
Indeed, while it might seem that you are saving a little at first, fast-fashion items and furniture for your home can become outdated in just a few years, and they tend to break much more easily.
Instead, if you are remodelling, you should opt for long-lasting, timeless items that are likely to stay with you for many years.
Invest in durable furniture
Remodelling or redesigning your home’s interiors can be a costly and effort-consuming process that any homeowner fears. While you can’t avoid it, you can make conscious choices that can reduce the rate at which your house needs a remodel.
Durable furniture items can help you save money in the long run and create an elegant space in which you can grow your business and welcome clients.
Embrace minimalism
Embracing minimalism can be one of the best choices for all homeowners, but it is especially important for those entrepreneurs who work from home. Indeed, in a corporate office, you might not have control over the furniture around you. In your home office, instead, you can opt for creating a clean environment that can help you increase productivity.
Studies have shown that clutter and messy rooms can negatively impact your brain. Indeed, since it needs to filter out all the surrounding distractions, your brain can work up to twice as hard to focus.
Instead, embracing minimalism will cause you to pick a limited number of high-quality items that can make it much easier to always keep your home and office free of clutter and order. You can see incredible results from this change in lifestyle in just a matter of days.
Is your home office conducive to work?
The current pandemic and the restrictions that came with it have accelerated the remote business industry’s growth. And, while opportunities are endless, creating a space where you can focus and create is crucial.
If you wish to launch or run a business from home, it’s important that you ensure it’s conducive to work by planning it carefully.
Photo by Visually Us
