Technology has allowed for a lot of advancements in modern life. One of those is the ability for more and more people to work from home. Working from home became a necessity for many people thanks to the pandemic. Even as restrictions have lessened and it’s become safer to facilitate a traditional ‘workplace’, remote work has continued to be a popular option for businesses to pursue.
There are a lot of benefits to working from home for both the employee and the employer. Providing an option for the employee to bypass the daily grind of a commute, not only alleviates a lot of stress but also optimizes their time for productivity. All of the time and effort that went into simply getting to work gets completely eliminated when all you have to do is log in from the comfort of your own home.
While working from home can be very beneficial, it can represent a learning curve that some people may struggle with more than others. Some people may struggle to find structure and stay motivated in the comfort of their own home as they struggle to delineate between ‘at home’ space and ‘at work’ space.
One of the best ways to find success as a remote employee who works from home is to have a dedicated workspace. This can help support your productivity, but it may also help to support your emotional and mental health while working from home.
If you have been wondering how to create the perfect work-from-home setup, here is everything you need to know!
Space Is Important!
One of the most important parts of learning how to work from home and cultivate productivity and support good mental and emotional health is to get real with your ‘space’. Put simply, the home shouldn’t be a place where you associate the strains and stresses of work. For people who do have stressful or challenging jobs, this can be something that can quickly lead to a lack of productivity, and even dread. Work has challenges and stressors that should be separate from home, however, when both ‘home’ and ‘work’ happen in the same localized areas, it can be hard to understand them.
This is why finding a place in your home that can take on the ‘workspace’ identity is important. This is going to look different from person to person. Some people may be able to afford an entire office room or section of their home that can be used for their remote work. Others, might not have this option and must convert a living space into a workspace.
Whether you can section off a whole room, or simply one corner of a room, finding a way to delineate between physical workspace and home space is important. This can also happen through some kind of transformation for the person who might not have a lot of room to spare. For example, if you don’t have any wiggle room in your home or apartment, try turning a tabletop or kitchen counter surface into a workspace that you can then disassemble when the work day is done.
Glasses Are Important
One tool that can help you ‘click’ into work mode is a set of computer glasses that can help to protect your eyes while using computer screens. These glasses are made with an anti-reflective coating that helps to alleviate the amount of eye strain that you would normally have when looking at a computer screen. They also help to actively block blue light which can be harmful and protects your eyes from damage.
Having a dedicated set of work glasses can also help to enforce the mindset of working at home. Working remotely is synonymous with the concept of staring at a computer screen for hours a day, so not only will these help support a ‘work’ mindset, but protect your eyes while you do work.
Finding a Way to Detach
Another important part of setting up a workspace is finding a way to put your work away. If you have your own office room, then maybe this is as simple as closing the door and moving on with your day. If your work set up shares a common living space, then tiring to find ways to put your work away is important.
This could look like storing all of your work things out of sight as soon as 5 p.m. strolls around and not allowing them to sit out on the counter, or the living room shelf.
Conclusion
Working from home takes some effort to figure out, and everyone will have a different way they get the most out of a remote work opportunity. Some people need an entire office space with a chair and desk, while others may not be able to afford this due to a plethora of reasons.
Regardless of what kind of tools you can and cannot put in your home, finding ways to set your work-life apart from your home life is paramount. It may be challenging, but it’s well worth the effort to ensure that the home maintains elements of rest and safety from the strains of work.