Setting up Your Organized and Functional Home Office
So, you're going to work from home? Congratulations! Now comes the hard part: deciding where to have your home office, and how to set it up properly. There are certain qualities that you will need from your home office. Some are privacy, functionality, organization, and the tools you need for your career.
Let's begin with privacy:
If you have a spare room in your home, consider yourself lucky. You can set up your office there, and shut the door when you need to work. Sometimes it?s hard for family to understand that you're actually working, since you are home, so you could make a sign of some sort to hang outside the door to let them know you are working and shouldn?t be bothered.
If you don?t have a spare room, that?s all right. The majority of freelancers use a portion of a room as their office. Take a look around your home and think about what would be a good place for you to work.
I use the corner of my living room as my home office. It works well for me, because I can work at my leisure. Having two small kids makes working from home a little difficult, but I can work when they?re busy doing something else, or after they go to bed. After several years of freelancing, I have mastered the art of working and caring for my kids when need be. If you have children at home it will be quite difficult at first, but you and they will get used to it.
Now, on to functionality and tools:
Like most households today, I can probably assume you own your own computer and printer. If not, you will need these items; they are at the core of your much-needed tools for working from home. Sometimes a laptop is a nice computer to have, because of its convenience value.
Other basic items you will need:
- Scanner
- Fax Machine
- Large Desk with many compartments
- File Box
- Comfortable Desk Chair
- Internet Connection
You might also need a business phone line or a cell phone for business use only, depending on your job. There may also be software or other tools suited for your work. Your employer should inform you of these, or supply them to you. I recommend a high-speed Internet connection, such as broadband or DSL if you don?t already have this type of service. Working from home with dial-up just doesn?t cut it.
Organization is an important part of your home office:
Without excellent organization, your office will become cluttered and disheveled, leaving you feeling unnecessarily stressed and overwhelmed. Keeping your home office organized can be a task in itself. A good, initial setup will have you off on the right start. Everything should have a place of its own, and should be put back in its place after use. Place your desk first where you think you will get the best use out of it, and enough room to move around in your desk chair. Next, you should place your tools on your desk where you think they will work best for you, such as your printer, scanner, fax machine, etc. Then move on to your other supplies, all the way down to writing utensils. You can always change things later to suit your needs. Set up your file box somewhere you can easily open the drawers completely. You can use that to file anything you need to save, such as contracts, tax documents, client information, finances, etc.
Keep everything in its place as often as you can. If possible, take 5 minutes after a workday and clean up what was messed during the day. Make it a point to give your office a thorough cleaning and organizing at least once a month. Do it more often if you can. Throwaway things you don?t need, file items you need to save, and rearrange your office if you feel the need.
Now you are on your way to having a functional, organized home office to work with, even if it's in the corner of your living room. Just remember the golden rule: everything has its place.
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