In this crazy year we’ve reluctantly called “2020,” many workers have transitioned from office life to home life. Over 5 million employees work from home at least half the time, which has doubled over the past few months. The nature of the work has stayed the same, but with this comes perks, some great, and others you maybe could live without. The biggest perk is not having to get dressed up to do your job. Heck, you can work an entire day in your PJs with your Spotify playlist blazing out hit tunes in the background. One of the biggest cons, however, is that others in your household have joined you in home-bound work, which leads to distractions.

With the con in mind, it may be time to pick out space within your home and turn it into your very own home office space, complete with your personality and flair, especially if you’re going to be working from home for a while.

So here are some helpful tips on how you can create a home office that you will want to work in.

It’s All About Location

Before you think about designing the home office of your dreams, you must first decide on where your office is going to be located.

That may not seem like such a huge task if your home is spacious and have some rooms to spare, but if you’re living in a smaller house or even a condo or an apartment, it matters greatly to locate the right space that will soon host your home office. There are things that you should consider when deciding on your location. For starters, consider how much space you need. If you’re not going to be meeting clients in person, then you may not need too much space.

However, if you will be meeting clients in the post-Zoom world, you will need to find a space big enough to host your desk and the chairs needed for your guests to sit. Speaking of desks, the size of your office desk depends on the location of your home office. If you have a room you can transform, sure, get a nice-sized desk. If you don’t have the room to spare, then choose your desk wisely, as it can determine how much room and space you can work with (more on this later).

One thing that shouldn’t be overlooked is the traffic flow and how much distraction you can handle. Again, if you can repurpose a room in your home, that would be great because you can simply close the door and get some work done. However, if your work is going to be out in the open, then you need to pick a space that doesn’t have a lot of traffic and offers the best protection from distractions.

Give Yourself Some Extra Room

We told you we would come back to this, as we can’t leave anything unaddressed.

In addition to finding the right space, you will want to make sure that the space that you picked out is the right amount of space you need. You don’t need a huge amount of space, as you won’t that much equipment in your home office, but you also don’t want to have so little space that it will be nearly impossible to get any work done in comfort. That’s the big takeaway with making sure you have enough space: Comfort. You don’t want to be uncomfortable working out of your home office.

There are many ways where you can repurpose the space within your home to create the room you need for your home office. A home addition renovation would work wonders as it can repurpose a space within your home to give you the comfort and peace that you need out of your home office.

Also, consider some home additions that can give you a little more space to work with. You should employ this method if you have a smaller space, and you can reimagine an area that will make for a great home office. You don’t need a lot of space to create the home office of your dreams. You just need the right kind of space.

Make Sure Your Office Is Comfortable

Space and comfort go hand-and-hand with each other, like peanut butter and jelly.

With the right amount of space, you can make your home office a workable place of comfort. But space isn’t the only thing that makes a home office comfortable. The feel of your little work oasis matters as well, and when we talk about “feel,” we mean can you deal with warmth or cold?

The temperature of a space can affect your productivity, so you need to set your thermostat to a comfortable range that will allow you to work in comfort. Speaking that you’re in your home and not in an office setting (in the meantime), you won’t have the luxury of a building manager work on issues with your HVAC system if there are any issues with your thermostat. That will fall on you, so make sure that you have a professional on call that specializes in HVAC Services to come in and make any repairs needed.

A comfortable home office space makes a comfortable and happy worker.

Get Some Light Exercise Equipment

We know, we know. Why would you want to do some light exercises in your home office?

Well, there are great reasons to invest in some light exercise equipment for your home. For starters, doing some light exercises will help loosen up your body and get your re-focused and energized throughout the day. We’re not saying that you should embark on a full workout during breaks. If you have the room to do it, buy some equipment like light weights or a small treadmill that you can keep in your home office so that you can do some light exercises during your breaks.

We’re not saying you should do a full workout. That works against you as it will make you tired and unfocused. But, a light workout will be refreshing, and having some equipment in your home office will be worth your while.

Make Sure You Have The Equipment You Need

You’re home office need to scream “you,” but it also needs to scream “workplace” as well.

The best way to do this is to have the equipment you need to do your work at home. Being out of the office for a temporary time isn’t the most ideal, but in this day and age, most of the equipment you will need to get your job done is easy to obtain for a home office, not just in the physical sense, like laptops and printers, but in the technology sphere as well.

You will need to make sure that your home’s electrical system handles the extra amount of power that will be generated by your home office. Call a professional who specializes in electrical services to come and make sure that your wires can handle the pressure. One big thing that you should think about while working from home is protecting your work data.

One of the drawbacks for companies allowing their employees to work from home is that home servers may not be equipped to handle the privacy of a company’s data, which makes it more at risk of getting hacked. So you will need to think about investing in a service that provides data privacy so that you can keep your company’s secrets safe.

Nowhere is this more crucial than with a digital marketing agency. Digital marketing companies must have programs and systems in place to protect their clients’ data. The same goes for a content marketing agency as well. The last thing your company wants to do is inform a client that their data has been compromised because of a lack of data protection. We can’t begin to imagine how bad that would be.

So make sure that you have the programs and firewalls in place to keep data safe. No, it still won’t replicate your offices’ firewall, but some protection is a lot better than no protection.

Have Lightning Fast Internet

It seems as if everyone is doing their job on the internet these days. Heck, even we are working on the internet to bring your this story.

When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, millions of workers began working from home, and that created concern from internet service providers that the system could be overwhelmed. Thankfully, the internet has held up just fine, but the sheer amount of workers created a need for high-speed internet, which is what you should be using if you’re working from home.

Having high-speed internet for your home office will allow you to get your work done on the fly. Keep in mind that your other household members will also be using this internet, so to get a better WiFi signal, put your router in the center of the home and make sure that there is no clutter around the router. That will give you the WiFi strength you need to power through the workday.

Again, your home internet will not be like your workplace internet, so if you have any problems, you will need to get in contact with your service provider to resolve any issues.

Rent Office Space Out Of A Commerical Building

With so many people working from home, this could be a great time to rent off that office space that you have been dreaming of.

Depending on the market, there is plenty of available office space to choose from these days and the rent may be reasonable as well. So it may be worth it to go out and hunt for a commercial property that you can rent out. Sure, it’s not a “home office,” but think of it as a mobile office, your office away from your office, so to speak.

Also, check out the many co-working spaces that have been popping up in cities all over the country recently. Again, this is depending on where you’re located since state and local regulations may have shut these shared working spaces down, but if you’re in a market that hasn’t, you may want to explore one so that you will have the peace needed to get through the workday.

Give Yourself A Great View

In your old office space, the view may have been another cubical or office.

That won’t be the case in your home office, which is where location comes back into play. You don’t want to pick a location that is windowless and makes you feel as though you’re back in your cubical. No, of course not. So when you’re scouting your home for the perfect office space, make sure you have a window view that will allow you to peer out and see some of the beautiful landscaping that surrounds your home (or, in the sense of condos and apartments, other buildings).

In conclusion, you should invest in creating your own home office space.

You are going to be out of the office for a while, and working on your couch, while comfortable, can get old. Sometimes, you long for a desk with a laptop, a coffee mug filled with pens and other writing instruments, and a space to set your coffee mug. All of this can be achieved, and you don’t have to pay out a lot of money to make the dream come true.

You can make your home office space truly your home out of the space and materials that you already have in hand. Before you do that, pick out the best location that will minimize distractions and traffic. Make sure that your electrical system can handle the increased workload. Set the temperature to a comfortable number that will allow you to work in comfort.

Or, you can have a home office-away-from-a-home-office by renting out a commercial space that can be home to your home office. The possibilities are truly endless.

We know, you miss going to the office and mingling and working with your coworkers, but if you’re going to be working from home for the foreseeable future, you might as well make the best out of it.