One of the most common struggles of work-from-home entrepreneurs is finding enough space in their rental unit to create a dedicated work area. A study conducted by Steelcase found that 90% of workers were dissatisfied with their business environment, primarily due to lack of privacy. It’s safe to stay that working from home provides plenty of distractions. To keep your at-home business productive and manageable, creating a functional workspace in your two-bedroom apartment is key.
Why an At-Home Office?
50% of the U.S. workforce telecommutes. It’s easy to see why so many Americans choose to work from home. The ability to telecommute to work gives employees and entrepreneurs a chance to maintain a flexible schedule, among other benefits. But this exciting opportunity doesn’t come without obvious challenges. One of the most common is arguably productivity.
The Benefits of a Home Office
Being able to focus on work instead of other “at home” activities can be a struggle. Finding ways to divide “work” and “home” life is one of the common complaints of telecommuting workers. Thankfully, keeping a home office is the most realistic way to ensure you’ll have privacy during work hours.
Preparing your Home Office
If your home office is going to be productive, you need to get prepared. Take a look at a few ways successful telecommuters set up their at-home office space.
Find the Space
The first step to setting up a home office is to find the most productive space to set up your desk and tools. If you have an unused bedroom, consider using this as an office. If an entire room isn’t at your disposal, find a quiet corner of the kitchen or living room.
Organize your Tools
What “tools” are crucial to your job? A desk, computer, and phone are three common tools telecommuters use to stay organized and productive. Depending on your profession, it’s likely you’ll have plenty of other resources to incorporate into your functional workspace as well. Staying organized can make the difference between a productive week and a completely wasteful one. To ensure your time working from home is well-spent, invest in different types of “space savers” like filing cabinets, wall organizers, computer cord organizers and more.
Here are a few other things to consider when setting up a home office:
Internet Providers (will you use a residential or business account?)
Phone (will you be using your own personal phone, or does the company provide one?)
Time Tracking (if you’re working for another company, how will you track your time?)
Expenses for Tools (who is covering tool investments, you or your employer?)
Consider Headphones or Speakers
Working from home offers a number of benefits. However, one of the cons of maintaining a home office is dealing with unrelated noise. The noise from loud neighbors, family members, and roommates are all things telecommuting employees deal regularly. In order to drown out unrelated noises, consider listening to relaxing music on a pair of headphones or speakers.
Use Bookshelves
There’s a reason successful businesses keep bookshelves in their offices. As a work from home employee or entrepreneur, creating a dedicated space to house books and work ledgers is a great way to keep your paperwork organized without cluttering your desk space.
Transforming even the smallest two-bedroom apartment into a functional workspace is easy if you take the time to plan ahead and stay organized. Adams Crossing welcomes telecommuting workers and work-from-home entrepreneurs who are able to provide reasonable proof of income.
