Why Is a Home Office Essential?
Having a home office is underrated. Sure, home is the last place you want to think about work. But right now, your home is the megacenter where you do everything. It’s a bakery, a gym, a movie theater, a daycare, and now your office. All this can be very overwhelming, with everything competing with anything for your attention. Your productivity and mental health will take a hit. So, what do you do? Compartmentalize. Having a designated place for a specific task is essential, and that includes having a home office. Say you have a vacant room or a big enough corner space; set up camp for all your work needs there. Put in your head that this space is for work and work only. Make sure that when you leave your home office, you leave work there, too. It’s a great way to strike a balance in your jack-of-all-trades household. Also Read: 20 Best Productivity Apps to Get Things Done
The Home Office Essentials Checklist
So, what exactly do you need when setting up a home office? Here’s a checklist of the home office essentials you need so you can check productivity and work promotion off your career goals list.
Your Computer
To start your remote work, you need a computer in your home office. Your computer is the first essential on the list. Without it, how exactly are you going to work? Let’s be honest, all kinds of work now require a computer to keep the business afloat. A variety of laptops and computers are readily available now. Each can perform the most mundane and the most complex tasks you need for work.
A Great Chair
Now, don’t underestimate the power of a great chair. You’ll be surprised how a simple chair can affect your overall health, especially after sitting idle for over eight hours every day. According to WebMD, sitting idle for too long can cause:
Increased cancer risk Lower back pain Deep vein thrombosis Increased diabetes risk Anxiety spike Counteraction to exercise Weight gain
Aside from having standing breaks in between your work hours, having an ergonomic and comfortable chair can significantly help you, too. That being said, having a great chair is definitely a home office essential. It provides lumbar support that puts you in the correct position while you work. It will be your best friend in your home office, and it’s worth investing in for the health benefits alone. There are a lot of different ergonomic chairs available in the market now. And just like anything else, you need to do your research before buying one. The perfect chair differs for each person, so it pays to know your pain points when you sit. You have to note your preferences too, a good thing that most office chairs can be adjusted to whatever ideal setting you want.
An Office Desk
Another home office essential is an office desk. There’s no doubt a simple table can serve its purpose of being a desk, but an office desk is so much more than a flat surface. It’s something that will house all your work needs when you need it at an arm’s length. An office desk is both the command center and the battle station in your home office. So, it’s a must to have one that is sturdy, roomy, and above all in style—your style, at least. It’s your battle station—you’re the captain now.
Monitor and Laptop Stand
A monitor and a laptop stand are also high up on our home office essentials list. Have you seen the countless pictures of people hunched over their laptops, looking like they’re ready to ring the bells of Notre Dame? Well, you can avoid that by getting yourself a solid monitor or laptop stand. A lot of shoulder and neck pain derives from hunching back to meet your screen. It’s one of the many avoidable aches you get from your lack of a monitor or laptop stand. A stand brings your screen up to your eye level and keeps your back and neck in an upright position. People often overlook simple ergonomics, but it’s the little things we do every day that factors in our health in the long run. Another perk of using a monitor and laptop stand is providing your machine with proper ventilation. With its elevated position, the airflow below is no longer restricted and will keep your computer from overheating.
Keyboard and Mouse
Whether you’re on your laptop or desktop computer, you’re going to need a keyboard and mouse. Yes, even you, laptop users! Aside from its unusable trackpad, using the laptop keyboard and mouse is not sustainable. This can cause future problems on your wrists and posture too. As mentioned, simple ergonomics can make or break your chances of having chronic pain in the long run. Investing in a good keyboard and mouse is a home office essential. It makes typing and overall computer experience easier and more fun, too. You can customize keyboard keys and get different shapes and colors of your mouse. However, before you go crazy with the designs, you must consider their ergonomic properties and other functionalities. There are many different mice and keyboards available, with different uses, with some wireless and some traditional.
Speakers and Headphones
Speakers and headphones are home office essentials to ward off distractions that keep you from your productivity streak. Speakers for your motivational work mix and trusty headphones to cancel out the noise from your smart appliances and not-so-smart household members. Speakers are not just for parties and blasting music anymore. These days, music has evolved into more than just for recreational hearing. That’s why audio externals are essential. Because to stay in the zone, you have to get in the zone. Speakers and headphones can eliminate the external noise that doesn’t have any business in your workspace and keep you on top of your Google Meet and Zoom calls.
Power Surge Protector
You’ll be surprised once you set up your home office; you will realize how you occupied all the power sockets in your space. Well, having a power surge protector can remedy that easily. In any office, including at home, a power surge protector is essential. There are many different power surge protectors available now, with some including a USB port that can be very handy for smart appliances in your home office. You can put it anywhere there is free space, the floor or even the wall.
File Cabinets and Organizers
Even with everything going electric and paperless, a file cabinet is still a home office essential. It’s always best to keep hard copies of important documents, and a file cabinet can keep them safe as long as you want. Organizers and file cabinets will keep your home office tidy and well kept. Papers, pens, books, and other office supplies can easily take over your workspace that could curb your productivity in the wrong direction. So, make use of a simple organizer and file cabinet to keep them in their place.
Adequate Lighting
Lighting is everything. It can set the tone for how you want to start your day or night in your home office as you work. Also, with adequate lighting, you could see better so—let there be light! You might think your screen light and room lighting might be enough to illuminate your home office, but it actually does more harm than good. Improperly lit workstations can cause eye strain and headaches, which is the last thing you want after a hard day’s work. So, turn down your screen brightness and turn on a desk lamp. It will give you better lighting that’s essential to boost your productivity.
Desk Accessories
Desk accessories are also home office essentials. Your desk accessories will make your home office your own. Here is where you can personalize more; you can put family photos on display, small green plants, or a motivational poster that says, “Hang in there!” You can add anything! But, do note that this is still an office, and your desk accessories must be functional, too.
Office Stationery
It’s not an office without office stationery. Notepads, pens, calendars, paper clips, and all the neon-colored sticky notes you can have are home office essentials. Office stationery can help you organize your files and note important messages and reminders, which you’ll do the most in your office. There is various stationery out there, from your basic neon to marbled prints and even your face as the background.
How to Organize Your Home Office
Designate Your Work Zones
Your home office can be more organized if you designate work zones. If your job entails many things to do, it can be overwhelming when things are in just one place. Having a specific place for everything can help you improve your efficiency in your task because there will be fewer distractions.
Set Up an Organizing and Filing System
Having a filing system is essential to an organized home office. You don’t have to make an extensive system, but something that can help you easily navigate through the warzone that is your home office.
Customize a Working Calendar
A working calendar does more than keep you on track on the days of the month. It’s essential to keep you on schedule on different deadlines and tasks. Getting a customized working calendar can make all the difference in your home office dynamic and make you feel organized.
Keep Your Workspace Clean and Tidy
Of course, just like any part of your house, you need to keep your home office clean. Having a neat workspace will make or break your productivity and efficiency throughout your workday. So, it’s also considered a home office essential to have a cute trash bin beside your desk where you can put all your garbage or simply put things back where they belong after you use it.
Put Inspiration on Display
Organizing your home office doesn’t stop in the physical space. You also have to organize your mind when you work. And putting inspiration on display can help you clear your mind or motivate you to focus on the task at hand. It can be a motivational poster, a picture of your dream vacation destination, or your family, whatever gives you drive.
Let Natural Light In
Getting as much natural light as you can is definitely a home office essential. Staying indoors and not getting enough sunlight can put a toll on your productivity and concentration. Based on research from Harvard, natural light can reduce fatigue and headaches by up to 63 percent.
Pros and Cons of Working from Home
What We Like About Working from Home
There is no commute expense and time. Improved work-life balance. More flexibility in working hours. You’ll be able to spend more time with the family. Work absences will be reduced. Your technical and communication skills will improve.
What We Don’t Like About Working from Home
You need a lot of self-discipline to keep yourself from distractions. The line between leisure and work might grow thinner. Miscommunication is unavoidable due to electronic glitches or internet interruptions. You lose living space in your house for a home office. It can be lonely. Relationships with colleagues and family members might be harder to form. Increased bills due to home office equipment.
Final Thoughts
During these times, you might have to accept that you’ll be working from home longer. It might be hard navigating at first, but you got through a year—you can do one more or another! Equipping yourself with these home office essentials will make the new normal easier and maybe help you get that promotion in the comfort of your own home. Whatever happens, it’s still business as usual at the end of the day. So, we hope this home office essentials checklist will help you check off your career growth too. But, remember you are still in your home, so make sure that you clock out everything work-related when you leave your home office too.
