Create a Positive Home Work Environment

A lot of designers don’t have the luxury of choosing the optimal work space, but just because you don’t have an Aeron chair doesn’t mean you can’t be comfortable and productive. Here’s a few tips to help you make do with the guest room/basement/attic home office.

1. This seems like a no brainer, but clean, clean, clean, clean, clean. You have enough distractions without dust bunny tumbleweeds and allergens fluttering about. Pick up all the cd cases chinese food cartons, and software boxes.
2. Lighten up the room. There’s a reason office walls aren’t painted navy blue or fire engine red. Painting the room white or a light color promotes relaxation, and opens up the space.
3. Get that junk off your walls. Everyone knows it’s cool you saw Black Sabbath on their 17th reunion tour, but you don’t need a poster to remind you. Having a lot of junk on your walls is the equivalent of pasting a bunch of scraps of paper to your floor, it will be hard to focus. If you need decoration, try some plants that don’t require much maintenance, and some neutral prints or photos.
4. You don’t need to buy an expensive desk, but you do need a big enough surface for your mouse, monitor, keyboard, a glass of water, and a pad of paper at the very least. Allow yourself some space to write so you don’t have to push things aside everytime you want to jot down a note. You can get rid of the cables all over your desk with cable ties or even twist ties. You can mount an inexpensive wire fixture to the underside for storing your computer tower, but make sure to leave enough room for your legs.
5. Get a comfortable chair. If there’s one thing in your office you’re going to spend money on, it had better be the chair, you can sit and focus for longer if you’re comfortable. You don’t need Herman Miller, but a thirty five dollar hunk of plastic is going to do your back more harm than good. The office supply store usually has good deals on display models, so you can get a discount and not have to put the thing together.
6. If you’re short on space, try a small book case. You can get one for twenty bucks at your nearest Sprawlmart and you can fit plastic drawers and additional smaller shelves inside for convenient access to pens, paperclips, and staples. Use a free standing hanging file for recent projects and important papers, and box up old ones and put them out of sight. You can use the top as a printer stand, or put a lamp on top for additional light.
7. If you’re working in a guest room, get trundle drawers for underneath the bed. You can store spare linens inside to free up the closet for old files, extra paper, and that zip drive you haven’t used since 99.
8. Keep the pets out. Unless you have a pet that’s content to quietly sleep beneath your feet, close the door or put up a baby gate. The cat wants to type for you, while the dog may find outgoing invoices to be a favorite treat.
9. Get some headphones. When I’m at home the dog is barking at the mailman, the neighbor is practicing the first three notes of Smoke on the Water on repeat, and someone next door is leafblowing in January.
10. Keep food for lunch in the house, otherwise you’ll spend 20 minutes rummaging through leftovers only to decide you’re going to make The San Francisco Treat, or run to McDonalds. Have bottled water or a filtered pitcher on hand.

You’re going to be spending a lot of time in this room, so you’d better get comfortable.

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