Working from home presents some unique challenges. However, setting up your home with distinct areas for work and rest is a great way to minimize distraction and maintain a healthy work and home life balance. This can be achieved by designating specific areas of your home for specific purposes. West Shore Construction has some tips to help you do just that!
Your Home Office
Start by setting up a home office for productivity. Even if you don’t have an entire room for your workspace, designate a corner separate from household chores and all other activities. Some steps you can take to improve productivity include:
- Establishing boundaries for contact while you are in the workspace
- Maintaining a comfortable temperature
- Keeping work materials within arms’ reach
- Preparing an organized workspace
Add some plants and artwork to improve creativity. While this space should be inviting and comfortable, it should also be arranged to help you to stay focused. A standing desk provides several health benefits, including reduced weight gain, decreased risk of cancer, and increased energy levels.
Something else to consider: once you have the perfect home office, you might as well put it to use! If you’ve thought about starting your own business, now is the time. You’ll have to make some decisions first, though, like choosing your business structure and tax designation. For the latter, knowing the difference between C Corp and S Corp is a must. Luckily, there are plenty of resources available to help!
The Bedroom
Your sleep is impacted directly by how your bedroom has been set up. You may have a smartphone charging on your nightstand or a digital clock on the dresser. Quickly and easily improve your sleep by charging your phone in another room and removing the TV and any other devices with blue light. Replace bright bulbs with dim lights to trigger your brain to settle into nighttime mode. If there’s a lot of light from outside, use curtains or shades to keep your room dark.
Lowering the temperature of your room is another important move. According to most sleep experts, the optimal temperature for a cool bedroom is between 60- and 67 degrees Fahrenheit.
Next, reduce the amount of noise in the room. If everyone in your home naturally settles down to sleep at the same time, a quiet room may come easily, but if you have loud neighbors or live in a busy area, a source of white noise could be a solution. You can also move your bed away from outside and shared walls and away from windows.
Wellness Space
A space for wellness in your home encourages you to improve your emotional and physical health intentionally. As with the home office and the bedroom, this space should be used for your wellness habits, including meditating or exercising. Again, this space should be free from distractions and organized to make it easy to begin your wellness routine.
Your Home
There are several changes you can make to your entire house that increases your productivity and makes the home more comfortable and relaxing.
- Lighting is a big part of this. For example, installing a decorative pendant light in rooms with high ceilings can bring light closer to your level. Use lights to specifically target your workspace or a cozy corner for reading. There’s a wide variety of lighting options available in style, shape, and finishes to match your existing décor.
- Upgraded flooring increases the attraction of your home and can improve your ability to work and relax at home. For example, carpeting in the bedroom muffles sound for better sleeping.
- Other house-wide improvements include opening up windows to let in natural light, decluttering all of the rooms, and adding plants throughout the home.
Designing your own space to be a place where you can relax fully and still be productive doesn’t have to be difficult. With intentional changes and design decisions, you can create a living and working environment where you love to be.
West Shore Construction serves residential and commercial clients throughout Clearwater, Tampa, St Petersburg, Sarasota County, and Pasco County, Florida. Even as we’ve expanded, we remain one of the top contractors in the area, providing exceptional craftsmanship and quality customer service. Call 727-488-8182.
