Working from home is quite a change for many people, myself I have been working from home for decades. Thought I might be able to give some advice to those who haven’t had the joy of working from home.
A little prelude to my experiences. I began working from home using the internet back in the early 1990’s. Using technology, I was able to become internationally known as an expert in Cannabis, building websites at the start of the WWW. As I progressed along, I eventually became a sales person for an online furniture company. During my 8 years with that company I sold over $4 Million in sales of high end furniture. I was able to sell this furniture from pictures on a website and my ability to speak with people. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to order $10-20,000 worth of furniture at a time. I continue to this day working from home doing a variety of things mostly consulting work.
So how do you set up your home office and how important is it? First it’s all about Location, Location, Location. You want to pick a space that is comfortable and yet offers some degree of privacy from other activities going on in the home. A den or other bedroom is great, anything with a window is awesome, try to avoid the basement unless your like me and have a private entrance and windows with an awesome view. You want to be away from where you might conduct “Home” activities such as watching TV.
The location of your office will determine if you are able to “Unplug” when the day is done. Many make the mistake of keeping their devices or office in a location where they can not escape the office. It’s important that you make a space where you can get away from it when your done, everyone needs a break and down time.
Equipment is the next most important thing. Get yourself a desk and chair that are comfortable. If your not comfortable your not going to be productive. Having a keyboard and mouse that plugs into your laptop will make it much easier to get around. Having a separate monitor you can plug into is also an added bonus. Try to make your work space as comfortable as you possibly can. Remember how the office space was set up? Try to replicate it. Have some personal items around, pictures and other stuff like you would at work.