Home Office Tips - Distractions, Setup, Motivation, Planning, and More
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| Photo by Yasmina H on Unsplash |
Hanifmr.com - Working from home is normal for me, but many find it very difficult at first. Especially in the current Corona times, the home office is a good alternative for many, but you should also pay attention to a few important things.
In today's article with home office tips, I would like to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of working from home, say a few words about setting up the home office and a lot more.
Of course, I am also happy about your experiences and opinions in the comments.
Is the Home Office an Alternative?
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| Home Office Tips - Distractions, Setup, Motivation, Planning, and More |
As an alternative to an external office, the home office is suitable in many cases, but certainly not always. It depends a lot on your activity. This is a good option for those who only work on the PC in the external office.
The requirements of this activity are of course very different from other professions and branches. And even with the target group “self-employed on the net” there are certainly different priorities and wishes for their own office. The following tips are to be seen as a suggestion and by no means set in stone.
Therefore, when setting up your own home office, you should first ask yourself a few questions:
- Do I have my room for my home office?
- How much space do I need to work and, for example, for documents?
- Do I have customer traffic or do I only work alone?
- Am I out and about a lot with customers or mainly in the office?
- What special things (e.g. technology ) do I need in the office?
- How much do I allow myself to be distracted from my private living space?
The answers to these questions ensure that you can make the first decisions because you must think about your own office beforehand before you invest money and time and then do not feel comfortable in your own home office cannot work well there.
The Home Office Next to the Bed and Coffee Table
Many start their (part-time) self-employment in the living room or bedroom. And that is understandable for many reasons of space. You should analyze your daily work and your effectiveness in this work environment carefully and self-critically.
It is not uncommon for such a working day to end at noon in front of the television and that is not helpful to be successful.
I have my own little office in my house. And there I tried not to integrate private things as much as possible. At least not private things that are distracting. So there is no television, no game console, no hobby books or hobby magazines, etc.
In the first months of my self-employment, it was sometimes not so easy to stay in the office and to resist the temptations of the living room, for example. But after a short time that was no longer a problem.
But this separation of work and private life under one roof is much more difficult when you work in the living room or bedroom.
Then you should at least make sure that there is at least one real work corner. So don't work sitting on the couch or bed, but at a small desk specially set up for this purpose. Although there are certainly people here who can work effectively on the couch with a laptop. For most, however, this will not be the case and the ergonomics on the couch or bed are not the best either.
This is why the living room/bedroom is just an option for many self-employed people. Later they should switch to a real home office.
A Separate Room as a Home Office
For many, a separate room in the apartment or house is the ideal home office.
Having your room in the apartment/house has many advantages:
- Diversion
You are of course far less distracted in a separate home office than in the living room, for example. However, setting up the home office should of course also be geared towards independence. That doesn't mean that it can't be furnished more individually and comfortably than a typical office in a company. In the foreground, however, should be that you can do your work optimally there. - Family Life
For those who work at home, it is important to have a life with family, friends, etc., and not work 24 hours a day. But when you work then you should do it 100%. A separate room is of course very helpful, as this is a very good way of separating private and professional life. In addition, you can react much more flexibly to family life in the home office and, for example, take the afternoon off and go back to the home office in the evening. - City Square
Depending on the activity, you also need enough space for documents, technology, etc. This can of course usually be done more easily in a separate home office than in the bedroom. - Psyche
I also find it very important to have a real home office, as this makes it clear that it is real self-employment or real work. A PC in a corner of the living room or bedroom has something semi-professional and hobby-like about it. At least the home office helps me with the right mental attitude towards my independence.
But a home office can also have disadvantages:
- Growth
A home office will usually not be very large and that is enough depending on the development of your independence. At least for the first employee, a home office is no longer the first choice. - Setup Costs
Setting up a home office costs more than working on the couch. But you can also save on furnishing and you don't have to set up a luxury office right away. - Separation of Work and Private Life
Working from home can make it harder to interrupt work and move on to private life. While you can no longer work in the living room from the afternoon onwards because your partner and possibly children are “active” there, you can close the door in your home office and work around the clock. You have to learn to call it a day.
8 Tips for the Home Office
Here are a few tips for your own home office.
1) Cheap Facility
Proper office furnishings are very helpful when working. If you also have customer traffic, you should make sure that the office furnishings convey your own corporate identity accordingly. Otherwise, it will look unprofessional very quickly. Not to forget the extra conference table with chairs if you need it.
However, you should also pay attention to the expenses, especially at the beginning. You get the VAT back, but you still have to pay the net price. So you don't get anything for free and you shouldn't buy everything on credit.
There are always special offers for office furniture from large furniture stores and also from online retailers such as Otto-Office or Viking. So just keep your eyes open for a while and wait for offers. Or you can buy used equipment on eBay or from special sellers.
Also, pay attention to the 80/20 rule. This is also applicable here and means that certain things are responsible for most of the effectiveness. Conversely, some things cost a lot but contribute little to work effectively and are therefore not that important.
2) Ergonomics
Ergonomics in the workplace is a foreign word for many self-employed. It is really important to pay attention to the soft factors of your workplace.
There are many tips for ergonomics in your own office. For example, on the lighting conditions, the room climate, the acoustics, and more.
3) Green
Bringing a little green in your home office is recommended. One of the other plants can work wonders. You should also be able to look out the window regularly. Depending on the view you have, this helps relax your eyes.
And there are other ways you can make your home office green.
4) Window and Light
Don't underestimate the window. In addition to important daylight (pay attention to whether the morning sun blinds you or makes the screen illegible), fresh air is of course also very important. Otherwise, your health and concentration will suffer, especially with a computer and printer in the room.
I also have additional light sources if there is not enough daylight or if I work in the evening. I find light to be very important and stimulate motivation and mood.
5) Chair and Table
I think the office chair is extremely important. You really shouldn't save money in the wrong place. High-quality office chairs are easy on the back and ensure optimal posture. The chair should also be coordinated with the table. Because in the home office you spend a lot of time on the PC.
The laminate was an important experience for me. After a while, the laminate was slightly damaged by my work chair and its castors, so I got myself a plastic office chair underlay.
I decided on an L-shape for my work table, as this gives me a lot more space to store documents and also to set up a second computer. Of course, the decision for a certain shape of the desk depends very much on the circumstances of your own home office. You should therefore ensure that you take the exact measurements with you to the furniture store and not buy on suspicion.
6) The Technology
Office technology is also very important. It doesn't always have to be the latest generation of technology. For example, it is not important to me to have the currently fastest PC. It simply costs too much and this service is usually not necessary for the home office.
However, one should not rely on technology that is too old. After all, work on the PC should go quickly and you don't want to wait after every click. The noise development was also important to me. It was very important to me that my new computer was very, very quiet after the previous one was just too loud.
Choosing a good monitor is also important, especially if you sit in front of the PC for a long time. Otherwise, you will not do your eyes a favor and you will get headaches and concentration problems more easily. It doesn't have to be a luxury monitor, but you shouldn't just pay attention to the price, but also seals of approval and the like. I don't want to do without 2 monitors anymore because I can work much more efficiently.
7) Organization
It usually helps a lot when you well their own home office organized. The filing should be neat and the folders well organized. ;-) After all, you want to work productively and not spend your time looking for documents.
Other processes should also be well organized because all of this ensures more effective work and often reduces the number of overtime hours.
“Creative chaos”, as some consider it very important, is often just an excuse because they fail to organize their office well. But that doesn't mean that you can't still have an inspiring and personal office.
8) Rules
Last but not least, you should make rules. When is the core working time? How do I dress “at work”? How should partners and children deal with the home office? What if you have to work overtime? What does it mean for family and friends when I'm in the home office and not “at home”?
Such rules help to work effectively in the home office, especially in the early days.
The furnishing of your own office is, of course, all the more important the more time you spend in it. Many freelancers work on projects for customers and rarely at home. In these cases, it is of course not that important to have your room, etc.
Therefore, you should always consider these notes and tips in connection with the questions asked above.
From a Tax Point of View
I'm not a tax advisor, so I don't want to waste too many words here.
However, there have been important decisions related to the tax deductibility of the home office. Especially if you work relatively little in the home office (e.g. because you travel a lot as an appraiser), you could not benefit from tax advantages in the past.
But this has been possible for a long time. But you should talk to a tax advisor about the individual case so as not to give away any savings.
And also when writing down the technology and equipment, it is important to either deal with the topic or to hire an expert to do it.
Home Office or Coworking?
The topic of coworking is becoming increasingly popular. Coworking has some advantages, but certainly also a few disadvantages. It wouldn't be anything for me, but everyone has to decide for themselves.
More Tips and Links About Working from Home
Here are a few links to articles that deal with working in the home office.
Working more effectively from home:
- Tips for Working from Home - Lots of tips for working from home more effectively
- 12 tips to work more effectively from home - How self-employed work from home more effectively
Tips for the optimal working day:
- This is the best way to start the working day - 12 tips to get the best possible start to the working day as a self-employed person
- 14 Tips for a Productive Work Day - Self-employed people can work more effectively with these tips
- 9 tips to get off to a good start in the evening - with these tips you will find the right way to end a working day


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