4 Preparations You Can Make for Working from Home

**Collaborative Guest Post**

AD: It’s easy to think of working from home as the ultimate in comfort, luxury, and relaxation, but the truth is that you still need to work and exercise your brain power in pursuit of a worthwhile result. Of course, not having to deal with the commute, getting to eat whatever you cook with no restraints, and even wearing your pyjamas are all nice benefits. But there are also some down sides too such as finding it hard to switch off or set strict work hours and it can also be incredibly lonely and isolating sometimes too.

(Image credit - Pexels)

But just like you would at work, it’s helpful to impose a few standards on yourself to make sure you can actually feel motivated to work, that you manage your time well, and perhaps avoid external distractions in your home, such as social media or work hours that see you working late into the night, neither of which are going to help you in the long run.

In this post, then, we’ll discuss four preparations for the remote role you wish to have. Just as you might invest in some worthwhile workwear for an office job, here you get to invest in a pristine work environment within your home that can help you stay motivated and on track:

Prepare Your Computer

It’s important to prepare your computer, to the extent that you can. You may be surprised to see that not all computers are perfect for home working, or perhaps years of using it for your own purposes have left it bereft of remote working standards.

It’s good to implement your own working user profile on the computer that you can separate from all of your recreational activities. Then, you might choose a few methods to declutter your computer, allowing for quicker access of files and speedier memory use. 

In addition, you may install any programs or security updates your employer may require of you - for instance, a virtual private network that you can one-click toggle to ensure your traffic is encrypted when logging into their dashboard. This preparation can help you avoid annoyances you would rather not be burdened with when getting to grips with your role.

Find The Right Chair

It’s also good to find the right chair for your needs. Sitting at a desk for eight hours a day can be stressful on your body, as relaxing as it might sound, and this means you need the right furniture to support you. You may not realize this, but in many offices, they do select chairs with acceptable lumbar support so that their employees are comfortable over the years. In more prestigious offices, you may even see ergonomic chairs that cost well over a thousand for the most adjustable armrests, and executive function.

Format The Room for Audio

Odds are your remote working responsibilities will have you attending voice calls and video conferences. This means that a good webcam and microphone you can either attach to your computer via USB, or perhaps integrated in the laptop, are necessary.

However, is the room itself well-implemented for such a need? For example, making sure that the lamp doesn’t overexpose the image can be grounds for moving it, while making sure the room is well lit to see you and ensure the frames-per-second rendering of your camera is important. 

In addition to this, you’ll probably find a great deal of value in preparing the room for its audio use. Foam ‘egg crates,’ as they’re known, can help eliminate the echo within a room so that it doesn’t overburden your microphone when you’re trying to put a point across. Professional soundproofing is a little much and you probably won’t need that, but it can also be worthwhile to limit noise from the outside, such as shutting a window when on a voice call, or placing a lock within the inner side of your door - preferably higher up if you have children so they cannot reach it easily.

Secure & Organize the Space

No matter what comforting decorations you wish to implement within the space, it’s important to recognize that this is a home office and so making it entirely functional instead of beautiful first of all is important. 

A good way to achieve this is by securing and organizing the space, first with the lock method discussed above, or even a sign you can hang outside that tells your family members only to knock if it’s important. Simple folder stands on the desk, an office desk with inbuilt drawers, and helpful lighting, such as a desk lamp, with enough space to write if you need it, can all be thoroughly useful for your productivity in the long run.

With this advice, we hope you can more easily prepare for that remote role of your choosing.

xXx