few simple steps.
Here are seven to consider. Try one or all to boost your home office into those heady heights of true greatness:
1. Keep the noise down. McGovern recognized, as do most work-at-home folks, that noise can be Home Office Enemy No. 1. If you have the luxury of doing so, build sound-deadening features into the walls, floors and, if need be, the ceiling. If that's too pricey or your office is already in place, consider plywood or Homasote panels. Wrapped in fabric and placed on walls, they deaden sound and provide necessary pin-up space to boot.
2. Add privacy and more privacy. If noise is your chief antagonist, then lack of privacy is a willing henchman. Don't stop with a solid, lockable office door. Take privacy a step further with a "surround wall." These are light, portable screens which
can be positioned to provide visual screening and separation. They're not only handy in large office spaces where too much to look at can be distracting, but essential in shared quarters, such as a family room.
3. Light it up. Good lighting is a must. Trouble is, been to a lighting store lately? My first car (a used Oldsmobile with acceleration that primarily was gravity-based) was comparably priced with
what you might pay for lighting. Fortunately, great office lighting doesn't always mean a second mortgage. Architect Neal Zimmerman, author of "Taunton's Home Workspace Idea Book," suggests installing a small canopy or umbrella in a corner and aiming light at its underside. Your office will be showered with a bath of light, not to mention providing a degree of privacy and soundproofing — all at a sliver of the cost of pricey lighting fixtures.
4. See gray, act gray. Even the most independent-minded work-at-home types can suffer from conventional office-paint hangover. Workspaces aren't just supposed to be a certain rudimentary, dull color. Colors can greatly influence our mood and, hence, our productivity and intrinsic satisfaction with what we do. So, if your taste in color runs to a flashy pink or sunburst orange, don't be gun-shy about splashing some on your office walls. You may be surprised at how your mood and work take off.
5. Put your wastebasket on steroids. Most of us have little problem producing pyramid-sized heaps of trash. Trouble is, far too often we hope to squeeze those mountains into a thimble-like waste container. If your office functions best when things are reasonably tidy — and that's the gig for most of us — spend a few extra bucks to "super-size" a wastebasket to adequately handle whatever junk happens to be around. If need be, opt for two containers to divvy up recyclables and pure throwaways.
6. Plant yourself. In 1980, the movie "9 to 5" featured an Alcatraz-esque office where even potted plants were banned from cubicles. Don't needlessly lay the same sterile prohibition on your home office. Not only can plants prove highly attractive and help clean the air, they also can add privacy — a
shelf of ferns and spider plants builds a pleasant but effective buffer.
7. Be careful not to "live" in your home office. One final element that can make a solid home office exceptional is as much mindset as anything else. On one hand, personalizing your workspace — be it with family photos, mementos and the like — is essential to making your office an appealing spot. But be cautious about carrying things too far. One land mine that can make even the best planned office stale is spending time there doing things other than what your business mandates. So, if you have a spare TV, make sure it goes somewhere other than your office. Likewise, read, exercise and do other non-business tasks in another area of your home. Not only will that get you out of your office more — yet
another essential element to overall productivity — but it will make your time in your workspace that much more focused, fresh and, ultimately, better spent.
