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Make Your Home Office Conducive To Work Article
Make Your Home Office Conducive to Work
from:One thing you’ll want to keep in mind as you design and decorate your home office is to make sure you design it with work in mind. Now, this may seem silly at first glance but I’ve known people who put together a fantastic home office and then never work in it. There are various reasons for this. A writer friend has a terrific home office but always works at the kitchen table because she feels isolated in the back of her house. Of course, she lives alone and wouldn’t be able to do this if she had a houseful of people. Still, you don’t want to go to all of the trouble to design and decorate a home office if you won’t really be working in there. Not everyone can pick and choose which room to use for their home office; most of us are lucky if we have one spare room we can convert into an office. Still, if that room is too close to a noisy area of the house or if there are other issues, you may not be happy with it in the end.
If Noise is an Issue
If your home office is right next to the playroom or a room where the TV blares, you may have difficulty concentrating and end up working in another area of the house. There are things you can do, though, to minimize the noise, such as installing sound proof insulation in the walls and/or the ceilings. There are also other products on the market you can use to help insulate your office from outside noise. Also, be aware of what you are bringing into your office. While a small television set will keep you company, it may also keep you from doing your work so it is best to leave it out of the office. You might opt for a small desk radio instead or listen to your favorite tunes on a digital music player if you have to have some type of noise.
Think Twice About an Office Phone
Depending on the nature of your work, you may or may not need a phone in your office. If your work entails making calls, then certainly include a phone but for those working at home that don’t need the phone to work, it may be best to leave it out of the office altogether. Just let the answering machine or voicemail pick up the calls and return them after work.
Keeping Your Office Private
All too often, the home office becomes the catchall of the entire home and before long, it can get so cluttered that you don’t want to work in your office at all. Make it a rule in the beginning that this is your office and not a storage area for the family’s castoffs. If you are serious about your space, chances are your family members will be as well and you will be able to work in the space you have created without extraneous clutter.