How To Optimise Your Space When Working From Home

Dog at a hard day of work in the Home Office — Photo by Allie on Unsplash

Working from home isn’t all joy, happiness and getting sh*t done. Distractions are lurking in each corner. The bathroom that needs a scrub, the toilet paper that needs refilling. What is that, you’re nearly out of coffee? Oh no! Before you ring the alarms, you run off to the store. Gone is your focus… But at least now you will have caffeine☕️

Having worked from home since last year, I’ve learned that it can be a challenge. To get and stay motivated, to not get distracted, and resist meaningless temptations that still won’t aid you in finishing work.

I admire those who are able to zone out and merge into one singular being of computer and human, impossible to get distracted by outer forces. Instead, I organise my space to work in my favour and hereby get rid of as many distractions as possible. It’s not a perfect setup, but we’ll learn as we go and improve with time.

These are the changes I implemented that aid me in doing better and more focused work:

1. Comfortable desk and table setup. I am currently seated at home, where I have a tiny-but-big-enough table of barely 1x1m at the right height with my arms comfortably resting on the table at a ninety degrees angle, and an ergonomic chair I bought off eBay Kleinanzeigen to support my back. If my back and joints are not in pain, I feel more comfortable. I’m less distracted, and more easily able to focus on the work that needs doing.
   Have you ever tried doing computer work in an uncomfortable position for hours or days in a row, to wake up the day after with intense back and neck pain? Hustle and grind or not, sacrificing your health is not exactly the idea. Imagine how this pain will develop if you ignore it for ten or twenty years from now. You aren’t there to sit comfortably, but if it increases the quality of your work? Back pain is not a badge of honour of how hard you work.
2. Tidy surroundings. This has been a constant prerequisite for me to do work. I can’t stand a messy environment. Dust will be vacuumed before it gets the chance to fall onto the carpet or any other surface. Messes distract me, so I avoid making them. Know your triggers, so you can always be one step ahead of them. Call it avoidance behaviour; this way you won’t have to worry about untidy surroundings, nor losing energy…