28
Feb

How to hack your to-do list by hacking your home office

Once the novelty of working in your pajamas fades, you may realize that compiling presentations in bed and taking meetings while laying on your couch isn’t doing much for your productivity. You don’t need to buy office equipment to design the perfect workspace at home. Here is how workplace design affects productivity, and how you can make it work for you.

The design for success

It’s a common misconception that working from home is your license to work on the couch in your college hoodie. While this is a common television and film trope, it’s anything but a recipe for success in real life.

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
– Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, Inc.

Design is closely linked to human psychology and optimizing a space for maximum functionality. It’s a powerful tool to spark creativity and increase productivity. The way an office is designed is one of the top three factors that determines whether the modern employee stays or leaves a company.

How can you apply this to your home office?

Dedicate a workspace for yourself at home. Don’t simply opt for the most uncluttered space available – be intentional about where you choose to work.

Opt for the side of your dining table that faces a window (ensuring you have natural light, and your space is well lit for when you have remote meetings). Face away from an untidy part of your home, even if that means facing a blank wall. A cluttered view could result in cluttering your mind.

Finally, get a desk plant. More than just a desk ornament, office plants feed our biophilia (a scientific theory that humans “need” nature, given that our species has spent 99% percent of its existence in nature).

The power of ergonomics

Ergonomics is the science of applying psychological and physiological principles to product design. It’s the reason you’re not able to get much done besides answer emails when sitting at a bar in a coffee shop. It’s the reason office chairs tend to cost more than a regular chair. Ergonomics in the workplace is associated with increased employee morale, productivity, and presenteeism. Having to slouch at your desk or uncomfortably shift from side to side on a badly designed chair results in your productivity taking a hit.

How can you apply this to your home office?

Avoid the temptation of working from bed. Once you’re in your living room, steer away from balancing your laptop on your knees and putting your feet up at the coffee table. If you don’t have a desk at home, commandeer a section of the dining table as your workspace. Ensure your chair allows you to sit upright and that you’re not squeezed into a corner. Remember that you’ll be spending up to eight hours in this space, so it needs to feel right.

Sweat the small stuff

The smallest details from the color of the walls to the number of plants in a workspace impact your productivity. Environmental design is directly related to the number of tasks you cross off your to-do list. Working from home may seem like an invitation to be more casual than ever, but you may be leaving your productivity potential untapped by doing this.

How can you apply this to your home office?

Make an effort to go the extra mile with your home office. Connect your printer to your laptop if it’s something you regularly use at the office. Draw open the curtains and bathe the room in natural light. If you work in the creative industry, give yourself room to think and come up with big ideas. If you work in an analytical role, find yourself an organized part of the house to focus on your to-do list. Human psychology is sensitive, and it’s important to set a scene for productivity. Distractions are more dangerous than you think.

A glimpse of our team’s home offices

Fiona Environs would love to see what your home office looks like. Share a picture of your workspace and tag us on Instagram at @fionaenvirons

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