In the midst of the coronavirus many of us are going to be working from home. Prior to this emergency situation, the vast majority of us spent more time in offices so being inside the house for a full day for some might require a little adjustment!
But don’t despair - according to the nationwide survey, the average British office employee manages to get through just 3 hours of actual work per day so with a little help many of us might discover that working away from the office is beneficial to our productivity and overall well-being.
In fact, working from home is gaining huge momentum both with companies that rely on contract workers, part-time workers and large corporates that want to provide their employees with flexibility of managing their own timetable. According to the European Commission, 25 million workers in the EU are already working remotely most of the time. Every Build to Rent interior scheme that we have worked on in the past 5 years had an element of co-working space in its amenity offering which goes to show how popular these are becoming.
There are multiple considerations when designing a workspace but many ideas can just as easily be implemented in your own house, so if you are working from home and are looking to maximise your productivity follow some of the tips below to set up your perfect work environment.
1. Abundance of natural light
Find a spot where you have plenty of natural light. One of the clearest trends from our completed schemes is that people love working by the window or a roof light. In fact, working by the window makes us slightly more productive and reduces eye strain. If natural light in your selected work spot is limited, supplement with directional artificial lighting which can be adjusted depending on the time of the day.
2. Limit visual distractions
Our focus drifts naturally so positioning ourselves strategically in a space with fewer distractions can help keep our concentration. Spare room with a desk in a great example of this, however do avoid working in your bedroom (see point 6!) If you are working in the lounge try not to face the kitchen as you might be constantly distracted by completing your house chores or grabbing a snack. It’s best to face a window or a wall when trying to keep your head down.
3. Add nature
Plants have a calming, therapeutic effect on our nervous system which explains the trend of greenery in our places of work. This effect can also be achieved by introducing earthy & muted tones in your interior, like this image to the left showcasing Dulux colour of 2020, Tranquil Dawn.
4. Establish your zone
In open-plan environments where you are unable to dedicate a separate room for working you can try to zone your workspace to help you focus. If you are working at the kitchen table for example, keep a designated space that will be clear from clutter. Ideally pick a spot that is close to a plug so you don’t have to keep moving when your laptop runs out of battery!
5. Consistency
Working from the same place every day will help to keep your focus and after a while you will automatically feel in the work zone when sitting at your spot. It will also help your family know when you are working and should not be disturbed.
6. Don’t work from bed
Sitting in the office at 9am this might seem like an absolute luxury, but it could actually impact your well-being overall. Our bedrooms are spaces where we go to relax & unwind and everything about them needs to be associated with calm, peace and serenity. Even whilst working from home make sure you keep your work and personal space as separate as possible- our minds and bodies work to patterns so if you start working from bed you might find yourself thinking about all those work e-mails at 2am in the morning!
Let us know how your experience of working from home is going for you. With a little practice our homes can become places where we do our best work!
