Over the last year, many people who had the capability to work from home have worked from home for at least a short period of time. However, for many businesses, having staff work from home has proven to be a better option for them. So if you’re going to be working from home full-time now but had never expected this, you may feel like you don’t have an appropriate setup for a home office, especially if you don’t have a lot of extra space to work with.
If you’re finding yourself in this situation, here is how you can work from home when you don’t have a designated home office space.
Section Off A Part Of A Room
Just because you don’t already have a space in your home that’s been designated as a home office doesn’t mean that you can’t find a way to create this space.
One great option is to put up a partition separating a larger room in your home into a slightly smaller room in order to make space for a work station. This can give you the privacy that you need in order to focus on your work as well as help you find a little mental and physical separation between your home and work life.
Get A Comfortable Lap Desk
If you don’t have any space that you can spare to make into an office area, you’ll have to find a way to take advantage of the space that you do have. Anything from a kitchen table to a couch and even your bed can be used as a work space, especially if you are working from a laptop.
For those that are going to be working on a laptop on a soft surface, Brittany Morgan, a contributor to Apartment Therapy, suggests that you get a lap desk that you can set your laptop on. This will give you a flat surface that your laptop can rest on, which will help it stay cool and comfortable, while also being able to put this accessory away when you don’t need it or want to be using it.
Make Sure Your WiFi Is Consistent
When working from home, the most important thing that you’ll need is consistent WiFi. Without this, you likely won’t be able to actually do the work that you have tasked to you. So before you worry about getting any kind of home office set up, make sure you have this basic necessity taken care of.
If your current WiFi package isn’t sufficient, Jennifer Liu, a contributor to CNBC.com, suggests asking your boss if they could help you cover the cost of upgrading. You may also want to put a hotspot on your cell phone so that, in case your WiFi goes out for some reason, you still have a way to keep working. You may also want to get something that can amplify your signal so that you can work from anywhere in the house without worrying about losing Internet access.
If you’re going to be working from home full-time now but don’t have a designated workspace, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you find a way to make it work.
