Are you planning on making the transition from working in an office to working at home? Working from home is great fun and has many benefits to it – you’ll have less commuting time (walking from your kitchen to your desk is going to take a long time), working from home gives you greater flexibility, it gives you a better work-life balance and increased motivation. And one of the biggest benefits is you will never miss a delivery again!
Getting set up for working from home is easy and as long as you start getting prepared a few days before you make the switch, you’ll be ready in no time. For one, you’ll need to remove any distractions from the room you are going to work in, you will also want to get your equipment set up and ready, such as a computer monitor. Getting an ergonomic chair is a must and you’ll need to think about getting the right desk in – you don’t want to be working from your dining room table every day.
To get you ready for working from home, we have put the following guide together on our tips for getting set up for working from home.
Purchasing a computer monitor
Have you got a computer monitor that you can use at home? If not, get one ordered as soon as possible so it arrives in time (most places offer next-day delivery, or you can collect it from the store). Things to consider when buying a computer monitor are the size you would like the screen, the quality of the screen – we would recommend going for a 4k screen – and the style of the monitor. Most monitors will come with a set amount of ports in the back of the screen but if you know you will need more, think about buying an adaptor.
Getting an ergonomic chair
One of the most important things to have in your home office is an ergonomic chair! So many people use their dining room chairs, without knowing how bad this is for their back and posture. Ergonomic chairs are slightly more expensive, but they help with so many things such as your overall blood flow, reduce neck pain, help with back pain and as mentioned provide posture support. You may want to ask your company to contribute to your chair, but if they won’t we recommend putting some of your own money aside for one.
Setting up your laptop
A few days before you officially start working, it’s important you do a run-through with your laptop and check all your programs work as they should. Some companies will have particular software that can only be accessed in the office, so they may need to give you access to this at home. Run your chosen browser like Chrome and run any checks such as Why is chrome using so much memory? Also, check your emails are working and that you have a fast enough internet connection – there is nothing worse than discovering you can’t do a video call when you have a client meeting due. Ai might become your best friend as you could use this to solve any additional problems you are having when setting up your laptop.
Choose the right desk
What sort of desk will you be using in your home office? Will you go for a standard desk or treat yourself to a standing desk? Standing desks are great for helping your posture as well as improving productivity, although they can be a little more expensive than a normal desk. If you are buying a new desk, the fun bit is making sure it matches the aesthetics of the room it’s going to be in. For inspiration, Pinterest or Instagram are two good sites that can give you examples of home offices.
We hope the above four suggestions give you some insight and a place to start with getting set up for working from home. As we mentioned above, the sooner you start preparing, the quicker you can get things in and organised. If you don’t have enough time to get everything done before you start, you can always do it after you start working, this way you will know what you will need and what was idealistic when planning.
What advice would you give to someone getting set up for working from home? Which of the above four tips did you find most useful? Is there anything we have missed that you think we should be including in our guide? Let us know in the comment box below, we would love to hear from you.
