Working from home? Why not make a home office that makes you more productive and improves work-life balance?
The pandemic has prevented many of us from going to the office and has forced us to work from home. This has resulted in a muddled work-life balance, what with your area of relaxation becoming the area where you work. That’s why having your own home office is beneficial. To kick things up a notch even more, why not make a modern minimalist home office? Why modern minimalist? Simply because it offers the least distractions and can potentially boost your efficiency by keeping only the things that mattered.
The planning
Having to renovate a room can be tedious. You will have to shell out money, do a bit of labor work if you’re inclined to, and invest quite some time as well. There are two obvious routes to go about the renovation: go all out all at once, or go bit by bit just as your time or budget permits. Either way, planning is necessary.
In planning, it’s important to remember to be realistic. Don’t punch above your weight. Decide how much of the room you want to change, how much time you are willing to allot, whether you will need helping hands or not, and whether you can actually finish the project in your own deadline or not.
Things you need
Of course, you need things to complete your minimalist home office. Thankfully, being that it’s minimalist, you don’t need much. But to keep maximum comfort and efficiency, it’s advised to get at least some of these.
Lights
Being that it’s going to be your primary working space, having proper lighting to illuminate your tasks is necessary. Don’t be stingy on this part; the last thing you want is to have a dim workspace and feel lethargic while at work. Purchase good-quality recessed LED dowlights to install on your ceiling to keep the vibrancy and your mind up. Or if you prefer having mood lights, sconces, or floor lamps that can help illuminate only specific parts of the room.
A plant
Ornamental plants are all the rage recently, and for good reason. They offer a lot of benefits, such as improving the air of the room, reducing sick building syndrome, and provide a relaxing thing to stare at in between work. Plants are naturally beautiful and would add a certain flair to any type of room design- even a minimalist design.
A comfortable chair and a desk
A table and a chair will be your primary working tools. If you don’t have a good office chair, perhaps now is the right time to get one. It doesn’t matter that it’s not minimalistic, it’s ergonomic enough to warrant being a need. A bad chair can lead to horrendous back pain, and that’s something that’s always better off avoided.
You also need a good desk. It doesn’t have to be deep, as a matter of fact we suggest that you get the right size. If you use a computer for work, then get one that’s just the right size for your machine. Having a needlessly deep desk only invites clutter and distraction.
Shelf
There are a lot of simple and basic shelves that will do just fine. Your shelves must be inconspicuous, holding only important things and no distractions. However, avoid purchasing too much or too big as it even a shelf can easily be cluttered if there’s space to put things on.
Paint and theme
While entirely optional, it’s better to paint your room with the color of the general motif. Perhaps you’re more fond of the relaxing white, or calming black. Then by all means paint your walls in this color, especially if it helps you focus on work. However, keep in mind the color of your furniture and other equipment. If you can help it, paint your desk with a similar color to the walls too. This helps the furniture blend in and look like it’s part of the room.
Declutter
Choosing a minimalist design will require you to let go of many bits and baubles that you don’t really need. It’s a good opportunity for you to overhaul not just your workspace but your lifestyle as well. Decluttering your immediate surroundings will help you have a good headspace for detoxifying your thoughts.
The goal of having a minimalist home office is to establish the divide between home and work and provide a distraction-free working area. Make sure that this is achieved by following this simple rule: don’t bring work to the other parts of the house. Keep your work in your work area, just like how we used to leave work in the office.
