The last several months have seen a huge number of companies embrace the opportunity to move their teams to a remote work environment. Remote work is not new but the pace at which companies have begun to implement this process is intense. It’s left a lot of people trying to figure out how to turn their home into a second office out of the blue. For some people, it was an easy transition. They started using a space they already had, or they were able to make some small changes and suddenly invent a space.
However, doing it and doing it right are two very different things. What we’ve seen in home design is that there are things that work for remote work and things that don’t. We want to take a little time to explain some of the remote work home design practices we’ve gleaned. Some of things you can take care of simply in the space that you have and some of these things will require just a little bit of your imagination. If only there was some way that you could see what something would look like before you built it…
Here are 4 ways to make a great remote workspace.
Let There Be Light
It’s a bad idea to trap yourself in the dungeon when you’re slaying dragons as a work from home pro. One of the biggest mistakes that people make is create a space with little to no lighting. The issue in many homes is that all of the nice, well-lit spaces have been taken up with rooms you needed before the pandemic. There are a lot of reasons that you’ll want a properly lit space for your remote office. First, since many of our days now consist of roughly 156 million video conference calls, proper lighting will make you look a little fresher. This is especially important if you’re speaking with people outside of your team. A well-lit space will help you look your best on team meetings and webinars.
The second, and way more important, reason that you should go into the light is that it’s just better for you. Light makes people happy and while there are lots of workaround for this such as SAD lamps that simulate natural light. Those sorts of things are great, but they are no replacement for the real thing so whether it’s shifting things around to put you near a window or putting in a small skylight, try to bring as much light as possible into your space.
Finally, if you’re going to live and work from home for the foreseeable future, you’re going to need some friends and, repeat after me, plants are your friends. Setting your workspace up in natural light means that your new desk mates can thrive right beside you. Plants add a much-needed bit of natural beauty to your space and you can never go wrong with making things just a little prettier.
Recharge Yourself (And Your Devices)
This week, as I was relocating a rather large monitor from my office to my home office, I realized something. I don’t have any plugs near my workspace. My laptop and printer run off of a nearby power bar but when you climb under my desk, you won’t find any outlets. I was able to make it work with minor finagling however, depending on what you do, you will very likely need an outlet with easy access for your devices. You will need to be able to run all of your tech without a bunch of ugly cables ruining the look and feel you’re bringing to your home office. If you absolutely can’t bring your space to the outlet, bring the outlet to you. Invest in more outlets. It’s something that a capable electrician can do very easily.
One of the coolest pieces of tech that has really blown up over the last few years is wireless charging. From watches to smartphones, companies are making it so that “plugging in” is a thing of the past. Check to see whether that desk your dreaming of has a built-in wireless charger or at the very least, the space to make it happen. Many workspaces now also have USB connectivity which will help you connect and charge all those devices you’ve recently come to realize are necessary to get the job done.
Put It On The… Wait… Where’s the Board?
Despite the number of sessions you’ve hated where you or your boss or somebody on your team takes out that trust dry erase marker and tried to share their vision with the team, let’s be honest… we’re all missing our whiteboard. Now not everyone is a fan of the whiteboard. Some people prefer cork board and post-it notes. Some people love a good chalk board (although the dust throws off some of the electronics). Still others make do with some painter’s tape and a wall. The point is that we could all use a place to put our thoughts.
The issue is that sometimes our thoughts are ugly, and our significant other doesn’t necessarily care that you’ve built the most important KANBAN board of your life. This is the living room and it needs to go away. This is why something that can easily be covered is a great option for idea boards. Sometimes a fake curtain rod and curtains can cover up your to do, doing, done. Other times you may want to go just a tad smaller like a portable board. If you’re worried that your significant other won’t like the aesthetic. Involve them in the process. Just because it’s basically a mood board on steroids doesn’t mean it can’t look good. We’ve seen some exceptional examples of thought boards done right. Try turning it into a piece of art or build it out into a calendar that everyone can enjoy. Even if you have to rely on just a simple notebook because everyone hates your whiteboard, your workspace needs somewhere that you can quickly unload some thoughts.
A Room with a View and a Meeting with an Audience
One of the biggest concerns with a remote office, if you’re working with any sort of customer data or similar information, is privacy. Sometimes it’s just not possible to have a panic room that you can work out of. We’ve also seen the CNN video of the girl in the yellow sweater who bursts into her dad’s office while he’s on a live broadcast. In fact, that image (with me in the place of the dad) is currently my Zoom virtual background. So, what can you do?
For starters, if you do have a room with a door, keep the door shut and set up a system so that people know when they come in and when they can’t. It’s like leaving a sock on the doorknob, but the professional edition. Some people use a light, simulating an “on air” type situation. There are lots of options, but the gist is set it up so that you won’t be disturbed. What if you don’t have 4 or more walls and a door to rely on? Invest in very good headphones.
While a good set of headphones will help you with the privacy side of things, they’re also a great idea for comfort. Let’s be honest, we’re all getting a little sick of having headphones in for roughly 36 hours per day. Invest in a pair of comfy headphones. Use over the ear versions. They’re much less likely to cause earaches. Use the money you’re saving on a coffee and lunches at that spot near your office and live a little.
Remember, It’s YOUR Office
A lot of people thought that we’d be back to work already. As companies realize the potential wins from a work from home environment, they’re realizing that maybe they shouldn’t come back to the office anytime soon. So, instead of setting this up like an emergency workspace, invest in your space for the long haul. Pictures, plants, your favourite mug, books, and more all make for a more complete workspace.
If you can imagine what your perfect workspace could look like, we can show you what it might look like. We’re able to work with builders and renovation companies to help people imagine what these future workspaces could look like in their homes. Instead of cutting skylights out and knocking down walls, you can see exactly what everything will look like before building and that ability to see into the future is the real future of construction.
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