How to Set Up a Work-At-Home Space

Work-At-Home is a term that is becoming more and more popular in the workforce of today. The benefit that it offers both the employer and employee becomes greater with the raise in gas prices and the way the economy is now. For those that have the opportunity to have a work-at-home position realizes it requires a lot of organization and a quiet environment to be successful. Most work-at-home jobs will let you set your own hours, which will help you plan out your day to get quiet time to work. As I began to work-at-home I realized that I needed to do some things to help me get prepared to do my work from home.

Here are a few questions that need to be answered before you start to use your space to work-at-home. What tools will my job need me to have available? Do I need a filing system or storage? Is there enough light in my space or room? Is there a phone jack and power accessible in the space? What is the noise level around my space? Am I going to be bringing clients into my office?

Now that you have those questions answered you can proceed to start to prepare your space for your office at home. Start by arranging your office furniture. You will want to arrange the furniture in a way to maximize the lighting in the room or space. Lighting is very important and needs to be a high priority. You can’t work properly in a dim to dark office. The next thing to do is to arrange your equipment. Arrange the equipment so that it won’t overpower your space to work but still be easy to use. You then can personalize the space with photos. That will make the space more homey for you and friendly to your clients. Just be careful and don’t overdue personalization of the space.

Which brings me to the part about bringing clients into your office.

The first thing to consider is to make sure that they pathway to your office in your home is friendly and inviting and clutter free. Remember that clients first impression starts at the door. The next thing is to make sure that you have a proper meeting/sitting area to interact with your clients away from your desk. If you have the money, paint your office a different color from the rest of your house to give it a visual separation from the living area. Make sure that there will be no distraction while you are talking with the client.

No matter if you are in a space in the living room or in a room by itself the key thing to remember is to be organized. Organization is key to keeping the space from becoming a cluttered area of the home and if a client does make a surprise visit you will be prepared and your office will look it’s best.