When you are working from home, work is an afterthought. You are busy preparing the meals, washing the dishes, folding the laundry, and running after the kids. Not to mention, you also have to clean the house, make sure the house is not on fire somehow, and manage the overall chaos of a household with a full-grown family. In the past year, one thing was a glaring truth: unless you have a dedicated space, working from home might not be all that we thought it would be.
Employees have been wishing for their employers to realize the benefits of working from home. What they didn’t realize, of course, is that they actually have to do it for a year. Now, a few days in a work-from-home set up is okay. But a year when your kids are stuck inside the house, too? You can only imagine how chaotic the work-from-home environment is for parents who also have to manage kids who have been imprisoned at home.
Unless you are blessed with a home large enough to have an extra room or you can settle yourself in the sofa with your laptop on your, well, lap, working from home has many challenges. The biggest of the challenge is the ability to concentrate when you don’t have a dedicated space. Without a home office, you’re bound to get up to snack, break up a fight between the kids, and get distracted by the pile of dishes in the sink.
So Where Is the Perfect Spot?
Once you plan to renovate a space in your house to turn it into a home office, you have to call a general contractor first. They’ll help you identify the area in your home that won’t need much renovation to begin with. This will help save time and money. They will also give you a rundown of expenses, so you have an idea how much you have to prepare for this mini renovation of your home office.
Why do you need the perfect spot? Why don’t you create a corner in your bedroom? Working from home is challenging enough without being distracted by the lack of a proper home office. There are countless risks to working at home without a proper area—a nice table and chair, at the very least. Your back will hurt. You will strain your eyes. Even your wrist will be in pain. You will not be productive at work when something is ailing you.
Try to picture your home right now. What could be the most practical spot for your home office? Unless you have a spare bedroom, it would have to be either the basement or the attic.
Is It the Basement?
Here’s the thing: at the most, your basement will have a rather small window near the ceiling. It wouldn’t have a view except a small portion of the sky and maybe the base of the plants outside or your garbage can, if you’re unlucky. Slowly, you will feel like a prisoner in a dungeon. No matter how you fit your basement with all the trappings of an office such as an ergonomic chair and table, lights, lamps, wallpaper, books, and an essential oil diffuser, the lack of sunlight and outdoor scenery will do you in.
How About the Attic?
The attic, most probably, is a better option than the basement. It usually has more windows than the basement and since it is upstairs, it has a better view when you look out the window. Whether you have an actual nice garden or not, resting your eyes away from your laptop and simply looking at the street below and marveling at people’s movement will give you a much-needed break. While the attic is still not an ideal place for a home office (because nothing beats having your own room), it is far better than being imprisoned in a basement with nary a stream of sunlight to boost your mood.
The circumstances of working from home are different. The best option is still to renovate a room in your house that you can turn into your own space. But if that is not possible, you have to carve a corner at least—may it be in your bedroom or your kitchen. The important thing to remember is to make that area functional, complete with the amenities and furniture you need to work.
The past year hasn’t been kind to anyone. But most especially, it hasn’t been easy for workers to realize that a work-from-home setup is not the ideal work environment they used to dream about. So, now that it looks like working from home is going to be part of every industry, you need to start making plans where to set up your own little space.
