The following is a guest post by Lloyd Burrell.
Have you been downsized? Are you working at home to save money, or because you have to? Working as a freelancer can be both exhilarating (when the money comes in) or stressful (when you have a 300 page project to complete and your nose is all stopped up from a cold and the kids are screaming). Either way, you need a stress-free office space to work in.
Corner or Parallel Universe — You Decide!
Home offices vary in their size and shapes, almost as much as their users can. What’s important is that your space fits you, and suits your needs. If the decision to work at home was forced on you by a sudden layoff from work, then don’t despair. After the shock wears off a bit you start to move forward and in a while, you’ll soon feel in charge again, and probably more so than if you were still working for someone else. Tell yourself that the boss always took the best donut and then ran back into his office, anyway. Now, you can buy all of the donuts you want to. And, they are all yours to do with as you please.
Choose the space in your home first, then decide what you need to equip it. Look around in your home and workshop and garage for anything suitable to use. At first, your shelving may look like a few planks stacked on concrete blocks (which they could be) and your phone system is Mickey Mouse (literally — it was the one you picked up at that estate sale a few years ago). But, in reality, as long as it works — who is going to see it anyway?
So, there are some decisions to be made and they will surely be temporary. As you start to create your nest egg, then go for a few new pieces at a time, and this will bolster you up considerably. In the meantime:
- Some contemporary computer office desk furniture or a piece of triangle-shaped plywood?
- Mickey Mouse, or a phone that looks like it came from a Star Trek set?
- A black and white dot-matrix printer that shreds things on its own, or a sleek color laser?
- An assortment of ballpoint pens that came from local businesses or a gold plated pen and pencil set?
- Reusing the other side of paper to save money, or buying a few reams of cotton content and oh-so-bright printer paper?
- A computer that still uses floppy discs or a huge gigabyte monstrosity which is a cousin to Hal, from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey?
How Do You Work?
Are you a person who likes to throw things around on your desk until they are magnetically attracted to each other and form files on their own, or, do you like to place pages in color coded file folders yourself and not leave the self-organizing thing to chance? If you work like the former, then a nice big desk is in order. If the latter, you may be able to work out of a small fold-up hutch in the living room. Either way, you are now in charge and must create whatever kind of workspace that will make you happy. Just make sure if you have a fold-up office, that the cat isn’t trapped inside. You know how they love to do paperwork in the wee hours of the morning.
What Inspires You?
Here are some tips to help you focus:
- Play classical music if you’re into that, or loud rock if your wife wears earphones because she knows you.
- Eat over your keyboard cautiously. A honey sandwich wouldn’t work because in a while your X will stick to your C and you won’t be able to type in Archaeopteryx.
- What work are you doing that you have to spell that, anyway?
- Repaint the home office space if you want to, and can. Faded floral wallpaper may not be inspiring and help you become more creative. Choose low VOC paint (Volatile Organic Compounds) or else as you sit there, you could fall into an unconscious state.
- Build up your office and equipment slowly. Get by for just a little while longer and then look forward to bringing home a lovely new desk.
- Keep your phone clean. Bugs live on it, and you don’t need them.
- Get some exercise because it will work out the kinks and clear your head.
Make a plan for a few weeks ahead of time. This gives you smaller goals when you work at home and goals achieved are far better than goals not reached. Keep track of your projects. Don’t be later than promised at anytime, unless it’s beyond your control like an earthquake or something. Keep a tidy office so you can locate something without even looking. This helps when the cat is sitting on your mouse hand. They love rodents, you know. And above all else, be at peace and happy. You are working for yourself now, and all be right with the world.
Lloyd Burrell is a home office desk specialist though he has a marked preference for the ultra modern computer desk. He is always finding new information about home offices and presenting it to you in ways that are (hopefully) interesting and enlightening. Learning French at his own home office desk, Lloyd and his wife and two children live on the West Coast of France. Lloyd was born in Britain and moved to France a while ago. He is passionate about French cooking, learning to play the guitar, badminton, cycling and jogging.