In today’s society, it is not unusual for people to work from home. Dynamic teams from all over the world work together for the same company, even if they live on different continents. Working from home offers many advantages, including being able to set up your own schedule or avoiding the need to commute between the home and workplace. But the fact that you don’t actually go to an office, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have proper working space. Therefore, in this article, we’ll list some of the best things that you can do in order to create that ideal home office.

A Dedicated Area 

Before settling for a certain area in your home, you should start by making a list of everything that you’ll need for this project. Write down every detail on that list, starting with the actual desk, the computer, the printer and anything else that might be specific to your own field. For example, you might have client meetings at your home office; therefore, you’ll need to think about a designated space for that.

Now that you’ve listed everything you need, you have a better idea of how much space this home office requires. When choosing the area, make sure you consider a quiet room, with lots of space for furniture, where you’re able to hear your thoughts and at the same time, it should be a room with a lot of natural light and a cozy feeling.  

The Equipment

You probably already have a laptop; but don’t you need a desktop too? If you’ve worked in a traditional office before, you have probably worked on a desktop, so you know that it’s much easier to focus when using this type of computer. The second thing that you’ll definitely need is a good quality printer, which of course, is of the utmost importance in any office. Look out for all-in-one printer combination, such as the HP OfficeJet Pro, a machine ideal for a professional working from home.

This is a bit of a given these days, but you should definitely make sure that your internet connection is fast and reliable. Buying or leasing newer machines with greater performance and memory will also assure that you won't be left behind as a result of outdated tech.

Now that we’ve mentioned the essential devices for your home office, it’s time to think about secondary equipment. The following list is not comprised of must-haves for every person working from home; it usually varies, depending on your personal needs and preferences: 

• A landline telephone - This one might not be necessary, as there is plenty of VoIP technology, which allows one to use Internet-based phone services; but sometimes, it’s just a matter of preference.  
• Backup Drive(s) - Just as you would have in a traditional office, you need a plan to protect your data. And what better way to do that than by storing it on a backup drive? You can buy physical storage, or you could also go for a cloud-based one.
• Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) - Many people overlook this item, but if you really think about it, a power outage could come anytime and it might potentially ruin your work.
• Paper Shredder - If you work with sensitive and confidential information, you might want to consider buying a paper shredder.
• File Cabinet - It’s important to be organized, especially in your home office; so a file cabinet is definitely something that we recommend.

The Furniture

Even though you might be tempted to get this job done by buying cheaper versions of what you actually need, you might want to think about that twice. You’ll spend the majority of your day in this home office, so you probably want it to be a comfortable place that allows you to relax and focus on your job. That being said, make sure to get a good quality office chair that can provide back support, get a big enough desk so you can fit everything on it and buy quality devices.

Separate the Professional and Personal 

The biggest disadvantage that comes with having a home office, is the fact that sometimes it can get hard to separate your personal life from the professional one. First and foremost, you need to establish office hours. So get a clock and hang it right above your desk, so when it’s time for the end of the working day, get up and do something else just like you would have done if you would have left the office. Just because you work in the same building where you sleep, it doesn’t mean that you should work until 9 pm because you’re at home anyways. On another note, working from home also doesn’t mean that you should wake up at 11 am and procrastinate the entire day. The key is to find a balance.

Working from home has a lot of advantages for sure, but you have to consider the fact that you need to invest a good amount of money in creating the ideal home office. Without a proper working area, it can get hard to focus, to motivate yourself in order to work more and sometimes, it even gets hard to separate your personal life from the professional one. A proper home office is your first step towards finding the right balance between work and home.