Your home office

You have a brilliant idea and plan to venture out and start your own home-based business.

But now what? Now is the start of pulling it all together and making sure everything is in place and the office is set up correctly.

If all you do is place your computer on the corner of the dining room table with the hope that you are going to work effectively, you are kidding yourself. And a recent client has proved this point yet again.

I was talking to someone who was commenting on how his partner had just started working from home and decided to ‘set up camp’ on the dining room table. It was not working. This was not a surprise to me because I am always telling people that you need to plan, prepare and set up a proper home office. Or as the saying goes: Prior Planning & Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.

For this couple it was also affecting their relationship and bringing stress into their home life. This situation was an easy one to sort out as the couple were in the fortunate position of having a small spare room. So we set about by looking at what her job entails, what equipment she needed, and how she was going to structure her working day. With all this information we were able to put together a great little office.

When deciding where to set up your home office, you need to consider:

  • How much space is needed
  • Is there enough storage
  • Do you need a separate space from the family
  • What type of office will allow you to work at your best
  • Does it have internet access
  • Can you comfortably meet clients in this space

It is important to emphasise that there is no one perfect way of working from home. It can depend on what your home situation is like. Are you able to designate a separate room as your office? Or will you need to divide off space at the end of a living area? If your office is going to be part of another room, how will keep the two uses separate?

One point to remember is that no matter where you set up your office you need to make sure it remains contained in the office area and not wandering to other parts of the house.

Your perfect way of working from home can also depend on the type of job do you do. Will you be working from a desk using a computer? Will you be receiving clients? Do you need space to store product samples? Will you need the use of a separate treatment room?

These all need to be taken into account and will greatly influence how you structure your space, your schedule, your storage and your systems. So you can set up your perfect office space.

The average office will need to include and have the space for some of the following:

  • Desk, computer workstation
  • Chair
  • Computer,
  • Printer
  • Scanner,
  • Photocopier
  • Fax
  • Phone, answering machine
  • Filing cabinets
  • Shelves and storage area
  • Shredder

Before you go out and buy any of the products or supplies you need, I want you to do some planning. Ask yourself: What do I really need in my office? Will the computer fit on my desk or do I need to buy a computer table which will leave enough working space? Do I need every traditional piece of office equipment? Do I have equipment already that can be used?

So far you have considered where the office should be, the type of work you will be doing and the basic office equipment needed.

For me the most important section of your office is the filing and storage area. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of creating an organised and systematic office. Nothing affects your success like working in clutter, mess and chaos.

You need to choose the best, biggest, most efficient filing cabinet/boxes/system available. It doesn’t always need to be a traditional filling cabinet – you can also use:

  • Cardboard boxes
  • Plastic containers that hold suspension files
  • Rolling file cart
  • Vertical file holders
  • Stacking trays
  • Stacking bins
  • Book shelves with divider

Make sure the system you do choose fits in your office, works best with your job and suits the particular type of items you need to store.

The desk is for only the bare minimum. It is not for storage, it is not (or shouldn’t be) a dumping ground. You should only have on what you need to use on your desk, including small items such as pens, paperclips, stapler or a ruler.

To cut down on wandering time, keep frequently used products within an arm’s reach. How often do you use the printer? Are there reference books that you rely on on a daily basis? What supplies are needed to keep you working efficiently? Remember this tip when you are organising the layout of your desk, filing and storage area.

If your home office is also going to include your personal paperwork and files, it works best if they are stored separately. It could be in a separate drawer of the filing cabinet or a plastic filing contain all on their own.

By Rachael Ross
Purely Peppermint