How to Work Efficiently From Home When You’re Low on Space
Working from home – every day or just occasionally – can be great. However, not all of us have huge home offices that are perfect for a productive vacation. If you’re short on space to work, here are some tips to help you get where you want to go.
For those of us who live in apartments or houses where every room has a purpose (and none of them scream home office), finding a place to work at home probably means plopping down on the couch with a laptop. For others, this is an attempt to squeeze a table into the kitchen or some corner of the room, which already serves a double function. Whatever your home office is, here’s how to ensure that what you get maximizes your productivity.
Find a comfortable, familiar place to work
The first thing to do is find a place where you can actually be productive. It can be difficult if you live in a 400-square-foot studio in the city, and even more difficult if you share that studio with someone else, but it can be just as difficult in a 2,000-square-foot home in the suburbs with which you live. spouse and two children. If it seems like every room or wall in your home already has a purpose, you need to get creative.
Above all, don’t overlook the nooks and crannies of your home . Even a tiny piece of wall or unused corner can be enough for a shelf that can hold a laptop with a chair in front of it. If you don’t often work from home, don’t try to carve out a space as a full-time home office. Find a place that you can use as an office when you need it, but do something else when you don’t need it. However, when you really need to work from home, you should be able to free up that space and use it for work without being distracted or reminded of what it does when you are not working. This part is important, and we’ll touch on it again a little later. For now, make sure “working from home” doesn’t mean “finding a place for your laptop” every time you do it. You will be happier and more productive if you have a place that you can easily set up and get started right away.
Limit your work space, even if it’s small
Then, make sure your workspace has certain boundaries. Even if you can’t set aside an entire room for a home office, you need to have some kind of space that determines when you “work” and when you “don’t work”. Other people in your home – such as your spouse or children – also need to understand where they are invading your space and where they can walk or move without distracting you.
If you can add an indicator that shows people that you are available or working, then do so. A free / busy sign that you can hang on the edge of your desk is very significant. Agree with her husband, that the headphones you’re busy, but without headphones – free of charge. These small communication cues are essential in a small space, especially when you’re trying to be productive, when your kids are back from school, or your spouse wants to talk about their day. Just because your home office is part of a kitchen countertop doesn’t mean you can’t be sure everyone knows when to let you work and when to interrupt.
For example, my “home office” is actually a small strip between a short bar and a few feet from the main room of my apartment. My back is against the wall, and my desk is in front of me. This creates a U-shaped area with a hole on the right through which I can get in and out of my “office”. This opening is both the “door” of my office and the logical place where if someone wants my attention they have to come over to get it, but if I work, stay away. For reference, I live in a small apartment, so every square foot is precious, but clearly defining boundaries has allowed other people to know when I’m busy and when I’m not.
Make your space as comfortable as possible for work
As we mentioned, the place of work should be comfortable and fully dedicated to work – at least while you are working. If you can, try to carve out a space for yourself that is clearly a workplace. However, if working from home means lounging on the couch with your laptop or sitting at the dining table, make sure your workplace is as comfortable as possible for work. It helps set the boundaries we mentioned earlier and keeps you from getting distracted by other things.
If you do have to sit on the couch, get rid of non-work-related things that are simply distracting you. Books, games, even that comfy blanket in which you fell asleep before should be moved somewhere, they will not tempt you while you are trying to be productive. If you are sitting at the dinner table, working hours should mean moving magazines, mail, or dishes away. If your family or roommates usually leave their belongings where you are trying to work, move them before you start work so you don’t have to do it later, or risk them preventing you from moving them yourself.
Likewise, if your job requires you to take calls or conduct video conferencing, make sure your home office looks decent. If you need to take video calls, you don’t want everyone else to look back and see toys on your living room floor or hear your kids play in the background while you try to hold a conference call on an important topic. If you need to receive phone calls, consider a headset or other convenient listening method so that no one else on the call can hear from inside your home or everyone in your home can hear the ringing. Think about the kind of work you are doing when choosing a place to sleep, or at least think of an alternative location that is suitable for calls and video chats when they appear.
Block out the rest of the world
There are many distractions in the office, but working from home is no better. Whether it’s a contractor or service staff, the sounds of your area, or snacks in a pantry just a few steps away, they can all grab your attention. Some of these things are convenient – it’s nice to be able to work from home and also receive packages or supervise renovations – but they still get in the way. It is even worse when you live in a small space and cannot escape from them. If you are going to be productive at home, you need to learn how to block out what is happening around you.
For those who are constantly distracting, like the kitchens behind you or the sounds of your neighborhood outside the window next to you, concentration is your best weapon. Give yourself the tools to get into the zone and forget about what is happening around you . Headphones and music help me a lot – as soon as I turn on the music, the desire to eat goes away, and the birds outside the window are a little less distracting. Using a productivity method like the Pomodoro Technique also helps, as it focuses on specific working hours and specific break times when you can satisfy the urge to grab a snack or look outside. Remember that breaks are good for you , and working from home means you have more freedom in choosing when and how to take those breaks.
If your work from home overlaps with a contract job or other distraction that’s hard to ignore, try to schedule breaks when you know you won’t be able to concentrate. When I work from home and there are people in the apartment, I usually inform my colleagues in advance that there is a contractor in the house and my availability may be unstable. Avoid conference calls or video calls on days like these and try to stay flexible – a contractor may need you in no time and you won’t be able to complete tasks until they interrupt you.
Talk to the people you live with
Whether you live with your roommates in an apartment or with a large family in the house, make sure you all know what the deals are when you work from home. The small space means you can hear everything others are doing while you are trying to work, and vice versa. Setting up a workspace in your living room or kitchen can put you right in the middle of traffic with kids returning home from school or a spouse leaving work. All of these tips are great, but it’s still important to talk to them and make sure you all understand each other.
Talk to them about what you need when you work from home, be it a little quiet during work hours or some space in the living room for work. The goal is not to have them tiptoe around you all day while you are trying to be productive. Instead, you just want to be able to tell them that you will be working from home on a certain day, and everyone knows what that means: everyone understands the boundaries of your workspace, or that you might have to receive video calls, or that when you are in a conference call, they must turn down the volume on the TV.
When you work from home , other members of your family can easily feel left out , so make sure there are some concessions within your boundaries, especially with your spouse or partner. Agree on a time off during the day so they can get back to their normal lives and you can enjoy the end of the day with their company. Remind them to focus on work, not personal. With children who may not understand boundaries, a comfortable distraction that engages them, but still keeps them away from you while you work, may be the best option. Consider giving them “training stations” so they can use them while they work, so they can communicate with you without worry.
After all, most of us look forward to working from home, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to handle things when we’re distracted by family, the doorbell ringing, or even the pantry calling your name. Think ahead, be prepared for distractions, and find a comfortable, well-protected place where you can get settled and be productive and you will succeed.