Many people rarely work from home. Therefore, it can be quite a change to be suddenly told to leave the comforts of the bench or office to work in our own accommodation. Consequently, this poses the challenge of setting up an effective workspace and adapting to working from home, rapidly.
Several standard tips are:
- Make sure you take breaks: have a virtual coffee break with your colleagues.
- Keep moving inside: now is the time to take notice of your activity tracker alerts!
- Establish a routine: make a calendar or to-do list.
- Use a comfortable chair with back support: your body will thank you.
- Raise your laptop or monitor to eye level: stands can be purchased cheaply online.
But there have been many ingenious solutions to overcoming the working-from-home hurdle, and we wanted to share our favorite ideas with you.
Tip 1: use all rooms in the house
Take yourself back to your student days where all you had was one room. Order a desk, clear some space, and, voila, you have your very own office.
Tip 2: you have one office space but now there are two of you
One of you is on a call, the other is trying to work – it can be a challenging situation. But make the most of other areas in the house: perhaps one of you can use the office, and the other can use the dining table, and then alternate to avoid arguments. Or when both of you have meetings, one of you can use the office, and the other can sit on the couch or in the bedroom. Alternatively, if only one of you has a call, do a good turn and make them a cup of tea for when they are finished.
Tip 3: buy some standing support mats
Many of us like to stand to work but this can be tiring on our feet. Standing support mats are available online, which not only promote good posture while working but can also be useful while prepping dinner!
Tip 4: make a pencil pot holder
Are pens scattered all over your desk? Can you never find a pencil when you need one? Now is the time to rediscover your crafting-self. Use cardboard from the delivery boxes that have been accumulating in your house, make it into a box shape (templates, like the one below, are available online), and decorate. Or, if you prefer yarn-work, you can knit or crochet a pencil pot too. It’s amazing how something as simple as a stationery holder can improve your working environment.
Tip 5: add some greenery to your desk
Bring a bit of the outdoors inside. Whether it’s real or artificial, adding some color to your work environment can improve your mood, and can occasionally double as a pencil pot!
Tip 6: set up a desk outside
With the long summer days coming upon us if you have an outside space, why not make the most of it! Place a cushion on a chair, put some sunscreen on, and enjoy the weather*.
*weather not guaranteed!
Tip 7: make a DIY office space in your shed
Perhaps your garden shed feels a bit run down and unused? Then roll up your sleeves, clean out the broken garden trowels and transform it into a worker’s paradise. But of course, be sensible and ask for professional advice if you are uncertain.
We hope that you have been inspired by some of these tips and we would love to hear about the ways you have adapted your home into an effective working environment.
Also, don’t forget to check out our recent Women in Science post!
Please send any photos or comments to tipbox@abcam.com.
Photo credit: Gabriel Beaudry, Joanna Patterson-Cross, Georgie Cobbs, Georgia de Lotz, and Ben Ashby
Fancy writing for Tipbox? Got an awesome story to tell? Then we want to hear! Drop us an email at tipbox@abcam.com with story pitches, ideas, hilarious bants, or maybe you just want a bit of a chat. Whatever it is, we want it. And then we'll share it. You may or may not become instantly famous.