WFH still? Here are 4 amazing ideas to turn you’re a part of your home into a mini-office space you will enjoy working at

Public transport is picking steam and offices have begun to call the employees back. The vaccines too have begun to be rolled out. But, as Times Job survey ‘How do corporates envisage the year 2021?’ reveals, about 42% of Indian firms will operate through WFH.

So, how does one help create an environment at home for a perfect work-life balance? How does one keep tons of distraction at bay and stay focused without feeling exhausted? Within our small homes in the city, how do we make our workstation go well with the overall interior style seamless, pleasing and aesthetically rich?

To that and many other questions, here’s your chance to lay hands on expert tips on making WFH easy, fun and well, even motivating!

Tip 1: Chose a space in the home which is a little distanced from the kitchen, telephone and main door. This will cut short on all the unnecessary noises and time and energy-guzzling distractions. Also, make sure that your workstation is well lit (naturally or with table lights) with enough ventilation. 

A 2018 study by Professor Alan Hedge of Cornell University’s Department of Design and Environmental Analysis found that the optimum amount of daylight reduced about 84% of eyestrain and headache of the office workforce. Since this was the study conducted to improve the office environment and increase worker productivity in office spaces, you can use the insight as a lesson in increasing your WFH productivity. 

Tip 2: If you can refurbish your old furniture or are planning to make new, make sure you choose colours that add vibrancy to your workstation. 

Depending on your overall interior, you could go with warmer or pastel shades or pick earthly colours. At Contents Unlimited, we offer a huge variety of colours, designs and patterns within laminates and a range of natural veneers that offer a sense of calming ambience.
You could also add a touch of natural green with small saplings or plants either hung on the side walls or your work table. Having plants around does a lot to keep you relaxed, focused and energized.  

You could keep bamboo, peace lily, some ferns that take less desk/wall space, are easy on maintenance and give you enough freshness to complete tasks before the deadline. And well, they also make for a pleasing backdrop when you on your video calls too!

Tip 3: Office at home also means a lot of flying papers, sticky notes for deadline and to-do reminders. A pinboard, if you have space for it can do wonders to organize all your randomly placed papers. 

If you are planning to invest in making a corner a permanent or a semi-permanent office, it is also worth going for glass laminates which lend itself to becoming whiteboards. You can scratch your marker pens there and put down a disciplined schedule that balances your office-time, meal-time and me-time. 

Tip 4: Since you will be spending more than six to seven hours at your work desk, make sure you have ergonomically-friendly seating arrangements with cushions and a good recline for your back.    

Earthly colours for your WFH furniture go well with such chairs too since most of the ergonomically friendly chairs come in black, blue, beige or brown. 

Most of us who are used to WFH maybe a little bored and overwhelmed by having to stay indoors for so long. A simple rearrangement of the stationery, an addition to storage or some plants, a new painting, having a new peel-and-stick blackboard are small changes that can add a little more life to the mundane workstation.

Try these tips and let us know if they worked for you. If you have experimented with some already and found it successful, do let us know in the comments below.