After a year of working from home, we should prioritize organizing the home office

Much of the world has been working remotely in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic for a year. It’s hard to believe, but we’re rapidly approaching the date when many teams were asked to stay home and work.

It’s the right time to prioritize our home offices. After all, today, March 9, is “National Organize Your Home Office Day.”

One of the biggest mistakes people made in the pandemic is thinking they could simply take their work computer home and set up shop in a spare bedroom, on the couch or wherever they could find a clear space. As a result, many found it harder to work.

Establish a place for an office and nothing else.

A home office starts with a novel concept: an actual office.

It doesn’t need to have a water cooler and a copier, but it should be a location in the house where you can concentrate. And, ideally, it shouldn’t be a place where you hang out when not working.

Creating a space dedicated to work enables you to “leave your work at the office,” even when heading “home” is nothing more than walking into the next room.

Organize the space as you work in the office.

For some reason, people seem to forget one of the basic rules of creating a home office: Organize the space as they would their “traditional” office.

That’s not to say they need all the same furniture and equipment. But set aside a place for the mail, personal items such as photos and tchotchkes, decide how to file paperwork and consider the aesthetics for virtual calls and conferences.

Make it a place you want to work.

The home office actually has a benefit over the “traditional” office: You’re in charge of decor. Hang whatever artwork inspires you, set up a stereo or speakers and strategically locate the coffee maker.

Give it a sense of feng shui that matches your personality and working style. It may be a standing desk or a bean bag chair; no matter what you choose, make it work for you.

But just remember, the primary focus of the office is work. Be sure that whatever you put in the office doesn’t distract you from the most pressing tasks at hand.

Implement the right technology.

A unified communications solution combines all your business communication tools in one app. Unified communications eliminates silos, is flexible and scalable for an organization’s needs, provides better analytics and it ensures teams have the tools they need at their fingertips to remain productive even if the world outside is in chaos.

Given that many organizations are likely to continue offering the flexibility to work remotely for the foreseeable future — even after it is “safe” to return to the office — creating a workable home office could very well have a practical use for years to come.

If you don’t have a functional home office, what are you waiting for? Just think of how much more productive you can be. Contact a TPx representative to see how a unified communications solution can help organize your business and increase productivity.