How to Set Up A Healthy Home Workplace

We spend a lot of time in our homes. And, for many of us, working from home is the new normal. But, just because you need to spend a lot of time behind a desk for hours at a time doesn’t mean you should resign yourself to a life of constant backaches and a stiff neck. 

Ensuring your home workspace has the right office ergonomics and sufficient spacing can help you stay comfortable while meeting your work goals. If your home office workspace is poorly designed, you will be more susceptible to mental and physical stress. You may also find it difficult to concentrate. 

It is, therefore, vital to take the time to set up a healthy home workspace that’ll help you get through your workday comfortably. If you’re trying to implement some home workspace ideas for your kitchen, bedroom, or dining room, you should ensure that they’ve got all the elements of a healthy home workspace.

Besides have an excellent Internet connection, here is a list of tips to help you work comfortably through your 9-5. See if you can make use of them. 

1. Consider The Location Of Your Home Workspace

When working from home, the line between home and home workspace may seem a little blurred. To create clear boundaries that separate these two aspects of your life, The first element you should consider about your home workspace is its location. Which part of your home do you think you can best work in? 

Make sure you implement your home workspace design ideas in an area of your home that’s far from distractions, well lit, and only dedicated for work. Consider creating your home workspace in a spare bedroom that you only enter during work hours. If you don’t have one, set up your home workspace in an area of the house that is quiet and has much little to no traffic. 

Your biggest distractions are the television and the kitchen, so you should avoid working on your sitting room couch or the dining table. Creating an office-like appearance for your home workspace will help you get more work done. Try not to place home workspace furniture such as desks directly behind or in front of your window. This could cause improper lighting that will make you strain or squint your eyes.

2. Consider Your Needs

Once you’ve identified an ideal location for your home workspace, it’s time to consider the kind of equipment you need to install. You have to ensure that home workspace furniture such as your chair is ergonomic. If you don’t have access to the right office furniture, you may have to do with what you have until you get some.

An essential part of your home workspace furniture is a comfortable chair. Your chair is as essential for your home workspace as the best exercise equipment is for your home gym. If you can buy a new chair, make sure it’s got excellent back support. You should be able to adjust the seat height and the armrest to suit the natural contour of your body.

If you have to make do with furniture you already have in the house, make sure the chair you choose for your home workspace is sturdy and gives you good back support. Your elbows should be at the height of your desk. To find the right combination of desk and chair for your home workspace, fit a few until you get one that fits perfectly. 

If your computer or laptop is too low, stack a few books under it to raise it to eye level. Get a lamp to enhance the lighting if you don’t have access to adequate natural sunlight in your home workspace.

3. Create Space To Help You Move Around

Even if you don’t have the perfect setup for a home workspace, you can overcome its deficiencies by ensuring you’ve got space to move around it. As you work at home, remember to implement the 20:8:2 rule. Sit for 20 minutes, stand at your home workspace for 8 minutes, then walk around for two minutes. 

To eliminate the risk of straining your eyes while working, implement the 20/20/20 rule. Our eyes are made for looking towards the horizon and far-away objects. Looking closely at our computer monitors can negatively impact our vision. 

Every twenty minutes, look up from your screen at an object that’s twenty feet away for about twenty seconds. It will help your eyes readjust to their natural settings. 

Ensure that you’ve got enough fresh air around your home workspace to improve your productivity. During the winter months, additional heating and lack of natural light can expose you to lethargy, thus affecting your productivity. If you’re susceptible to allergies, you can use an air purifier.

4. Add Some Greenery

A home workspace garden is an essential element that’ll help boost your mood, lower your blood pressure and eliminate stress. If your home workspace window isn’t adjacent to a workout garden, adding potted plants to your space will help you reap these benefits.

Some potted plants such as lavender are natural stress relievers, others such as Mother-in-law’s tongue will clean the air in your home workspace, and others get rid of formaldehyde from the air. 

5. Hydrate Regularly

Keeping a water dispenser at hand or ensuring you always have a full water bottle at your desk will help you keep your home workspace healthy. When you’re dehydrated, you’re more likely to experience memory issues or headaches, which will harm your output. 

Staying hydrated will reduce fatigue and boost your metabolism. Rather than reaching out for a cup of coffee the next time you feel tired, try filling the empty glass of water on your home workspace desk.

Conclusion

Some of the issues that could affect your productivity in a poorly designed home office are sound and lighting. Even though these two aspects are most likely the hardest to control, especially if you don’t have a dedicated home workspace, you can still get around them and create the ideal space. 

How do you eliminate unwanted sounds from your home workspace? What kind of lighting do you use when you don’t have sufficient natural lighting? Do tell us in the comments below.