September marks the early days of autumn, and the change of seasons is the perfect opportunity to freshen up your home office or back-to-school study space for the family. Here’s some timely tips to reorganize and revitalize your workspace!
Making Space
If you don’t yet have a dedicated workspace, now is the perfect time to make one! Establishing a specific place in your home to focus on productivity is a great way to encourage an effective work session every time. It can be a huge benefit to yourself and your family to set aside designated time and a quiet space meant for working, be it homework for the kids, or work-from-home for the parents. Set ground rules about interruptions and quiet hours with your family, and delegate spaces for everyone who needs them.
If you already have a home office set up, this is the chance to consider whether the space needs a boost. If your workspace is meant to be collaborative, you may find accent chairs or sofas a great addition–if you share a desk, perhaps you’d benefit from extra work surfaces, expanded storage, or even creating individual spaces.
Organize and Declutter
A clean workspace can lead to greater productivity and reduced stress. Give yourself a moment this season to deal with any clutter that’s built up over time, be that archiving old work that needs to be stored long-term, or throwing out anything that’s no longer needed. Look into cable-management strategies to improve the look and feel of your office, and ensure your space is safe from tripping or fire hazards.
To help with organization, consider getting some desk bins to create specific, tidy places for papers and supplies to go. If you find yourself outgrowing your desk, you may want to look into file cabinets for your office–and there are plenty of gorgeous cabinet options that will fit the look of your workspace better than the stereotypical metal grey box!
Address Comfort
We can all get complacent when it comes to issues of comfort–if it’s not broken, it doesn’t need fixing, right? But everyone deserves a comfortable place to settle in and work, and dealing with inconvenience and discomfort only disrupts our ability to focus. Maybe your office refresh includes a new chair or seating cushion that can alleviate pressure while sitting, or an adjustable-height desk to allow you to sit or stand as needed. Perhaps it’s a sign to replace old, worn-down, broken, or subpar furniture with something more permanent and suited to your workspace.
Even if your furniture is fine, your workday routine can always benefit from a refresh as well! Add in break times for stretching and detaching from the desk, and incorporate mindfulness for your health and wellness.
Re-Evaluate Your Workflow
We’ve already gone over other ideas that can help streamline your workflow, such as expanding storage or workspace to fit your needs, but there’s more you can do, too! Set yourself up for success and take the time to evaluate your work routines and identify any gaps or areas where you’ve been struggling. Do you get distracted or hung up at specific points throughout the day, and are there specific tasks you find yourself putting off? Interrogate why, and see what can be done to make them more painless. Maybe you’d benefit from incorporating a new tool into your office arsenal, or you need to have a talk with your coworkers about a step in the workflow. Perhaps you find yourself getting distracted more often than not, in which case productivity apps or timers might come in handy–or simply removing the source of the distraction if possible!
Have Fun
At the end of the day, the most important part of updating your home workspace is to let yourself enjoy the process and have fun. Make your office a place that puts you in a good mood and allows you to destress between tasks. With autumn on the way in, why not try some seasonally-inspired décor? Even small changes can have a big impact–cozy candles can bring a little bit of warm light and aroma to your workspace, and decorative seasonal plants like tiny pumpkins look great on the desk while bringing a touch of color to your office. You can follow these tips year-round, as well, with beachy air fresheners in the summer, or a fresh bouquet of cheerful spring flowers. Your home office is a space for you, and little personal touches can make all the difference.
Need help figuring out where to start? Want to browse for inspiration? Stop by either our Pottstown or Chester Springs furniture stores today!
