What makes a great work from home setup? Your end goal should be to create an environment where you are comfortable, where you are unlikely to be distracted, and where you have everything you need close at hand. Here are some tips for putting this together.

Choice of location

A major challenge of remote working involves setting boundaries between home and office life. One of the best ways to achieve this is to create a distinct working zone. It could be a dedicated room (a spare bedroom, for instance). If that’s not possible and you need to work in a general living area, there are still things you can do to physically delineate your work zone. Examples include rearranging furniture, e.g. repositioning a bookcase so it’s at right angles to a wall in order to create a corner workstation.

Lighting

Poor lighting can sap your energy levels, reduce concentration, and drain your productivity. Likewise, however, if you’re relying on artificial light that’s too harsh, this can also be detrimental to work. 

As a starting point, try to make the most of natural light by locating your desk in close proximity to a window. Just be careful with positioning so you’re not going to be hit by screen glare. Also, if you’re going to be doing a lot of videoconferencing, try not to sit directly in front of a window, as this will make you appear in shadow. 

Ergonomics 

You’re going to be spending a lot of time at your remote workstation, so it’s important to choose a work from home chair that supports your back and promotes good posture. 

Essential ergonomic features for your home office chair include an easily-adjustable seat height and arm rests enabling you to sit with your feet flat on the floor and arms even with the top of the desk. To properly support your lower back, lumbar assistance is also important.

Temperature 

Try to keep your work zone at a comfortable temperature of 18 °C. Air flow is important too, so aim to open the nearest windows or skylights for at least 5-10 minutes several times throughout the day.