Although most of us are increasingly longing for a good coffee-break chat, one thing we all seem to accept is that working from home will be here to stay, albeit partially. That is why we are giving you some tips that will make working from home more enjoyable – even on the long run.
1. A good office chair is (really) not a luxury for your back
Much has already been written about having a good work position. But not everyone has space at home for their own office corner. An unwieldy office chair at the dining table is not what you had in mind, never mind that big black screen on your dining table. Our advice, whether you put money into a new chair or into weekly physiotherapy sessions. With the chair, you’ll be done quicker!
2. Ensure a clean and tidy workplace
Mounting coffee mugs and used lunch plates are slowly taking hold of your ‘desk’? Take a few minutes to accept that you no longer work in an office where the cleaning fairies have your back every night. Clear and clean your space every day at the end of the day. When it comes to hygiene, pay special attention to surfaces that are frequently touched, such as keyboards, mice and your phone.
3. Improve your home acoustics
Having a quiet work environment is for most people a crucial condition to be able to do concentrated work. And as many of us might have experienced: this might be a more guarded principle in the office, than at home.
Most distractions are in fact quite unpredictable. Think of a lawnmower, a passing motorbike or your neighbour drilling their new IKEA closet to the wall. Or heaven forbid your partner who also works from home and has a lot of meetings.
Take a look at an acoustic panel if you or your partner calls a lot, or invest in a good noise-cancelling headphone. You know what they say: start small.
4. Good coffee starts with the beans and ends with a good coffee machine
As you may know, we have spend a lot of effort and necessary research to find high-quality coffee for our own ScaleHub locations. And to this day we have decided on a clear winner: Moyee coffee.
Since we don’t want you to forget the quality of the coffee at ScaleHub, we give away 6 bags of this fine Moyee coffee to anyone who has an extra tip for a good home office below this article. Not only because the coffee tastes good, but it also creates happier farmers in Africa. An easy win-win.
We give away 6 bags of Moyee coffee to anyone who has an extra tip. And the winner gets a Mendo coffee table book!
5. Invest in a whiteboard
Staring at a screen with 30 open browser tabs all day might not be the best way to maintain a good overview. How about visualising and sharing complex issues with your colleagues?
A lot gets stuck in your head. And let’s be honest, the online tools available are not always as flexible as you want them to be. Therefore we suggest to go old school and invest in a good whiteboard for your improvised home office – to better structure your thoughts and planning. Don’t you love a good strategy? It might even make you stand up from time to time.
6. Replace distractions with inspiration
Place things that distract you from your work out of sight. Will it leave your surroundings empty? Then make sure there is still enough that can inspire you or that can spark new motivation.
A tip from Thom: we have furnished our office with some nice coffee table books from Mendo, which you can browse through if you need a break or want to zoom out.
Because we miss you & the festive season is peaking around the corner, we want to give one of these beauties to the person who shares the best home office tip with us. So write your suggestion in the comments!
7. Furnish your real office more effectively
The social distancing rule of 1.5 meters also offers a good opportunity for the way we use the actual office. Think of an alternative layout that creates more space for productivity. The more space available makes the office even more suitable for activities that are more difficult at home. Such as brainstorming, team meetings, 1-on-1’s or presentations.
All-in-all, we hope you liked reading this post and that you took up a few suggestions here and there. We are looking forward to hearing your tips to enjoy working from home! And if you want to reach out to us, we are always here.
The winners of the Moyee coffee and Mendo record book will hear it as soon as possible!
Top tip! It would be great if Scalehub did share a few office photos to set as background in our favorite video conferencing software! We already did this for our own office and it works great for those working at home.
It is a pity that they have to miss that delicious Moyee coffee though… 😉