5 Steps to Designing a Motivating Home Office

As realtors, we are in and out of the CBDP office and frequently work from home as well. Many of us have created some type of space in our home that fosters productivity. With good planning and upgrading a few things, you too can have a productive work space!

1. Choose a location in which you won't be bothered

If you are looking to be the most effective in your space, it may be best to have your home office in the basement or attic, away from the hustle and bustle of everything. By escaping to a place that is solely set aside for work, you won't be focusing on your kids or pile of laundry that needs to get folded.

2. A work phone

Nowadays most people use their cell phone as their work phone, but if you still have a landline work phone, it is best to have it separate from your home landline. This way you won't have kids intercepting your calls and at the end of the day you can leave it and let the answering machine or voicemail service pick up the calls. The same goes for your internet if you use it a lot for work.

3. Add a couple of circuits

If you use a copier, laser printer, desktop, laptop, and all the other electrical things you can think of, it may be a good idea to add a few circuits to avoid tripping the circuit breaker. Please hire a qualified electrician to redo your home's wiring - this is not the time to bring in Uncle Al.

4. Customize your office

Make your office a place that inspires you. Whether that means a huge wall calendar with all your daily to-dos, an inspirational quote, or an ergonomic office chair that will keep you working longer by minimizing joint pain, invest in what will help you. In the long run, it will maximize your productivity.

5. Set boundaries

We touched on this in the phone section, but it is extremely important to have a work-life BALANCE. It can be so easy to hop over to the office after dinner to get out a few more emails, but by setting work hours you can establish a healthy balance, and will be more productive when you are actually in your office.