Sometimes even small changes can have profoundly positive outcomes. I have spent over 15 years as a freelance web developer, blogger and SEO specialist working from my home office as a freelance web developer, blogger and SEO specialist – I’ve learned many invaluable lessons along with many mistakes – about being more productive, not procrastinating tasks and maintaining constant organization. Here are 10 Tips From Decorating To Organizing
Have you ever experienced such frustration when working from home remotely in any capacity? Regardless of the role, working as a freelancer requires checking a myriad of different things daily – emails, social media messages, today’s calendar events and apps designed to manage business and clients should not be forgotten when checking notifications from every service you’ve used in addition to signing in and out for each one individually!
Your home office must remain clean, orderly, and tailored to your personal preferences and specifications. Furthermore, productivity must be prioritized over procrastination by sticking to a strict timetable. Furthermore, having your own business or working as a freelancer provides enough income to cover personal expenses like food, rent, utilities bills etc. Plus you’re earning enough from either source to cover other bills too!
Yes, to maintain organization requires taking care in caring for all items as part of an effective organization plan. Furthermore, an excessive number of items can create mental clutter for those like myself. As a freelancer for several years now, I had to figure out the most efficient methods of maintaining organization when working from home and I hope some of these tips may come in handy for you too.
1. Keep it simple; Start with your home office
On a recent academic assignment for my closest friend, her home office caught my eye immediately when I visited. Unfortunately, the single mother is finding it challenging to keep both jobs on schedule while parenting two children alone and living away from her hometown job site. Furthermore, it was disorganized with toys for children scattered everywhere as well as schoolwork pens notes and even mouse’s cord which she kept trampling on with her foot!
As someone without children myself, it’s hard to comprehend the difficulty of keeping one let alone two under control. Yet keeping your home office as organized as possible and clearing away unnecessary items is essential if you want it to remain pleasant for work from home – after all, that will likely be where much of the day’s productivity lies!
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I can still recall repeating the same mistakes over and over: rather than dedicating one hour to making sure my home office was as comfortable as possible, I continued working in an ineffective manner with too many equipment and items scattered on top of my desk, directly between computer and monitor – what an enormous waste of discomfort, productivity, and office space!
Over time, I realized that in order to maintain high levels of productivity in an office setting, one that is neat and well-organized requires making time each week to clean out and organize the home office while making it more comfortable overall. If this applies to you, the following advice might help: Make sure your schedule allows an hour or two for this specific activity – this could make a big difference to productivity levels!
2. Don’t work wearing your pajamas
As many people know, working from home while wearing your pajamas may not be wise. While snug and comfy pajamas may feel good against your skin, they could actually contribute to low productivity due to allowing you to move freely without the restriction of formal attire. Many individuals like myself find that dressing professionally helps create an efficient work mindset.
Some individuals believe that dressing professionally helps them focus and be more productive, while those attending video meetings could opt to wear formal clothing so they always come prepared and are less stressed out by last-minute meetings.
There was once a time when I considered working in my pajamas for three consecutive months to make working more comfortable, with no noticeable video meetings taking place during this period. To my amazement, however, productivity seemed higher on days where video meetings with clients took place and therefore when I wasn’t wearing my PJs! At that moment I realized working this way wasn’t helping me switch into more productive work mindset and started dressing again – another realization for the day that lead me back out into public view!
At the end of the day, it all depends on your personal preferences and type of work you do. So if it makes you more productive to wear jammies while working – go ahead! Do it if it feels comfortable.
3. Let’s talk about windows and sounds
What could possibly be more detrimental than spending eight or more hours a day staring at a screen, staring directly at its wall backdrop? Rethink your home office decor if a wall can be seen directly behind it; working for extended periods in front of a screen may become tedious and isolating; having access to outdoor light may help with this aspect, and windows allow me to take short breaks every few minutes and look outdoors when needed.
Utilizing the Pomodoro technique can also help keep you focused. I find that opening my window partially and letting in nature’s sounds helps me feel less connected – though even without windows your office could benefit from some “playful” lighting, some small flowers to bring more of its “natural” feel, or hanging a piece of art!
Call me crazy, but one thing you really miss after working so long in front of a screen is nature. Riding any mountain I can find while not working makes me feel more at peace and connected to it; perhaps that is why mountain biking first appealed to me; offline and away from all the digital noise. Simply taking a moment or two each day to gaze outward and listen out for sounds such as automobiles passing by or people conversing or birds singing can have an enormously therapeutic effect – as I found out first-hand myself!
4. Avoid decorating your office with dark furniture
As expected, I made my biggest and first decorating mistake to date when it comes to my home office: purchasing dark furniture. While this color choice might work for some, such as me who finds it challenging working alone at home for extended periods of time.
Additionally, if your home office is smaller than mine–no bigger than a dog house–then selecting dark furnishings could actually make the space appear even smaller. Strange, but true. I recently wrote and published an article for one of Greece’s premier websites for decorating and DIY ideas: Art Decoration Crafting–on this very subject as well. Choosing colors suitable for home offices is essential; that is why my guest article included this aspect first and foremost.
Though choosing the ideal colors for a home office may be challenging, I generally go for what appears natural. When designing my space, classic wooden tones always stand out. Additionally, to brighten things up a bit more recently I made sure my computer had its own beautiful white case from beQuiet!
5. Create a morning routine and set weekly goals
Establishing a morning routine that encompasses all the essential tasks is key for both remote workers and freelance companies alike. I myself get up at five AM each morning, put on some music, get dressed while waiting for my coffeemaker to brew my first cup, clean my teeth, put away laundry etc while waiting. Before using my smartphone or checking social media until 8:00 AM, instead focusing my morning with viewing Notion Calendar and Notion to-do lists as my starting point.
At 5:20 to 8:00 AM every morning, I use this time for personal projects, turning ideas into reality, or honing existing skills or learning new ones. Furthermore, this practice helps reset sleep cycles so I feel refreshed by going to bed earlier and having longer days. Plus I always have enough time before my morning meetings or client messages begin so I’m always prepared to go to work!
Though getting up at five in the morning may not be ideal for everyone, changing your work schedule could help increase productivity and efficiency.
Setting weekly targets is also key for independent contractors and business owners, enabling them to fully appreciate the advantages of their workflow. Everyone’s objectives differ; you could set something simple like adding one new client a week until reaching five; you can also set other goals, such as starting your own project or turning passions and hobbies into a profitable enterprise, even starting with just $100 and earning $2,000 monthly in passive income.
Many individuals set daily goals, yet for me weekly goals have proven more beneficial due to the daily stressors I deal with. You might prefer setting daily, monthly, or yearly targets instead.
6. Stop multi-tasking and embrace mono-tasking
Whoever first suggested multitasking remains unknown to me, yet for years I tried my hardest to multitask simultaneously and accomplish more than was feasible at once. Over time however, my productivity suffered significantly and daily activities weren’t being completed quickly as anticipated – plus fatigue became an ever-present companion! Thus prompting an investigation into how successful individuals who managed multiple businesses managed their workload without becoming overloaded – leading me down the path of monotasking as an approach.
Focusing on one task at a time is one of the best ways to complete work quickly, accurately, and without making mistakes or forgetting essential items. In order to reach this goal, avoid being interrupted by notifications on social media platforms, emails correspondences and unnecessary phone calls. Utilizing Pomodoro (there are apps specifically dedicated to this but an alarm clock might do just as well) may also prove effective.
My productivity actually increased after switching my approach from working on projects for hours at a time to consistently working on them, taking short breaks as needed, and working nonstop. Many of my clients appreciated this change since it emphasized fixing issues without becoming distracted by other activities or messages that came through during the day.
7. Stop using too many apps
What gives with all these apps that perform similar functions? There is an overwhelming selection of similar applications designed to manage calendars, emails, notes taking, communicating with others and conversing. While I covered this issue in my earlier blog article entitled [Opinion: Too many applications doing the same thing], reducing your usage will increase productivity while simultaneously improving device efficiency.
Install and link all of your email accounts to Mozilla Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook so you can avoid checking Gmail, Outlook and IMAP accounts separately on websites or applications. There are solutions like Notion and Notion Calendar that can manage everything for you in a single environment – eliminating the need for various apps for note-taking, workflow organization and keeping track of clients in one convenient place. In fact, group workspaces for clients or projects, sharing pages or notes amongst them as well as much more can all be managed from here!
8. Upgrade your home office decor with a Standing Desk
My name is Chris, I am almost 30 years old, and three years ago I experienced back pain as a result of working from home as a freelancer, sitting for long hours without getting enough exercise. So to combat my back issues I began mountain biking on Hard-Trail and Enduro courses as well as including bodyweight exercises into my morning routine at home – three years later my back has completely vanished, while I now possess enough strength to maintain an upright waist position when sitting long hours at my desk.
Ergonomic office furniture can help make working days healthier. Home office standing desks offer increased flexibility, comfort, and health advantages by enabling users to pull them up or down for ease. Of course, standing desks don’t come cheap, but getting one doesn’t need to cost the earth either!
Standing desks are essential when working long hours at one sitting. Just ensure it fits your individual needs, and consider getting one with sturdy yet compact wheels so you can move it from place to place easily.
9. Set boundaries with your friends and family
My friend and I had numerous conversations on what is and isn’t significant. She told me that some of her closest friends didn’t realize how crucial it was for her to avoid being distracted while at work, even if they didn’t have to. It was more difficult for her to say no because they disregarded her preferences once more.
I knew this because I had encountered the same problem with friends of mine. However, I clarified to them why it was so crucial that I continue working on my projects and avoid becoming sidetracked from them after we had a candid conversation. I had a few additional special boundaries in my pocket for those who persisted in their attitude, but the finest of them honored my wishes and didn’t ask any questions.
Establish a barrier that informs other family members, roommates, or siblings that the space you designate as your home office is off-limits while you’re working.
10. Feel less lonely by listening to the radio
Not to be overlooked is loneliness. Many of the creative folks I’ve had the privilege of meeting have admitted to me that they have all experienced loneliness while working from home as independent contractors, in one form or another. Those who shared their homes with one or more persons were the only ones who did not encounter these issues. And it’s acceptable for someone to feel lonely occasionally because not everyone has relatives, children, or a roommate.
For many years, going to coffee shops and using my laptop there was one method I dealt with this problem. Not every day, but just to shake up my typical work-from-home schedule, at least twice a week. Things started to get weird again after I gave my laptop to my younger brother, who, regrettably, started his own travel blog (Travel Brothers) with me (sorry, folks, it’s in Greek). I was forced to work exclusively from my desktop PC, which was the only device capable of handling my type of work. That is, until I started incorporating radio into my life.
For me, listening to the radio is not only essential, but also a modern way of life. I can unwind, stay informed about all the hot issues that are trending and that I don’t have time to read or watch, and even chuckle a little while working. Even though some of my favorite radio shows are only available in Greek, like Proino Frikase, which is by far my favorite show, you can still tune in to millions of other radio stations, categorize them into different sections, and listen to them all in a matter of minutes.
How do you maintain your productivity and organization? Have you made any particular adjustments to your home office to facilitate your professional life more?
If you have any advice, please share it with me in the space provided for comments below!