Category: workspace

Personalising your work desk

Personalising your work desk | H is for Home

It doesn’t take much for us to lose motivation, or get distracted easily. Work-flow can then decrease rapidly, and we get stuck in a vicious cycle. But have you ever thought that maybe your work desk might be the problem? If you’re working in an uninspiring environment, your work might then be uninspiring.

Whether you work from home or in an office, we wanted to give you some ideas on how to make your desk come alive and make it a bit more ‘you’.

Is your desk suitable?

First, you need to make sure your desk isn’t the problem. Are the drawers falling apart? Is it covered in pen and pencil marks from previous colleagues? Is it too small to hold your computer, paperwork and stationary? It might be time for a new one. Furniture At Work do a range of office desks to choose from, that will surely boost your productivity.

Pretty office desk

Photos

Displaying your favourite people, places and memories around you while you work could give you the motivation you need, whilst also brightening up your desk. And photo frames don’t have to have pictures of you in, but maybe inspirational quotes or even a pretty landscape or cityscape.

Work desk with lots of plants on shelves

Plants and flowers

How many times have we heard that having plants in the office increase productivity? They produce more oxygen helping us to work more efficiently, and can even make us happier. Maybe buy some small plants to keep on your desk, or even bring in a vase to put fresh flowers in. They’ll be sure to brighten the place up. You could even choose something like Aloe Vera that could come in useful if anyone burns themselves, or needs a good moisturiser!

Orange Pantone 1505 mug containing orange pens & pencil

Stationery

The stationery you use can say a lot about you as a person. Do you want a dull notebook and a standard pen that you got free from work? Personalise your desk using your stationery. Buy notepads in your favourite colour, of all shapes and sizes. Buy a few pens to match. You can display them nicely on your desk.

Shared open-plan office

Personalised items

The final touch on your desk is personalised items. You could have a personalised mug with a photo on, or maybe your first initial. A huge bonus is that no one can steal it ‘by accident’. The other bonus is that it will brighten up your desk. Maybe you got a mug as a birthday present one year. It’ll always make you think of the person who gave it to you.

There are tons of ways you can personalise your desk without having to change too much, and without spending too much either.

Are there any other ways you’d choose to personalise your desk? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Creating a home office – 4 top tips

Creating a home office - 4 top tips | H is for Home

Remote workers are making up a bigger proportion of the workforce than ever before. While some people prefer to rent a co-working space, and others love to sit with a hot coffee in their favourite café, many people favour creating a home office. As with any other part of your home, it must be somewhere that makes you feel your best and inspires you to think of great things and be as productive as possible. If you’re not sure where to start, it can feel like it’s not worth it to create a home office. Luckily, there’s a multitude of trusted tips you can follow, which will promise you the best home office for your working days.

Home security system installed on a red brick wall

Prioritise security

Your home will be something you want to keep protected at all costs. Having specialist equipment and important information stored in your home office can mean it’s more at risk of intruders. The trick to keeping you, your family and your work safe is to invest in a good burglar alarm. If you ask a trusted company like Eurolinksecurity.co.uk to help, you can rest easy knowing that everything is protected if a burglar were to come calling.

Home office desk and chair

Comfort is key

When you aren’t comfortable, it can be almost impossible to work. If your chair causes back pain and your desk has little space beneath for your legs to move, you could be at risk of facing serious health problems later in life. Ideally, you should be investing in a comfortable and sturdy office chair, which supports your back. If you’re pursuing a more creative career, it’s also wise to have a space in your home office to accommodate these aspects. For example, someone who has a jewellery-making company may need a small studio space to work in alongside their office space.

Personalised home office

Keep it personal

One of the biggest attractions to having a home office is that you’re surrounded by home comforts. It helps you to stay motivated when you’re having a bad day. It can also mean you can get support from family members if you need it. Admittedly, your home office and the rest of your home should stay separate so as not to intertwine the two. However, there’s nothing to say you shouldn’t decorate your work space. Family photographs, soft furnishings and other knick-knacks will help stimulate you rather than inspire dread when you wake up in the morning.

Pot plants on a home office desk

Bring nature indoors

Nothing diminishes work efficiency more than having a stuffy, dark, uncomfortable office. When you’re creating your work zone, you should be conscious of trying to get as much natural light to fill the space as possible. Choosing a neutral colour scheme can help maximise this light, and you should also consider including attractive pot plants that help purify the air and bring cheerfulness to the room. Nature is known to benefit the mind in many ways, which can only do further wonders for your home office and your career.

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Essential items to include when designing your home office

All white home office

With the invention of internet and portable computers, working from home is becoming an ever more accessible and popular lifestyle choice. Whether you have decided to run your own business, having a baby or enjoy home comforts far too much, when deciding to work at home it is a good idea to set up a home office which will be your work zone. Below is a list of essential items which should be included when designing your home office.

Laptop, notebook & pen, mobile phone and coffee

Computer

Virtually all jobs which require an office environment will require a computer to write documents, access the internet and send emails to clients. A laptop is a good choice, because it will allow you to take the computer out with you if you need to meet clients etc. If you like working on a big screen but are short on cash, instead of splashing out on an expensive desktop computer, why not by a monitor screen which you can link to your laptop, doubling it up as a desktop computer.

Broadband speed test result | H is for Home

High speed internet connection

There is nothing worse than spending hours waiting for web pages to load or media to buffer. Not only can this be frustrating but it is also a huge waste of time which could be put to more effective use. When looking for an internet connection ideal for a home office, wireless, fiberoptik internet is a wise choice for that high speed connection which will allow you to use multiple devices simultaneously. This is ever more important if you have a large family with many people connected at once. Virgin media boasts being one of the fastest internet providers currently.

Ergonomic chair in a home officecredit

Ergonomic office chair and desk

If you are taking working from home seriously, it is likely you will be doing a good 9-5 or similar shift in the home office. Therefore, it is important that you have comfortable, ergonomic working conditions to work in, to increase comfort and reduce physical damage to your body through excessive straining over time. A good place to start is spending some cash on a good quality ergonomic office chair. Make sure the one you decide to buy has been reviewed by a third party to avoid any unpleasant surprises. This will prevent back strain and aches which develop from excessive straining. A large desk, tailored to your height will also prevent hunching which can be bad for posture over time and prevent the development of back problems as you age.

Storing office papers and pens

Organisation equipment

One of the most important tips when running a home office is to ensure it is tidy and organised. A messy environment can be both mentally and physically stressful. Not only will you waste precious time finding important documents and files in a heap of items, but a cluttered work place often leads to a cluttered mindset and therefore you may become less efficient in your job. It is therefore important to install lots of storage units within the office for different items. A few simple, cheap storage units you can buy are filing trays for all your important letters. Ring binders for all your important documents and an online storage account for all your important virtual documents. Dropbox is an online storage provider with a good reputation.

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Four cinematic offices you’ll never forget

Still from The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)credit

Of course, the main thing we see when we’re watching a film is the actors and their interactions; we listen to their dialogue and watch their body language to get the full import as to the movie’s message.

Sometimes, however, the environment they’re in is just as important – it sets the backdrop, makes us feel free, fearful or inspired. In films which feature offices, you’d be forgiven for overlooking many of the sets – they’re just there to provide a place to sit, to show that people are at work. Then there are the films that use the office setting as a protagonist in itself – after all, many of us spend five days a week in one of these places, so why wouldn’t these environments loom large?

Here are four films that use offices as effective – and memorable – characters.

Still from 'The Incredibles' (2004)credit

The Incredibles

Life as a decommissioned hero is a miserable experience for Mr Incredible and there’s no greater sign of this than his cookie-cutter, grey and oppressive little office cubicle. This box is where he sits day after day, trying not to deny insurance pay-outs to elderly clients, until his bullying jobs-worth of a boss pushes him too far and ends up pile-driven through each and every wall in the place. This 2004 hit gives us a worthy metaphor for busting out of corporate chains if ever there was one.

Still from 'The Matrix' (1999)credit

The Matrix

Another maze of grey cubicles in this 1999 film, and another hero breaking out of them (almost). Keanu Reeves gets a weird call from a weird mobile phone that (weirdly) arrives in the post. The (weird) call tells him to get out of his office and so he tries. However, he (probably quite sensibly) bottles it and the men in black grab him and stifle further comment by making his mouth seal over. That doesn’t happen at your average commercial property in St James, eh?

Still showing Floor 7½ from Being John Malkovich (1999)credit

Being John Malkovich

1999 was a year for surreal offices and the Mertin-Flemmer Building in Being John Malkovich was particularly strange, what with having a half-sized floor and all. Floor 7½ gives us some very memorable moments – a pastiche corporate training video which explains the story behind the half-floor being just one. Apparently, a sea captain fell in love with a dwarf and promised to build a half-sized floor in his new office building just for her. If that wasn’t weird enough, a filing cabinet on this floor hides a portal into John Malkovich’s consciousness. Would you go through it? Really?

Still from American Psycho (2000)credit

American Psycho

This 2000 film looks back at 1980s bear-pit corporate culture through the eyes of Patrick Bateman, who may or may not be a status-driven murdering sociopath. Bateman is a mergers and acquisitions specialist who hangs his entire identity and mental stability on his cool clothes, his fancy juicer and the exotic fruit he pushes through it and his moisturiser. When his colleagues and rivals show how cool and influential they are too, he doesn’t like it. When there’s a good old dinkle-swinging contest over business cards in a conference room, Bateman finally tips over the edge and then it’s nail-guns and dead tramps all the way.

What films can you think of that contain iconic or memorable offices?