Picture this. You hop out of bed in the wee hours and turn on your kettle or coffee machine. Turn to your desk to check your calendar, scheduled tasks, and respond to a few emails. Then you sit down to attend your first meeting as you sip on a steaming cup of coffee (or green tea if that’s your thing).
You’re still in pyjamas (haven't even brushed your teeth), yet your workday is already in full throttle!
Such is the chaos and convenience of working from home. But, before we go on, you have to wonder whether your home office is optimized to facilitate maximum productivity.
Well, the truth is perfection is a journey with loads of learning curves along the way. It takes time to set up the perfect home office. Or at least a serene space that inspires you to keep working through the day or night.
Your tiny studio apartment has the potential to unlock boundless creativity and productivity. This article seeks to help you actualize this desire. We're dropping a few subtle hints that will undoubtedly help you maximize every square inch of your living space and help you get more out of your studio apartment.
Making the Most of an Existing Table
Do you work from your home over the weekends or on side projects? If so, you may not be willing to dedicate a permanent workspace to your remote work initiatives. After all, real estate is not at its prime in your already cramped-up apartment.
In that case, your dining or bedroom-vanity table ought to suffice as an occasional work surface. All it takes is to lay a few movable office tools and accessories in place. For example, you can place your laptop on the table, put on noise-cancelling headphones and get cracking.
Why not throw in a mesh desktop organizer into the mix? This helps reduce desktop clutter. You could take it a step further by getting a sleek mobile file cabinet. These utilities won't take up too much space, and you can move them out of the way when you have company. Or when you need to use the table for its intended purpose.
Squeezing In a Slim Standing Desk
A height-adjustable table is highly recommended for permanent studio apartment workstations. For one, sitting all day isn't good for your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Standing while working at such a desk helps improve blood circulation. You can also embed office exercises equipment into the space to help you keep up with your fitness goals or burn a few calories.
Your desk doesn't have to be huge. In most cases, all you need is something that can hold your laptop 28 to 40 inches from the floor. From there, you can place it against a wall, and you suddenly have a neat dedicated work area that's distinguishable from the rest of your living space.
Play With Entryway Wall Space
The entryway is one of the least utilized pieces of real estate in your home. If you go to many homes, you'll find shoes, umbrellas, and a collection of things that are better off in the closet or beneath the bed.
So, this makes it the ideal spot for your standing desk. Grated, you'll need to embrace a few cultural changes. For starters, get used to the idea of cleaning your shoes as soon as you take them off. If you're a bit of a slob, you can leave them outside your door too.
Alternatively, you can place them on your balcony (if you have one). Whatever you decide, please don't let them pile up –clean and store them properly. A clean and tidy space is just as important for focus.
An Ergonomic Office Chair That Tucks Under Your Desk
Keeping track of workplace ergonomics starts with your seat. So your tacky dining table chair won't do!
These minor considerations ensure you get proper spinal alignment so your back, neck, and shoulders won’t hurt when you work for long periods. Adding a laptop stand to your workstation helps to ensure your eyes line up to the screen. This effectively eliminates eye and neck strain.
The good news is our ergonomic office chair choice tucks neatly under your desk. But why would you want to hide such an aesthetically pleasing masterpiece?
Go Paperless!
Currently, environmental suitability and climate change are hot-button topics around the world. If you're passionate about it, then you're probably thinking of ways to reduce your carbon footprint. Going paperless is one way to help save the rain forests and trees in general.
Although, that's often easier said than done if your job calls for collating loads of hardcopy documents.
Tame Those Cords & Cables
An extension cord allows you to access an outlet that is far away from your designated workspace. However, you're still left with loads of cables to manage, which present a tripping hazard and an uninspiring tangled-up mess.
A cable spine offers a practical and elegant way to keep your cords out of the way. It features a robust ABS shell that protects your cables from the elements and your pet’s adventurous claws or teeth.
You can take your organization initiatives to the next level with a Cable Management Kit Organizer Set. This handy utility helps you colour coordinate all those cords and cables. That way, you won't unplug anything you did not intend to.
Create a Minimalistic Vibe
A "busy-looking" workspace can clutter up your thought process. So, getting rid of anything that doesn't add to your creativity and productivity is a good idea.
Unfortunately, we can get attached to material things. But, hopefully, you can make use of all the storage space ideas shared here to help you keep a clean desk and surfaces around your home.
Here are a few suggestions to help you with this:
Use 1 Cup and Glass
You probably have loads of kitchen utensils and would like to use them all. But, it may be advisable to select one glass for your water and soft drinks and one mug for your hot beverages. Operating in such a fashion ensures you have fewer dishes to worry about at the end of your workday.
Avoid Going Overboard With the Artwork and Décor
Opt for simple shapes and colours when selecting artwork or photographs to decorate your workspace. Such a décor scheme ensures you don't have too many visual distractions that can hamper your thought process, and your wall still looks chic.
Eliminate Non-Work Related Clutter
Creating a hub of productivity creates a conflict between your living space and work area. So the best way around this is a little compromise. The first step is to set up an invisible boundary between your living room, kitchen, and other areas.
This can be challenging, but you can start by putting away your books, magazines, takeout menus, game controllers, and other things that usually litter your house. You may also need to control your social life.
Start by informing your visitors of your office hours and enforcing this by not hosting them when you need to work. These steps may take a while. And some "getting used to," so pace yourself and be as persistent as you can.
Conclusion
As you can see, it takes a lot of planning and attention to detail to convert your studio apartment into a hub of productivity. It's a labour of love! After all, nothing good in this world comes easy. You have to plan and work hard for it!
We hope this brief and thought-provoking article gives you a few actionable ideas towards that goal.
These ideas can also help if you live with a roommate, spouse, pet, or kids. So, set out boldly and carve out a space that you can call your home office. As always, feel free to drop a comment and share.
We wish you all the best and look forward to hitting you with more insightful workplace productivity tit-bits in the future.
