5 goals to achieve to organize your teleworking office
Our lifestyles have evolved and telecommuting is becoming the norm. It is increasingly accepted by companies. But now, we have to get organized at home. More and more of us are therefore practicing teleworking. However, we have not yet adapted our practices and our working methods to increase our productivity. Here is a practical guide to answer the questions that we encounter when we practice teleworking. And how to organize your office to maximize your workspace.
- Define your needs and the available space
- Creating smart storage
- Organize a space in time
- Bringing a green space to life in your living room
- Cultivating your well-being
Objective #1: define your needs and available spaces
Your space is limited. You work from home. You divide your space between several uses. At night your apartment allows you to rest. On weekends it is a space of relaxation. But during the weekday? It is often unsuited to an effective practice of working from home and getting organized properly. You have to find solutions to share your space according to your uses.
A good practice that is very simple to implement
- List available spaces
- List the desired uses
- Spread uses over time
- Identify friction points
You may realize that some practices are impossible in the desired space. But above all, you will identify the points of strong, these undesirable situations that we will try to solve together. Every space matters, every space can be optimized. So you have to leave with a mind free of all prejudice. It is important to list as many available surfaces as possible in order to really be able to optimize afterwards.
Objective #2: create storage at home
The best advice we can give you is to create storage.
Be relevant
Do not start from the point of view that "more is better". It is necessary to identify the uses and define the necessary storage. So as the saying goes, "no need to make it complicated"! You have to go to the essentials. Your imagination will allow you to find your style and create your personal universe. Because even if we are looking for optimization, we must not neglect the decoration. Take the time to look around you, do a few sketches, even if you skipped drawing classes in college.
Choose modular storage to organize your office
- Choose vertical storage solutions
- Find stackable transparent boxes and find a place for them in your cupboards
- Find storage furniture with a smart design
Whatever your budget, don't hesitate to look at the furniture available on Le bon coin. This site is full of nuggets! So go for it right after reading this article.
Another great tip for finding modular storage ideas : Pinterest
Dare the method
We have a belief at Quark: to get your head above water, it takes method. You hear about checklists, tables etc… If it comes up so often, it's simply because it's really effective for organizing your desk
- Set up routines : you take out what you need, then you put away immediately after use.
- The hardest part is tidying up regularly
- If necessary, and only as a last resort, consider renting additional storage space outside your home. Talk about it around you, there may be a cellar available with neighbors or friends who live next to you.
Goal #3: Organize your home office
Now that you have identified the available spaces, that you have placed efficient storage where it was needed: we can say that your apartment is tidy ! Congratulation ! Courage now, the method is not a sprint, the method is a marathon.
Open, take out, use, store
You have become extremely methodical, your colleagues even call you to make points on their own to-do-lists and organize their desks. You have perfect control of the organization of your apartment and on top of that, you have added a decorative touch that everyone appreciates at happy hour. Then we can move on to the next step: organizing the office. The most effective in our eyes is to have a piece of furniture dedicated to the world of work. If your work takes up a lot of space in your life, you may need to consider dedicating several pieces of furniture to it.
The Goal:
The objective is simple, everything related to work: computer, pens, binders, briefcases, tape, notebooks, must have its own place, easily accessible, in a cabinet of your apartment. You will be able to store all the equipment intended for your work, in a snap of your fingers. As you will have understood, what we are looking for is efficiency. We are looking for a pleasant workspace. And that also means a tidy desk. Needless to say, a place at the top of a closet for your computer is a very bad idea. If, like most active teleworkers, you mainly use a laptop to work, it must be very easily accessible. And don't forget to provide a place for his charger. Perfection is found in the details.
Now here is the method point. Every time you go to work:
- Open your work furniture
- Take out the necessary things
- Lay outthem on a work surface freed up for this purpose
- Then put away your things when you move on to another activity.
Minimalist storage, a modern doctrine
It's clear that if you go on a 10-minute break, there's no need to tidy up. On the other hand, if you go for a walk of 1 hour, or a short jog to recharge your batteries, then it's time for tidying up. You must not lose sight of your objective: you must organize your office. Don't leave the apartment thinking, "I'll do that later."
Our bad habits
Bad habits are hard to break. We all have them, and we can all work on them. We must not forget our child's soul. If you find playful methods to create beautiful routines, then do not hesitate for a second.
A typical example of a bad habit: don't leave a pen pot on the kitchen table. Or don't get carried away by the mail that arrives every day.
If you have to deal with regular mail (which must be the case), choose a dedicated storage type "mail to sort". The worst part is having empty pockets all over your apartment. As you may know, nature abhors a vacuum. Let this practice take hold and you will end up with piles of documents all over the place. You will then need a large dose of courage to put all this away.
You will find very simple objects at Ikea
Treat yourself to recycling
So don't forget, you need rigor
Again, trust yourself and be kind to yourself. There is no secret, to be rigorous, you have to allow yourself time. This is often a parameter that is quickly forgotten. If you look at Marie Kondo, you will know that you have to detach yourself and identify the necessary to tidy up. But you also have to practice regularly. Daily. There, it is said.
To organize your office, you have to make time for
- Storage
- Watch
- Reflect
- And question its practices.
If you reach this rank, you've become an international expert. Or a control freak.
Avoiding small messes
If you want to keep a tidy apartment, and be able to work from home in good conditions, you will have to give yourself time. If you let small messes set in, they will quickly take over.
Trust yourself and set up a daily routine. Thanks to her, no more unpleasant surprises. You won't get caught up in these bad habits anymore. You will no longer pile up your belongings. And after a few weeks of practice, you will be able to identify the dedicated storage spaces at a glance.
Install routines
Our favorite technique at Quark is installing a routine. It is not a question of becoming a stakhanovitch of the method. You have to find a balance between preparation and improvisation. In the morning after your breakfast, take 15 minutes to put away all the things lying around you. If you have children and they are in nursery or school, take the opportunity to store their games in boxes for example. By stacking boxes of colors you will be able to create a space that is pleasing to the eye without it distracting you from your thoughts when you have your hands in the very important client file of the moment.
Your gourmet breakfast is a routine
Do not leave laundry to dry in the middle of the living room during your working hours. Depending on the space you have, arrange for such tasks to take place at night. It takes a bit of organization at first, so feel free to grab a pen and paper and then write yourself a very simple schedule. You are bound to find good practices there, adapted to your pace of life.
Objective #4: Put some green in your living room
Last step in our tips for organizing your home office for teleworking: green spaces. We must not neglect the impact of vegetation on our moods. What could be more beautiful than waking up in the morning with blooming flowers in your living room?
Telework and green wall, the winning combo
In order to improve the quality of your environment, we advise you with Quark to set up a small green space in your apartment. The simplest method is as follows, you have to dedicate a small part of a wall to build a green wall there. On this green wall, choose plants that need little light, remember that they will stay indoors all year round.
We have prepared a non-exhaustive collection of the ideal plants for a green wall, do not hesitate to leave us in the comments your opinions and suggestions!
- Ferns: perfect to start with, this is a plant that will perfectly dress up your space
- Begonias: there are many varieties, we recommend them for their warm colors
- Philodendrons: dare the excessiveness of their leaves, they sometimes exist in the form of tropical lianas
- Peperomias: for its greedy leaves, the genus includes more than 1000 species
- Hibiscus: for its soft red flower
Objective #5: maintain the taste of well-being
Show Motivation
Treat yourself and don't hesitate to display elements that inspire you on your walls. Ask yourself these questions:
- What drives me motivates?
- What is my favorite quote?
- What is my goal?
Then you can visually represent these responses in your workspace.
Never forget that gravity remains an outer limit as long as you are on earth
Keep your balance
We would like to remind you of this to end this article, but the most motivating and important thing is to be well in your body and in your head. Work is an important part of our lives, so we must not underestimate our relationship to it. We must cultivate the taste for well-being and that is why we insist so much on the vegetal wall, on the routine which makes it possible to keep the course, on the methods that allow us to project ourselves. We will have the opportunity to return to the subject in future articles, tidying up is a form of expression of our inner state of mind. Organizing your office is just the first step. So if we can help you take a step closer to a form of inner well-being, we will be happy to be part of this journey!
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See you soon
Quark