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Working from home affords you perks and privileges. For one thing, you’re spared from the stress of a daily commute. You can even do your job in your PJs unless you’re expected to show up on a Zoom video call.
If you have a family, you have more time to spend with your spouse and kids. Or if you’re single, you have a better shot at pursuing personal passions beyond the career you hold dear. That means work-life balance becomes a goal you can put into practice.
However, there are also downsides to working from home. The most obvious is the challenge of sustaining inspiration. When the line between work and home life gets blurred, you might find yourself losing focus. And that’s a sorry situation you must avoid.
To ensure that you stay inspired while working from home, reward yourself with a cozy workspace. It won’t hurt if the space reflects your personality, too. Here are some decorating tips.
Make a vision board
Think of a vision board as a sort of collage with images that symbolize your hopes and aspirations. Your vision board may contain pictures of beautiful places. Or brand-new cars. Or a luxury home with a happy family. Whatever your heart desires, a vision board is ready to accommodate.
Creating a vision board to incorporate into your home office achieves two goals. The first is reflecting your personality. A vision board, after all, shows what your values and priorities are. Your home office cannot be mistaken for someone else’s with your personal vision board in it.
The second goal is to keep you inspired. A vision board is ideally a goal in motion. With it in your home office, the minute you sit on your work chair, you’ll work harder than you ever did.
Add your favorite scents
Some people have such a strong sense of smell. Their olfactory system is highly evolved, enough to compete with that of a dog. If these statements resonate with you, use them to your advantage.
Incorporating your favorite scents into your home office is your way of leaving a definitive mark on the area. Anyone who knows you enough and finds themselves in your workspace will recognize the smell. It’s you. And it’s unmistakable.
Also, scents have very specific effects. Think lavender for when you’re stressed out with deliverables. Or Jasmine for when you’re feeling lethargic and you need your mood lifted.
Get visual
Do you have a family you adore with all of your heart? Have them in your home office with you even if they’re not allowed into the space physically because you want to concentrate on your job as much as possible. Hang your family’s happiest photos from previous trips on your office wall. Or have picture frames on top of your desk.
Blissfully single? That’s not a problem. Pick your life’s biggest source of joy and have a photo of it framed to remind you that even if work gets a little too tough sometimes, you have something nice to go back to at the end of the day. It can be your cat or dog. Or epic adventures to faraway lands. Or your ever-doting parents, for that matter.
Choose colors that complement you
Have you heard of the word aura? Apparently, we all have a unique aura, and it manifests in a specific color. If you have a friend who’s into new-age stuff, give them a call and ask them what your aura color is. Let that be the highlight hue of your workspace.
Now, if you’re not into auras and vibes and whatnot, you can still use color in a way that aligns with your personality. For example, if you’re predisposed to anxiety, use calming colors like green and blue. If you’re the type that needs a little help from caffeine to get your engines going, go bright with red and orange.
Light up
Lighting can positively affect your mood. It can make you efficient in getting your work done. So mind the lighting in your workspace. Retire harsh lights and opt for soft lighting that can help you manage your emotional wavelength throughout the day.
Go green
If you haven’t yet tried nurturing a pot of plant or two, it’s about time you did. It’s one of the most calming activities you could ever try. Plus, you can use your plants to decorate your home office. They’ll make your workspace look pleasant. Not to mention you’ll be surrounded by fresh air.
Maybe you’re worried about the added responsibility. If that’s the case, you can choose low-maintenance plants. Your options include Bird’s Nest Fern, Majesty Palm, and Parlor Palm, among others. Make sure no one in your household is allergic, though.
Think outside the box
Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in what’s safe and traditional design-wise. Well, you don’t have to. You can design your workspace outside the box and let your inner anarchist come out. Play with patterns. Use unconventional color pairings. Try textures. Get as imaginative as you can.
That’s not something you can pull off with an office-based workspace. Now that you’re working from home, feel free to let out your design eccentricities.
In Closing
Your home office is as important as any other space in your house. If you put a lot of thought into the details of your bedroom, why not devote the same level of attention to your workspace?
Don’t limit yourself to a haphazardly designed home office. The area, after all, is where you do an important job. It’s essentially your bread and butter. And you want that bread and butter to keep coming. You can’t afford to stall your career because you have a hard time staying inspired in a mediocre workspace.
A workspace that encourages you to do your best job every single day will make you go places, even if you’re literally stuck at home. That means more money. If you keep nailing your job, who knows? Maybe soon, you’ll have enough saved for a new and better home.
When that day comes, make sure to find the best real estate investment for you. You can’t go wrong with a property that has enough space for a home office version 2.0.
