Creating a Quality Office Environment

Working from home gives the freedom to explore more places, whether that be within your hometown or a new city across the country or globe. However, with the home office comes great responsibility. You still have to meet your goals and deadlines, so you have to be sure to keep a productive workspace environment from wherever you’re working at the moment.

Your at home office setup can have a big impact on your ability to sit down, concentrate, and produce quality work. The desk position, office space, and equipment are all important aspects to think of when creating a quality workspace. We know this first hand because we are sure to include a dedicated workstation in each Ukio apartment, so here’s our insight.

Choose the right spot

Ideally, your workspace setup should be free from as many distractions as possible. Some common places to set up your workspace include against a wall, close to a window, or, if your home is big enough, in its own room. It’s important to separate where you sleep from where you work, so if possible, work away from your bed. If you are working at a cafe or public area, then be sure to sit away from areas where people tend to pass by or gather.

The space should also have sufficient lighting. Natural lighting is best for productivity, but having the option for artificial lighting for the darker months is also necessary. Natural light helps to keep your body and mind active and is needed to focus, so make use of windows. A desk lamp is a great supplement to setting natural light, so you can keep more of a natural glow before turning on the overhead lights during a workday.

Furnish and decorate to your liking

Most people work for eight hours a day, so your furniture choice matters. A flat desk and a supportive chair are a must because an ill-fitting desk setup can lead to irritability, inability to focus, and long term back or neck pain. You should be able to sit comfortably and move around the space with ease. Once you have the basic furniture, you can then decorate your space however you please.

Some calming images, plants, and personal touches can help to liven up the space while enhancing decor. The color scheme you choose also matters. The color green is often associated with concentration and creativity, so painting the walls this color or adding green touches through plants can be beneficial to a quality workspace.

Keep your space organized

Having an organized workspace leads to less distractions. If you know where everything is, and you’re not being preoccupied by clutter, then it becomes easier to focus and produce quality work. To ensure your desk is mess free, only keep essential items on it at all times. If you have lots of paperwork or notes around your workspace, consider investing in a filing cabinet or folders to minimize clutter.

Some even say that the organization of your furniture matters in creating a quality home office. According to feng shui principles, your desk should be in a “power position” furthest away from the door in a room but still arranged so you can have a direct line of vision to the door. Whether you believe in feng shui or not, the way you organize yourself and your home office equipment matters.

Allow room for movement

The best way to stay focused is to take short breaks and get your body moving. Your quality home office should allow for you to change sitting positions as your body calls for it. You also don’t want to feel crammed into a box all day, so when you hit a productivity wall, the best thing to do is to get up and move around.

Do some stretches every hour or take a walk to the kitchen or bathroom. If you’re feeling a slump in focus, you can even run to a closeby cafe to get some coffee and engage in short conversation to give your brain a rest and reboot. After moving around for a bit, you will feel more refreshed and ready to tackle the work that you have to do.

Ukio is made for digital nomads

The designers at Ukio work hard to create apartments that are both aesthetic and functional. That's why we try to incorporate a dedicated workstation or office space in every apartment, to guarantee that our guests have a quality workspace accessible to them. This dedicated workspace coupled with the flexibility of renting our apartments makes Ukio the perfect option for digital nomads.

If you want to live and work abroad in Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Berlin, or Paris, then Ukio has your housing covered. We offer fully furnished and ready-to-live apartments available across Europe, so check out what we have to offer on our website.