Territory
Quick Tips
Get a private room, where you can close the door for privacy
Table: perpendicular to the window to avoid reflex, highly recommended
Natural light is a winner to boost your circadian rhythm
Open the windows to ventilate. Oxygen is necessary
21°C temperature is the ideal to keep you productive
Avoid external noise. Sound cancelling headphones could help
Emotional
During the COVID-19 crisis, we don't know how long we'll have to be at home. The rules and recommendations from each government affects the way we should work, at least in the coming weeks. In order to be productive and work comfortably, we need to define and set up our territory. We need to differentiate between emotional territory and physical space. They're not the same.
These are exceptional moments; we didn't choose to work from home and share the space with the rest of the family but we have to: we need to adapt to this reality quickly.
Do you live alone?
This is the easiest scenario when it comes to set up your territory.
You should ask yourself:
What are my basic needs?
Where in the house I feel most focused?
Where do I have more privacy? I need to make calls to clients, be on conference call with my boss, colleagues, different teams. Privacy is a must.
Is it silent?
Do I have fresh air?
Do I have enough natural light?
What about the bedroom? That's a big no. Absolutely forbidden. You need to separate work from the rest of your life! Do you want to take your boss and colleagues to your bed?
Do you live with kids?
It is harder to work if children are around. That will have an impact on the work you do and also how to interact with your colleagues: calls might get interrupted, meetings will be postponed a few minutes, you won't be in full control. You need to set up boundaries between your work and family life. Explain the situation to your kids (depending on their age, of course) and try to find ways to be focused on work only, at least for short periods.
Ideally, you would have a room that you can use as your office only, but of course that's not always possible.
Don't forget to exercise
You also need to move. A lot. You need to compensate for the lack of walking while you're confined at home. Depending on your needs and preferences, you could do Yoga, HIIT or Bodyweight exercises while at home, your can also try Life Kinetics: brain training with movement
Task & Work equipment
Make a list of the equipment you need to work and the work material you need. The space you need will depend on the different kind of tasks and what you need to execute.
Location/Area
You need to set up a desk only for work (in the next entry we'll cover it in depth). Ideally, it should have a minimum size of 120x80cm. In case you don't have that, use any other table that you might have.
Working from your sofa or seated on the floor is fine for a few minutes, while making a call for example. It is not an ergonomically correct position and also your legs will heat up really fast.
Access
You need to have enough space to be able to move; to stand up and walk a bit, to stretch your body. You can't be confined in your chair the whole day long.
Light
Natural light is the best we can have. Don't hide from it, enjoy it. It will benefit your circadian rhythm. The basic guidelines for working with natural light are the same as for a plant: lots of light but not direct. Place your screen parallel to the window, to get the light but not the reflections; otherwise your screen will look like a mirrorball.
Temperature
The recommended temperature is between 20° and 22° C. Open the window to ventilate regularly.
Noise
Find a quiet place to set up your home office. Avoid outside noise, traffic, washing machine, loud neighbours, etc. At the same time, respect the privacy of others and reduce your noise as much as possible.
Music
Do you like to listen to music while you work? Use headphones to isolate yourself from others and to focus. If you make calls, is good to use headphones too for privacy reasons.
Air / Humidity
Open your windows to ventilate the air regularly. It is healthier and you will experience the difference instantly.
In the next post, we will show you how to optimise your working space.
