Although the Covid pandemic wreaked havoc, it did lead to some positive results. It kicked off the work-from-home revolution that everyone desperately needed. Now, 35% of US remote workers are full-time home employees.
Working from home is great, but it’s not some perfect utopia. It comes with downsides, one of which is the distracting surroundings of your home working space. How can you organize your office to make it conducive to focus?
Read on as we take a look at eight office layout ideas you ought to try for your modern office space.
1. Go for Minimalism
Minimalism is all the rage these days, and for good reason. A cluttered desk isn’t just an eyesore that makes things hard to find. It’s a reflection of a distracted, stressed-out mind.
Minimalists do away with anything that isn’t necessary, hence the name. Your office nook should have all of your primary tools in constant view. Everything else should go away in drawers until required.
Many minimalist desks have just a computer, an orderly stack of documents, and maybe some light decoration. It’s incredibly clean and has its own aesthetic appeal.
2. Do Cable Management
Cable management is what it sounds like: managing all your computer cables. Build your office layout design with that cable management in mind. Buy some quality office desking that has a desktop hole where you can lead away cables down to the computer tower.
Buy some cable organizers. These are Velcro straps and hooks that you can mount on the sides and back of the desk. They make it easy to remove a cable if necessary later down the line.
3. Purchase Organizers
Organizers are stackable plastic cubbies and shelves for, well, organizing. They come in uniform, square form factors that make it easy to fit several in a drawer. They can maximize your shelf storage space or that in a filing cabinet.
Organizers are all the rage, and not just for keeping your office layouts in check. Many are using them to organize their storage rooms elsewhere in the home.
4. Include Some Nature
One of the biggest problems with working from home is the isolation it causes — not just from other people, but from the fresh air of the outdoors. Many people prefer the alone time it gives them, but being inside too long still can be bad for your mental health.
To help alleviate this, make sure to get some potted plants. Set them on your desk, on shelves, or elsewhere in the room. When you need a break between meetings, you can water them.
Plants aside, try to include some natural light in your office space. Sometimes that desk inspiration you’ve been lacking is because of a lack of the sun’s rays.
5. Build Around Movement
Standing desks have grown in popularity over the past few years. These are desks with an adjustable top that raises and lowers via a motor. Then, you can work at the desk either standing or sitting down.
If you do plan on getting a standing desk, you have to build the office layout design with it in mind. For example, many standing desks are not made to carry much weight. If you have a set of bookshelf speakers, you’ll need to relocate them to stands or an actual shelf.
Create a space that allows you to walk around freely. The workday will go by much faster if you feel like you can be mobile inside your workspace area.
6. Make Things Adjustable
Another key is to avoid creating an office that feels too static. While it is important to get a nice, sturdy, comfortable desk, you don’t want to be tied to it.
Some people trick their brains into thinking the office isn’t static with adjustable decor. For example, you could have a rolling cart to hold documents or other office paraphernalia. Or you could purchase a desk with wheels and move it from one wall to another.
You could even have a fold-down wall desk so your office space doesn’t feel like an office. You close up the desk at the end of the day, and the office disappears. It’s great not just for reducing physical clutter but mental clutter as well.
7. Soundproof the Room
Your office layout isn’t just about physical isolation from the rest of your home. If your space is isolated, but you can still hear everything, then you’ll have an unholy marriage of work and home life. Fortunately, there are many small things you can do to reduce the noise.
First, make sure you have a carpeted floor to cut down on echoes. You might consider triple-pane, soundproof glass for the windows. Thick curtains likewise help to mitigate sound leakage from the outside.
If you have the time and the patience, consider some acoustic treatment for the walls. This can be done on a budget, provided you have the patience for sonic measurements. You’ll have to get some zigzag foam cut-outs that you mount on various parts of the walls to redirect noise.
8. Face Away from the Door
This is a small tip but an important one. We all have this conception of open office spaces, like the ones we see in the movies. The boss, for example, always has a big desk that lets him see anyone who enters the room.
Both of these ideas are not conducive to focus and productivity. They lead to constant distractions when people enter — even if they are quiet and unobtrusive. It also presents issues with privacy, such as when a confidential call leaks out your office door into the rest of the house.
Simply put, face everything away from the door. Put the desk against the wall with everything angled around it. You’ll quickly see productivity gains with such a small change.
Find More Office Layout Ideas
Just a handful of these eight office layout ideas can make a huge difference in your work-from-home life. Focusing on minimalism, with heavy organization via cable hooks and organizers, keeps things clean and orderly. Having a standing desk with free movement makes you feel less like you’re on a ball and chain.
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