Working in a home office since 2005, I have made many changes to my setup in the interest of improving efficiency. Here are a few improvements I have made to my home office over time.
The Office
A room that is an office and not used for anything else. The separate room allows you to leave everything set up and provides the ability to leave the office. For myself, I find it hard to stop working and having it in a separate room does help.
For many, this is not a practical solution; however, finding a dedicated space can be a big help.
One more thing, you need a good office chair. Using the dining room chair is not going to be comfortable when sitting in it for hours at a time.
For many, this is not a practical solution; however, finding a dedicated space can be a big help.
One more thing, you need a good office chair. Using the dining room chair is not going to be comfortable when sitting in it for hours at a time.
Monitors
Including my Surface Pro display, I use four monitors at my desk. Multiple monitors are a significant way to improve your efficiency. I find it slow and awkward to work on a single display.
In addition to improving the process of moving and viewing data, multiple monitors provide a screen to keep open the office chat program. The separate monitor makes it easy to stay in touch with co-workers. Glancing at the chat screen and a quick response keeps office communications flowing.
In addition to improving the process of moving and viewing data, multiple monitors provide a screen to keep open the office chat program. The separate monitor makes it easy to stay in touch with co-workers. Glancing at the chat screen and a quick response keeps office communications flowing.
Collaboration Platform
A collaboration platform, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams, provides everyone with the tools to work together. These tools include chatting, audio calls, video calls, file sharing, file commenting, and file co-authoring. With all of this in a single application, it is very efficient for people to work as a team without being at the same physical location.
For us, this has been a great addition to our workflow. Simply ping someone in a chat and meet anytime quickly. Microsoft Teams collaboration platform can extend to people in organizations outside of your own. Recently, while working with another firm on a joint project, we used Teams to meet, collaborate, and share files. The collaboration was all done with the security of Teams allowing the outside organization access only to the project.
When meeting with people, video can make a considerable improvement in communication. Invest in a good quality webcam or use the one on your laptop or phone. To make it easier for others on the call with you, try to book meetings when the house is less active.
Most online meeting services today allow custom backgrounds. These backgrounds are a great option if you can’t set up a clean physical backdrop.
For us, this has been a great addition to our workflow. Simply ping someone in a chat and meet anytime quickly. Microsoft Teams collaboration platform can extend to people in organizations outside of your own. Recently, while working with another firm on a joint project, we used Teams to meet, collaborate, and share files. The collaboration was all done with the security of Teams allowing the outside organization access only to the project.
When meeting with people, video can make a considerable improvement in communication. Invest in a good quality webcam or use the one on your laptop or phone. To make it easier for others on the call with you, try to book meetings when the house is less active.
Most online meeting services today allow custom backgrounds. These backgrounds are a great option if you can’t set up a clean physical backdrop.
Mouse and Keyboard
A good quality ergonomic keyboard makes all the difference in your comfort. Combine the right keyboard and mouse, to make your day at the desk just that much better. Trying to use an inferior quality keyboard just slows you down.
Paperless
Scanning and storing documents electronic keeps the home office clean and organized without taking up valuable floor space with filing cabinets. We have been paperless since 2013 at K2E Canada Inc., and my accounting practice has been paperless since 2005. At this point, I can’t imagine working in a paper-based office.
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