What are the best tips to set up a home office? Our guide outlines the things you need to consider, and what to watch out for when you work at home.
Working in the home office can feel strange at first. However, with the right equipment and the right tools, working in the home office is in no way inferior to office work. We present tools and tips to help you create a productive work environment.
In addition to many diversion and entertainment offers, the smartphone is also an important tool for the home office. For example, you can use your smartphone to scan documents and easily transmit them to your colleagues digitally and in high quality.
Scanning documents with the iPhone : In the Notes app there is a menu behind the camera symbol with the option “Scan documents” . The camera captures the document, scans it and saves it as a PDF file that you can now easily send.
Scan documents with an Android device : Open the Google Drive app and tap the plus sign at the bottom right . Then tap the camera icon to scan and take a photo of the page you want to scan. About the Crop icon , you can adjust the scanning area. Once you’re satisfied with your scan, save the finished document by tapping the check mark . The scanned document is saved as a PDF file.
How to create a more comfortable home office
Set up a home office: choosing a location
The choice of the room in which you want to work in the home office is important. Ideally, you have your own room for this. If this is not the case, it is best to choose a quiet, bright and less frequented room.
Daylight in particular promotes the ability to concentrate. Our biorhythm reacts to the light color, the body knows: it is time to work! Smart illuminants with Human Centric Lighting technology also adapt their light color to your requirements and simulate daylight even in the evening, so that you can concentrate longer on your work.
If you cannot use a separate room as a study, the living room or dining room, for example, are suitable if you get enough rest here. The bathroom and kitchen are not suitable to set up a home office. You should also not work in the bedroom, as this can lead to difficulty falling asleep.
The most important tools
In many professions, a laptop and the right tools are enough to work productively from home. However, do not forget that exchange and communication are not only relevant for the successful completion of the tasks at hand, but also help to keep you motivated and in touch with your team. Therefore, use communication tools to exchange ideas with colleagues and customers.
- Zoom : A free video conferencing tool. The great advantage compared to the exchange via e-mail is that you can see your colleagues here – a possibility that you appreciate very much after a week alone in your home office!
- Slack : A chat tool that is particularly suitable for short agreements and quick exchanges. Group chats with several colleagues and video calls are also possible here.
- Microsoft Teams : Another classic office messenger that enables individual or group chats and video calls and is used in many digital companies. Although the full version is chargeable, Microsoft has made certain chargeable content available free of charge for a limited period of time.
- Teamviewer : Teamviewer comes into play when you can no longer simply ask your colleague at your desk and show a fact on your own monitor. The remote access tool allows your colleagues from the home office to see your monitor. For a short time, the company allows the version to be used for private use also in a professional context.
Many other providers are currently making their tools available free of charge or at a discount. So every team has the chance to find the right communication tool.Tip: Many tools allow you to set up “do not disturb” phases. This ensures that your colleagues do not disturb your concentration and that you get on with your work.
Those who work frequently on projects and may also communicate with other colleagues here also benefit from project management applications such as Trello or Wunderlist . With these programs, which are now also available as an app, you can create to-do lists and divide projects into individual steps.
Also make sure you have VPN access to the servers or documents you need to work. Remember that you have a responsibility to your employer and make sure that internal data does not fall into the wrong hands.
Time recording in the home office
Documentation of the hours worked is also necessary in the home office. Many companies work with Excel lists, but there are also a variety of online tools such as timebutlers that not only allow precise recording of working hours, but also enable the planning of vacation and home office times in a team.
The selection of paid and free tools is large. Most of these time recording options are also available as an app and therefore offer you even more flexibility.
Equip the home office
If you often work in the home office, it is worth buying a suitable ergonomic desk chair. Alternatively, special cushions and pads are available that ensure your back health even on normal chairs.
The well-known rules for occupational health also apply in the home office:
- There must be enough space on the desk so that in addition to a laptop or mouse, keyboard and monitor, you also have space for a notepad and, if necessary, a drink. If it gets too tight on the desk, it creates clutter and damages concentration.
- The monitor should be at least six inches from your head.
- The elbows should form a 90 degree angle when placed on the table top. A 90-degree angle should also be created between the thigh and lower leg when the feet are set up.
- The upper edge of the screen should only be slightly below the horizontal line of sight.
- The screen and desk should be free of reflections.
Productive room design in the home office
Make sure that the desk in the home office is tidy and structured so that you are exposed to as few distractions as possible.
If you have your own room, you can increase your creativity and concentration with the right wall color when you set up a home office.
- Blue has a calming and concentration-promoting effect
- Yellow increases creativity and puts you in a good mood
- Orange promotes motivation and gives energy
- Green has a harmonizing effect and promotes concentrated work
Well-being in the home office
Also look in the home office to your work health by getting up regularly and walk a few steps. Also, drink a glass of water or a cup of unsweetened tea regularly and choose healthy snacks such as fruit or raw food.
So prepared, you can now enjoy the benefits of working in the home office and still fulfill your workload.
