Planning on working from home? Make your own Home Office.
Photo credit: nkeppol

With the many innovations in technology that we’ve seen over the past few years, including excellent Wi-Fi connections and applications such as Skype, flexible working is something many of us can now experiment with. Whether we’re self-employed freelancers or we’re lucky enough to work for enlightened employers who are happy for us to complete tasks outside of the office, working from home is becoming commonplace. But what are the home office essentials that you need to make working from home a productive and pleasurable experience?

This article looks at the five absolute home office essentials that you should look to get in place before you start regularly working from home. From the need to compare broadband deals to recommending the best chairs for your home office, we’ve got all the essentials covered.

A quiet working environment

Photo credit: nkeppol

This is absolutely vital to you being a productive home worker. It’s so easy to get distracted by household chores or even neighbours popping round for a chat, so make sure you create a separate working area for yourself: a place where you can close the door to distractions such as children or the TV. Shut yourself away and keep to regular working hours, starting at and finishing at the same times you would in an office. It’s easy to over-compensate and work more hours than you should when at home, so set alarms to make sure you don’t get lost in your laptop.

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A reliable, high-speed broadband connection

Clearly it’s very important to have a reliable broadband connection at home. Depending on the type of work you are doing, ensure you have enough download capacity, the speed for seamless emailing and video calling, as well as a highly secure connection if you’re dealing with sensitive company information at home. Make sure you compare broadband packages and find the one that suits you best.

A multi-line phone

A multi-line phone is eminently useful when working from home, allowing you to have a work-only line (just in case the kids accidentally pick up the phone), and it will also allow you to set up a customised voicemail message and make it easy to keep track of work-only calls for claiming your expenses.

A comfy desk chair

Just an example of a comfy chair.
Photo credit: jnyemb

You’re going to spend a lot of time sat on it, so make sure you have a good, ergonomic chair for your home office. It may seem like an unnecessary expense but you will be thankful for it after a few days of high comfort. Check out the Spine Health website for more advice.

Back up storage

All businesses back up important data and files to computer servers and external hard drives. With so much vital data on your own laptop at home, ensure you regularly back up important information. You will be incredibly thankful of it in times of emergency.

So there are our top five essentials for flexible working from home. Now you will be able to look forward to working from home, knowing you’ll be both productive and efficient all within a few seconds of your couch.