Update Your Home Office

Remember how you first decided to set up a home office that would be distraction-free, efficient, and elegantly furnished? Since that time, has the room turned into a storage area, party zone, or just been totally abandoned? Refresh the space with a few ideas listed below. The facelift will encourage you to get back into your home office, and hopefully keep it as such.

Room Décor to the Rescue!

If every day you’re looking forward to getting into your office, you’re doing something right. Make this happen by first giving your office a fresh coat of paint. Ever notice that certain colors inspire concentration? Go for soft taupe, mint green, beige, or dove grey.

Introduce some greenery to your home office. Don’t have much light? No worries — there are plenty of indoor, low-light plants (for example, a philodendron, a spider plant, or even a Parlor Palm). Just don’t forget to water them as you would any plant. You’ll benefit from the air-cleaning, as well as from the bit of life nature provides.

Don’t work with bare walls! Remember how you felt when you met with someone who had an impressive framed photo or piece of art in their office? The room likely gave off an aura of power. Do the same for your own home office. Select something that speaks to you and that will inspire you to accomplish great things in that space.

Keep Notes from Gathering Spider Webs

Love to scribble notes throughout the day? Don’t let them pile up. Even the ubiquitous Post-its have to be thrown away at some point. Every other day, take one slow morning or afternoon to chip away at the note collection by transcribing what you need to keep onto a computer document.

I know of one professional who spreads out his papers on the floor in a highly organized “to-do” system for that day, and then picks up the papers at day’s end. One wonders what would happen if he had to hurry up and cross the room for some reason! I recommend a side table for such a task.

What About Pets?

Finally, don’t allow your beloved dog or cat into your office. Remember, this isn’t your den, and your four-legged friends shouldn’t make it their lair, either. Once you let the little fur babies in, you’ll have a hard time shooing them out when you need an absolutely distraction-free zone.