Wanting to work from home, but haven’t got a home office as yet? Here’s the things to ask when you’re looking at setting up a home office. Hope they help.
More and more people are working from home, and/or needing space to store paperwork etc.. and as such, making do with a few cupboards and drawers dotted around with your laptop/tablet/paper/filing etc… in them won’t be good enough in most cases.
If you have a need for one, whatever size or shape, you need to be thinking about setting up your home office right from the start. Asking the right questions up front can save loads of time and costly mistakes further down the line, and as with everything I do that’s being organised, I follow the ADORE method and the first step is ASSESS – so lets get assessing!
I always use the same 6 question words to get me thinking of the overall requirements when I start organising any space, as they always get me thinking about what I want to create from it. Having a vision of what I want is key to being able to achieve it.
So, let’s tackle one at a time:-
Questions to ask when setting up a Home Office
#1 – Why?
Why is a dedicated home office space required? Do you really need a large room or can you use a smaller area? Getting to the point of why you are even needing to set up a home office in the first place will focus your thoughts.
#2 – Who?
Who is going to use the space? – Will it be one person who always works from home, or for the whole family?
#3 – How?
How will the space be used? The answer to this question can be very telling. If you are going to be using it at the same time as other people then you may need to have 2 desks and chairs for example. Think about whether the space will be purely for a home based business, or a homework station, or the place for the computer, for crafting, for writing cards and wrapping presents, for dealing with your homes bills, filing etc….
#4 – What?
What will you need to have in the space? Filing, computer, desk, storage, books, printer, chair(s), lighting, drawers, stationery, music, noticeboard etc… -all of this will need to be stored and accessible for when you need it – so you will start to see how big a space you may need.
#5 – When?
When will the space be used? It’s no good having an office under the stairs if you have a large family and are needing to use it for conference calls so need the peace and quiet, or having an office in the darkest part of the house with no window when you tend to work better in the mornings with lots of light and fresh air coming in.
#6 – Where?
Where is the best place for the space – Whether you have somewhere in mind as yet, or whether you have a few options, the answers to the other questions will have guided you to the most appropriate space. For example – do you need a whole room or can you use somewhere that’s part of a room i.e. part of the kitchen, under the stairs, a bedroom, a dedicated outside office etc….
The 6 questions to ask with most projects are Who, Why, What, Where, When, and How.
Being able to answer these will ensure you get a rounded opinion of what’s required and how best to achieve it, and then it’s just the simple matter of getting it created – which will be in upcoming posts so watch this space!
