While it used to be a den, and then a study, most homes today sport a home office. Sometimes it is a his and hers, other times it is dedicated to one person in the household. The key to a productive and successful home office is organization and creating an interior that really works for you. Take a minute and list the activities and tasks you need to perform in your home office.

Consider if you are going to be inviting private clients or if this is a “closed studio,” so to speak. By analyzing the functions you want to encompass you will be better prepared to put together a successful and winning space (with professional help.)

What Equipment Do You Need?

A computer is the least of it. Depending on the nature of your business you want to consider faxing, printing, scanning, video taping, audio recording, and more. Are you comfortable with all-in-one machines or do you prefer dedicated equipment for each function? Will you need a land line or VOIP line in addition to your cell phone?

How Much Storage Do You Need?

Even in the electronic age we still maintain an incredible amount of paper files. How much do you need? Do you have an extensive library that you need to house? Are you keeping books you don’t need, out-of-date and can be donated or recycled? This is often the case but it can be hard to part with materials we’ve had for so long. Use it or lose it! When you clutter your present with pieces of your past, you block space for your future. If it is just shelf-help and you aren’t using it as an active reference, let it go.

What Activities Will You Perform?

While you may have a desk, many of us no longer work at desks but instead prefer a club chair, stand up treadmill (yes there are actually home office treadmills that are designed for you to work on while walking), or an ergonomic alternative to a desk chair.  This is your home office and you can design it to suit you, it doesn’t have to be traditional or old school. It does need to be specific to your needs and serve your business and life success.

How Will You Keep Your Information Secure?

Yes, there are easy space friendly cloud computing options like Carbonite for backups today. You may prefer to have an extra desktop back up or other method that requires equipment and space. Be sure to account for this, it is important to your peace of mind to know that your work and materials are backed up regularly and safely.

By answering the questions posed here you will have a jump start on your home office success. When you want more gold nuggets explore my website for interior decorating, business and life design tips.  If you want your own personal interiors coach contact me  for home office solutions and more tools so you can Prosper By Design.

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