Turning Small Spaces into an Office

After my post last week about getting back into my home office, I had quite a few comments on social media about how people didn’t have the space for an office. You don’t actually need a room to have an office just space where you can have a desk and chair. There are some great space saving office furniture to make even the smallest space into an office, Cotswold Business Interiors has a great buyer guide for small space office furniture. I’ve mentioned it before (sorry I know I’m dull!) but you are so much more productive than sitting curled up on a sofa with a laptop on your knee.  I know this from experience!

Why do you need an office space? 

There are many reasons when working from home you should invest in an office space. Here are my top 2 reasons.

1. Mentally going to work : Mentally you need to get up dressed and sit down ready to work. You won’t feel like you are in work mode slumming on the sofa with your jammies on.
2. Productivity : Having a dedicated workspace helps keep you productive and therefore making money! You are less likely to be distracted by housework and you know where everything is.

Here are some top tips for making a small space work for you :

• Kill the Clutter! : I struggle with this from time to time but then I have the luxury of a hiddenish office. If your office is on full display, keeping clutter to a minimum, filing, sorting and shredding unwanted paperwork or even consider going paperless and having adequate storage will make your space feel larger and more inviting.
• Light : If you are able to have your desk near a window then do it! Natural light is so much better to work with. Sadly my Harry Potteresque under the stairs office is void of windows but I have a massive bulb with bounces off the huge mirror and freshly painted light coloured walls.  You could as invest in daylight light bulbs.  The more light the bigger the space will feel.
• Think about what you need : With a small space don’t try and cram too much in! All your files, stock and accounts etc can live in a cupboard elsewhere. Realistically anything you don’t need daily doesn’t need to be in your office.  I have my shelving of files so they touch the ceiling and stock boxes under my desk, this is dead space in the office. However if you are working from the corner of your living room you might not want all these things on show.
• Tidy it daily : Small spaces need a bit of house keeping investment. You can soon become swamped in needless clutter, coffee cups, food wrappers! As the saying goes a tidy space = a tidy mind! (Maybe why I’m so disorganised!)

Looking for more home office and working from home inspiration check out the following posts :

• Working From Home Tips
• Britmums Mums in Business Round-Up | Working From Home
• Keeping active from your home office

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