If you are working from home, you probably have a bonus room that you have turned into your home office. Chances are that you spend a good amount of time there and if that is the case, why not make the most out of it?

Here are some tips to help you do that.

Get Some Quality Headphones

Headphones can cost anything from a few hundred dollars to thousands depending on the brand and quality. You can get an affordable pair with a microphone for $50 or less. This is a great investment for your work seeing as you will need it for video calls.

If you can splurge a little, getting a pair of noise-canceling headphones will be worthwhile because they will alienate noises around you. The best part is that you get to use the headphones even when you are out of your home office to listen to music, audiobooks, and podcasts.

Get a Desk Lamp or Ring Light

That you work from home doesn’t mean you have to look shabby, especially on video calls. This doesn’t have to do with what you wear but how you appear on those calls. The right kind of lighting will portray you in the best light.

Find a good spot with natural lighting where you can receive calls during the day but also get a desk lamp or ring light that you will use to illuminate your face for the calls in the absence of natural light. Your bonus room home office could certainly use the same.

Elevate Your Computer

Most people don’t know this, but your computer screen should be level with your eyes when working. If it is too high, you will strain your neck looking up and if it is too low, you will be hunching over. Now, if the screen is too low, you can add several books under the base to elevate it.

However, the best thing to do here is to get a riser or laptop stand as well as an external mouse and keyboard. Most of these stands come with an adjustable height making it easy for you to get the correct level.

Of course, such an accessory will help you get the most out of your bonus room home office.

Create Room For Chargers

Your bonus room home office is the home to many devices including your phone, computer, headphones, and printer. These devices need frequent recharging and you do not want to stop working just to go to the other rooms in your house to look for chargers.

Instead, you want to create space in your home office for the chargers. Get a tray or designate a drawer in one of your cabinets for the same because lying around is not only a way of creating clutter, it makes you look like a disorganized person.

Get Some Music Going

Music is food to the soul so having some of your favorite tunes playing in the background in your bonus room home office can get your creativity and productivity going. In that case, why wouldn’t you want to get some speakers connected to your computer to get those tunes going?

Some upbeat music will help you handle serious tasks like web design while some soft relaxing sounds will come in handy when you are trying to be creative or brainstorm. Note that for some people, music playing while they are working can be distracting so figure that out before you invest in the speakers.

Scent The Air

Do you know what a great-smelling candle or a few essential oil drops can add to your bonus room home office? If you are into aromatherapy, then you know that some smells can make you feel energized or even calm.

Scents can affect how you feel and most of the time, in a good way so having the smell of roses or eucalyptus can make a good addition to your workspace.

Paint The Walls

What is the color of the walls in your bonus room home office? Did you know that color also affects how you feel? You do not need black walls or dark-colored hues around you because then, it will be hard for you to focus and brainstorm.

You can therefore paint the walls of your office white or any pastel or neutral color. This will bring feelings of composure and peace so that you can think straight.

Get Indoor Plants

Plants add to the aesthetic of any space and your bonus room home office is no exception. Aside from that, having a plant or two in your office will absorb those foul gases you emit while in there and convert them into oxygen.

If you have plants growing next to your window, however, you can forego getting the plant because you can always open your windows and enjoy the view.

Put Up a Restroom

Chances are that the extra room you decide to turn into a home office doesn’t have a bathroom. As you work, you will need to use the restroom at some point. When this happens, you don’t have to leave your office.

Many remodeling companies can create a restroom right in your office and with some plumbing services, you will be good to go. That means that you will save time seeing as you won’t have to go out of your office for bathroom breaks.

Declutter

You do not want stuff lying around your office as you work because it can be distracting and obstructive causing you to be lethargic and cranky most of the time. Even if you are not a minimalist, you should always keep your office space neat.

Gather whatever you do not use and toss it in the bin. All the other stuff should be put in designated places. For instance, your paperwork should be in files or cabinets. Only the essentials that you use daily should be on your desk. If you need cleanout services to get rid of stuff that you do not use, go ahead and do it.

Use Input Peripherals

It is said that hard work pays but that doesn’t mean that you should have a hard time in your office. Try to simplify your tasks as much as possible. You, therefore, want to get yourself a few input peripheral devices like a keyboard and mouse that will make your work easier.

Speed up Your Internet Connection And Computer

One of the reasons why most people are skeptical about working from home is because of unreliable internet connection and a dodgy computer. With a slow computer or internet connection it will be painful; to attend your zoom meetings or even perform simple tasks.

In that regard, you want to look for reviews when it comes to internet service providers to ensure that you get the best. As far as your computer, purchase one with impressive specs to avoid freeing and such things.

Stack Up Your Software

For you to work efficiently from home, you should be able to work and communicate with other people from all over your state or even all over the world. To do that, you need software that is exceptionally designed.

The kind of software you get can also help you create great presentations that you will use to explain your ideas to clients and business partners alike.

Maximize on Natural Lighting

No one wants to work in the dark. It is not even possible. As such, you want to ensure that your home office gets as much natural lighting as it can. This can also dramatically increase your productivity. Think about having larger windows for your office or even a balcony with a door that you can leave open to let in the light.

Allowing light into your office also helps prevent drowsiness and since you are not new to working, you know that this is a common occurrence. Aside from these health benefits, natural lighting makes your office look good as well. Why do you think modern offices have open-plan designs?

Another thing you probably want to know is that it makes spaces appear and feel bigger. That is what you would want in your home office, right?

Get a Comfortable Chair

You will be sitting in front of a computer screen most of the time while in your office, right? Even if you will not be using your computer most of the time, you will be sitting down. Because of that, the need for an ergonomic and comfortable office chair in your bonus room home office cannot be overemphasized.

Note that a comfortable chair is not a heavily padded one but one that conforms to the shape of your back and supports your spine. It should have some padding though to cushion your bones.

Upgrade Your Communication

With Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)technology, you can make voice calls through a broadband Internet connection rather than an analog phone line. Using a VoIP phone in your office is a modern and easy way of communicating with the outside world and your clients.

As such, you may want to consider getting it.

Simplify Your Processes

Making the most out of your home office involves simplifying all the procedures that you can. For instance, you can use online banking to pay others and get paid. Technology continuously advances and you should take advantage of it.

Instead of going out every time you need to transact, you can use your smartphone or laptop to simplify most of the processes in your office including credit repair.

Have Your HVAC System in Good Condition

Temperatures can be extreme in your home office. Of course, you don’t want to be too cold or too hot and that just means that you should have an HVAC system installed. If you already have one, check to see if it is functioning properly or if you need emergency AC repair services.

The last thing you want is to be freezing or sweating profusely and spending time that you should be using to be productive at work trying to remedy the situation.

Get a Desk

Even if you are using a laptop, you will need a desk in your bonus room home office. Why? Because it gets cumbersome to have the laptops on your laps all the time. At some point, you may want to place it somewhere and the best place for that would be a desk.

A desk will also accommodate your IT hardware in one place so that it works harmoniously.

Have a Dusting Cloth on Hand

Fingerprints, pet hair, and dust can mess up your keyboard or computer monitor but you don’t have to let it get to that. Have a microfiber piece of cloth at your desk to clear up such messes. You can also have a box of sanitary wipes to disinfect your work surface quickly before you start your day.

Get a Vinyl Mat

The floors of your home office can be quite cold especially if they are tiled. To counter that, you can get a few vinyl mats and place one under your chairs and others randomly around the room. This will stop the wheels of your chair from damaging the floor.

Better still, you can get a home remodeling service to install heat transfer vinyl flooring. This will not only make your office space warmer but will also increase its aesthetic appeal. There is no denying that more organizations are opting to have their employees working remotely from their homes and that has turned out well for the most part. If you have a home office, you want to make it feel and look like an actual office. Use the tips in this article to help you achieve that.