Why a workspace?
If you work from home – be it running your own business, working remotely once a week from your office, or homeschooling – have you struggled with drawing a line between work and home? Is it hard to relax when you’re supposed to be resting, or hard to focus when you are supposed to be working? Well, the issues involved here are numerous, and I don’t propose to solve them all in one short post, but I do want to share something that has recently revolutionized life for this work-from-home entrepreneur: workspace. Creating a workspace has many benefits; here are 5 to begin:
1. Less Distractions
This is basic, but so key. If your workflow is constantly interrupted by other people in your home, or even by the visual reminders of housework, your productivity takes a big hit. Having a place that is solely devoted to your work (even if its just a desk in the corner of your guestroom) gives you the chance to step away from the rest of your life and zone in on the task at hand.
2. Save Time
How many times have you started on a task, only to first spend 20 minutes trying to find the needed tools and supplies? Guilty. This predicament is all to familiar to me, and oh-so frustrating. A second, and related, frustration comes when you constantly have to clean up your tools, if your workspace is in a common area in your home. Creating a workspace, with “a place for everything, and everything in its place,” saves you from hundreds of frustratingly wasted minutes. It allows you to pick up and put on hold projects that cannot be completed in one sitting.
Creating a workspace, with “a place for everything, and everything in its place,” saves you from hundreds of frustratingly wasted minutes.
3. Mindset
There is something about the shorter commute across the hall as opposed to the longer commute to an out-of-home office that makes me want to slow down, drink a second cup of tea, and mosey through my day. You’ve probable heard that it is crucial to get up and get dressed for work, even if you don’t have to leave the house. This helps significantly when it comes to getting into work gear, and you will find that having a space devoted to work does the same trick. If you are sitting on your couch or bed while editing pictures or writing a blog, you are much more likely to become drowsy or find yourself scrolling through Instagram, than if you are sitting upright at a desk.
4. Inspiration
Working from home is a unique choice, and usually involves something that you are passionate about. No matter how much you love your job, though, it is easy to fall into routine, to become overwhelmed, discontent, or lazy. Why did you choose to work from home? Were you passionate about a hobby? Devoted to your family who needed you to stay home? Determined to enjoy your work, which didn’t fit the 9-5? Create a workspace that is beautiful, not just functional. And then, make it meaningful, not just beautiful. Surround yourself with quotes, pictures, graphs – whatever reminds you why you do what you do, and why you love it.
Create a workspace that is beautiful, not just functional. And then, make it meaningful, not just beautiful.
5. Relationships
Taking the time, effort, and investment that it takes to create a workspace enhances your productivity, focus, and attitude. All of this, in turn, effects the other people in your home. Working from home is a unique privilege, but it does come with its own set of struggles and temptations. Make your space: make it organized, make it efficient, make it inspirational. Then, use that tool to pursue excellence in your business, and most of all, to love well those who share your home.
Best Wishes,
Caitlynn
P.S. For some workspace inspo, follow our Workspace Pinterest board! Better yet, ask if you can join the board, and share your own ideas!
Born a world traveler, Caitlynn has settled in Cleburne to continue doing what she loves – investing in her family and community while capturing beauty with her camera and her writing. Caitlynn also has a background in customer service, administrative support, and sales. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Ryan.
