Working from home is great...when you actually work. Often it’s tempting not to, like when Mount Laundry threatens to swallow your couch whole or this or that delicious distraction calls to you from the fridge. And that poor pup, pouting in the corner. Doesn’t he need to be walked? And, hey, who’s on Ellen today?
Telecommuters, yeah, you with the bed-head, you know what we mean. Look around. Productivity-crushing diversions lurk everywhere. That’s because you’re blending worlds. Your home is your workplace, which is why it’s incredibly important that you make it look and feel that way, at least in one designated spot.
Related: How the Color of Your Office Impacts Productivity (Infographic)
If you haven’t already, pick an area and call it your home office, even if (like yours truly) it’s the sticky end of your kitchen table. Then design that space for optimal hustle and minimal distraction. In just a few quick steps, you’ll be on your way to a creative, productive home office that you won’t be tempted to slack off in, well, uh, not that you would anyway.
To get you started, care of designer furniture firm Made.com, here are nine simple ways to create a productive home office, from embracing just enough clutter (seriously) to leveraging a dash of color psychology.
Related: 6 Best Practices for Working From Home
Kim Lachance Shandrow
Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributo...
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