Home And Garden Articles

Home Office Essentials Part One

So you've decided to set up your own business. You're following the same route taken by thousands of new entrepreneurs each day. You've settled on your business idea, designed a marketing strategy and are looking forward to a bright future.

Did you stop at any point and think about how your home office should be designed? What type of office setup do you need? Most entrepreneurs have their offices at home. Do you evenhave space for an office at home?

The purpose of the following two articles is not to give you a blow-by-blow plan of how to set up your home office but more to give you tips and advice that'll save you time, heartbreak and money.

Your Desk
Newspaper ads years ago were filled with adverts stating "start a business from your kitchen table". While in theory (and in bad advertising) this is fine operating your business from a kitchen tables is entirely unpractical.

A good home office desk is functional, sturdy and has a clear, flat worktop. You've seen those office desks that are filled with drawers, shelves, keyboard trays and tons of other nooks and crannies. Firstly this type of desk looks fine in a catalogue but is far smaller when you actually build it.

Secondly all those drawers and shelves only give you more places to lose stuff. Keep your desk simple.

The ideal home office desk has a large, flat working area with at least one deep drawer for storing files and another shallow drawer for storing pens, paper and other consumables.

Ideally the desk should also be L shaped. This allows you to place your work around you as opposed to constantly having to stretch and reach for different items. The L shaped desk will provide you with a more practical working environment aswell as saving you backpain problems later in life.

Your Chair
This is where you're going to be spending a considerable amount of time. Never, ever skimp on your home office chair. It is absolutely essential that you have a good office chair.

Many new home business owners make the critical mistake of using a kitchen, spare household or even a garden chair for their home office. This boggles the mind considering the same person probably wouldn't think twice about paying $1,000 for a new computer but won't pay $100 for a quality office chair.

Using a cheap chair that doesn't provide proper back and lower limb support can and will lead to lower back and shoulder pain. It can also provoke migraines and other headaches. Poor posture should never be underestimated - it can have far reaching effects.

Features you should look for in an office chair:

* Adjustable backrest

* Swivel base

* Adjustable armrest

* Adequte lumbar support

* Deep cushioned seat

A great home office chair can be purchased for as little as $60 brand new. If you're finding yourself strapped for cash then check local auction houses for office clearance items.

Other source of "cheap" office chairs are IT firms and call centers. They're constantly having to replace their furniture to meet legal ergonomic requirements. That $200 office chair can often be purchased slightly used for about $20.

Your Ergonomic Environment

The 3 key environmental factors in a suitable home working environment are noise, light and heat.

Noise
Excessive noise is not only distracting but also debilitating. Prolonged exposure to excessive noise can and will affect your hearing.

What counts as excessive noise? Most experts agree that anything over 45 decibels or the equivalent of a really loud office fan is counterproductive to your work. You'll have trouble focusing or thinking clearly for more than a few moments.

Your home office needs to be a relatively peaceful environment. You'll do your best thinking, be at your most creative and work most effectively in a quieter office space.

Avoid using laundry rooms, TV rooms or other areas with excessively noisy equipment of any kind.

Light
You need to be in control of the light in or coming into your office. Light sources that are too bright will cause glare on computer screens and documents.

A home office that is too dimly lit will lead to eyestrain and headaches over time. If the area is too dark you'll lean closer to the computer screen and documents to read them thus causing discomfort.

Natural light is ideal because it provides diffuse (soft) light. An added bonus is that natural sunlight has a beneficial effect on our physiologies - our bodies produce more "feel good" chemicals when we absorb natural light.

Obviously don't put your working area in direct sunlight as it will be far too uncomfortable to work in. Simply arrange your office in such a way as to maximize the benefit of the natural light in your immediate surroundings.

If you're a nightowl then simply point your desklamp away from the desk towards a wall behind you. Why? This provides the same type of diffuse light that you'd experience during the day. Adjust the lamp until it provides enough light to read your screen or documents comfortably by.

Heat
This is the easy bit. Your home office should be neither too hot nor too cold. Is that stating the obvious? Any extremes of temperature in your home office will lead to decreased work performance. Normal room temperature is 37 degrees celsius (98 degrees Farenheit) so you need to aim for something in that region.

If your home office is too cold you won't be able to focus. You'll spend more time being annoyed at being cold than getting any work done.

Too much heat and you'll find yourself becoming irritable, lethargic and distinctly uncomfortable.

Your body is no different to the engine of a car or a piece of electronics. We all have optimal working temperatures. Otherwise we break down.

continued in Part Two

This article was provided courtesy of Home Office Advisor.com which contains tons of information on home office design

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

MORE ARTICLES:

Wild Flower Garden - Make Amends...Your Plants Will Love It
A wild flower garden, just like any garden you wish to plant, requires good quality soil that will meet the needs of the plants you put in it. That means that your garden soil may need some amendment.

Enhance Your Flower Garden With Garden Edging
So, you've got your flower garden set up You've planted the flowers, some perennials here, a few annuals there

Town & Country Conservatories Designs Custom English Skylight for Rockefeller Center's Flower & Garden Show
EnglishSkylights.com, a division of Town & Country Conservatories designs and builds a custom conservatory-inspired skylight for Rockefeller Center's annual Flower & Garden Show.

Add Rich Color To Your Garden With Blue Perennial Flowers
Blue flowers are some of the most striking plants around and can add a rich splash of color to any garden. Plant them in a cluster of all blue or mix them in with other flowers for a rainbow of color.

5 Most Popular Flowers for Your Garden
When planting a garden there are many questions which you must ask yourself before you begin. Where are you going to plant it, do you have the garden equipment to do so and how big do you want your garden to be? When do flowers bloom and what are their heights? These are all very important questions, however they mean very little if you have not yet decided which types of flowers you want to plant.

Fall Garden Chores for Spring Flowering Bulbs
As the school busses begin to rumble down the road again we are reminded that the gardening season is drawing to a close. For the gardener with an eye toward next spring, however, the season still promises plenty to be done in preparation of a showy spring to come.

Flowers That Beautify Your Home and Garden
To help gardeners choose flowers, various systems for rating hardiness have been developed. A plant is considered hardy in a region if it can grow and thrive there without requiring special protective measures such as insulating with straw mulch.

Exotic Flowers: Luxurious and Impressive for Your Home and Garden Decor
There are several types of exotic flowers to best suit any occasion. And of course, depending on your personal taste, you will want to choose the best exotic flowers you can obtain to be the perfect flowers, the most adequate for the purpose they will be serving. For example: at someone?s funeral, you may want to choose bouquet of flowers that the deceased would have loved. Here are some other examples (after all, these flowers are for happy occasions as well as the more tragic ones.

Chocolate for the Home and Garden ~ Chocolate Flower Farm Launches New Candle Division
Chocolate Flower Farm, a specialty nursery featuring dark foliaged and flowering plants, launches a new candle division with the acquisition of the exclusive rights to a distinctively different "Essence of Chocolate" candle. The candles along with their popular series of Chocolate Garden Seed Kits will be offered to retailers worldwide.

In Bloom: Manbury Home and Garden Accessories Unearths Garden Delights for Gorgeous Homes
Manbury Home and Garden Accessories now features a variety of attractive, practical garden solutions at www.manbury.nl, where consumers can peruse and purchase a variety of garden tools and accessories.

Wild Flower Garden - Yours to Design and Plan
To design a wild flower garden, you do not need to be a specialist or an artist, you just need to be observant and let your creative juices flow. Look around you, what is unique about your surroundings? Do you wish to enhance or compliment these things.

Flower Gardening
Flower gardening is becoming more and more popular every day. Flowers can brighten everyone?s day, they smell nice, and are a great hobby. Flower gardening is simple, inexpensive, and loads of fun. Flower gardening can be done for yard decoration, simply as a hobby, or even professionally.

Making Memories with Flower Gardening
Flower gardening is not only about the present, but can be about the past as well. Although this article is ostensibly about flower gardens, it is really more about carrying memories forward.

How to Choose the Right Bulbs for Your Spring Flower Garden
Choosing the right bulbs involves more than just selecting colors and cultivars. Timing, bulb size, and most importantly, bulb health are equally significant factors in designing your spring garden.