4 Home Office Design Tips to Boost Productivity

A drive to succeed is essential when starting a home business. However, ambition isn’t necessarily enough to guarantee success. You have to consider how a range of factors can contribute to (or detract from) your business’ potential for growth.

For example, because your home environment can be more distracting than a typical workplace, you need to design a home office that will help maximize your productivity. Keep the following tips in mind when doing so:

Consider New Windows

You don’t need to make major changes to an existing room in your house to ensure it functions as a reliable home office. A few seemingly minor upgrades can make a big difference.

For example, if your home office’s current windows are relatively old, strongly consider installing new windows. New windows will let in more natural light, which has been shown to have a positive impact on both a person’s mood and productivity.

New windows are also likely to insulate your home more effectively than your current windows. This will help you get more done when growing your business by boosting your comfort. Additionally, it will reduce heating and cooling costs.

Put Up Some Motivational Posters

For many, one of the small pleasures of working from a home office is being able to decorate it as they please, instead of being forced to look at stereotypical motivational posters at work.

However, you may actually want to add a few such posters to your home office walls. In one study, University of Toronto researchers split up participants into two groups. Both groups worked at a university call center, reaching out to alumni to solicit pledges and donations. 

One group worked in an office with posters featuring generic images. The other group’s office walls featured posters of images related to achievement. At the end of the study, it was found the second group raised 60% more money than the first. Clearly, motivational posters can deliver genuine value in a home office setting.

Learn How Colors Affect Your Mood

There’s no one wall color that’s universally “right” for all home offices. When painting your home office, you need to consider what type of mood you want to be in while working.

Start by researching how certain colors affect the average person. For example, blue has a calming effect on most people. Red makes you more alert. Some find that purple stimulates creative thinking.

Consider how certain moods and mindsets impact your productivity. Some people are more productive when they’re calm, while others get more done when they’re energized and awake. Once you know what state you need to be in to maximize productivity, choose a wall color that will facilitate that state.

Add Some Plant Life

Like motivational posters, plants are another common feature of a traditional office that have been shown to boost productivity. Although researchers aren’t entirely certain why this is yet, they believe it may be because the presence of greenery causes us to be more involved in our work both cognitively and physically.

Don’t worry if you’d rather not spend time taking care of a plant! While real plants are ideal for a home office, as they also improve indoor air quality, researchers have found that realistic-looking fake plants can impact productivity just as well as real greenery does.

Of course, although you should consider these tips when designing a home office, you also need to account for basic practical factors. For instance, you need to ensure your home office’s design and layout allow you to easily access any materials or equipment you’ll need when working. These tips will simply help you stay as productive as possible when building your home business.