Home office setup | Home Office Base

I have been working remotely from my home office for several years now. And although it may seem like a dream come true, one still needs to do some preliminary planning before they can work remotely.

How to set up a home office for remote work? To set up a home office for remote work, you need to make sure the furniture, equipment, and all the supplies are arranged properly in a way that will not affect your workflow negatively. To set up your home office, you need at least a few fundamental things like a computer, desk, chair, and internet access.

If you are interested in all the details about setting up a home office for remote work, continue reading below.

What You Need for the Best Home Office Setup for Remote Work

You see, working from home can be a fantastic thing, but that does not mean that you will not be working long hours just like you would do in a regular office. This is why some basics need to be covered when setting up your home office.

This is all about your health and your workflow. Working is a fact of life, but you and me, we all need to make sure we stay healthy and vibrant. Setting your home office the right way will promote increased productivity, improved mood, and will not negatively impact your health.

A Multipurpose Standing Desk

Choose a standing desk; your lower back will thank you later. Your desk is going to be the place where you will spend the majority of your time working.

There are different models types and varieties of standing desks.

Crank powered standing desks – They are a simple, relatively cheap option that will give you the advantage of spending parts of your working day standing. The only downside is that these will require some manual cranking and adjusting.
Electric standing desks – They are usually a little more expensive but can be adjusted with a simple press of a button. They are very easy to use and adjust. Some electric standing desks can be programmed to remember your favorite height settings so that you can be sure you are using the same height every time.
Desk risers – They are a very cheap alternative to standing desks. These risers are placed on top of your existing desk and can be adjusted depending on your preferences. The downside? They may not provide you with enough working space, adjustability, and your existing desk may be restricting your freedom of movement. However, desk risers are, although a little bulky, portable and can be moved and used on different desks and tables in your home.

So why is it so important to have a standing desk? It is not necessarily all about being in the upright position but more about variation.

Even standing for too long can be harmful. This is why it is essential to switch between standing and sitting throughout your working day. Our bodies are designed to move – not to stay in the same position for hours on end. Make sure that your desk is going to offer plenty of working space. You want to have enough space so that you can easily fit everything you will need on it.

An Ergonomic Chair

The next thing you need when setting up your home office is an ergonomic chair. The design of your chair is easily one of the most important decisions you are going to make when setting up your home office to work remotely. You will be spending prolonged amounts of time sitting, so you need to invest in a good, high-quality ergonomic chair that will support the natural body position.

There is a wide variety of different ergonomic chairs you can choose from like gaming chairs, kneeling chairs, executive chairs, recliner chairs, and ball chairs. Some people even enjoy sitting directly on a yoga ball.

An Automated Assistant

One of the good things about living in today’s day and age is how much technology has improved. You can use Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa to automate a great deal of the work processes; you can set up meetings, reminders, and you can even automate and remotely control the appliances in your home too.

A Fast and Reliable Computer

The majority of remote work you will do from your home office will require decent computer equipment. Not all remote work you can do from your home requires a lot of resources. For example, being a freelance copywriter, researcher, data entry, or customer support operative does not necessarily require high-end computer equipment. Though your computer still needs to be reliable.

However, if you will be editing and rendering videos (especially higher-quality 4K videos) or doing computer animation, things can be a lot different. All of these generally require a lot of resources and computing power so.

A High-Quality Monitor

Take a few moments to consider what kind of work you will be doing. Does it require a large monitor? Perhaps you need an ultrawide monitor or two monitors?

Then comes the quality of your monitor – the response time, refresh rates, PWM, gamut, low blue light, and so much more. Every feature and specification of the monitor matters and deserves special attention since you will be doing a lot of work on this monitor. The type and quality of your monitor can affect your energy and how quickly your eyes get tired.

A Reliable Internet Connection

Having a reliable and fast internet connection is going to be vital to your workflow and ability to stay on top of things – which means that you need a reliable internet connection. Today most people would do just fine with a quality wireless router. You can connect to the wireless network from any place in your home and home office.

But depending on the type of work you do, you may need to opt for a faster optical fiber internet connection.

An Adequate Lighting

Working in a dark home office is neither productive nor pleasant, and you can even strain and damage your eyes. This is why you need to consider and set up your home office in a way that makes the whole place well-lit. Ideally, you want to have access to as much natural lighting as possible.

An Anti-Fatigue Mat and a Footrest

When spending significant amounts of time standing up, it is recommended to use an anti-fatigue mat. Standing mats will improve the blood flow to your legs and reduce fatigue and tiredness. And during the time you will be spending sitting down in your chair, consider using a footrest. A footrest will support your legs and stimulate blood circulation.

An Ergonomic Mouse, Keyboard, Arm Support

Working on a computer all day is inevitably placing high amounts of stress on your joints. This is why some people prefer using an ergonomic mouse and keyboard.

Consider using an arm support or an arm stand too. An arm support can be used effectively to relieve much of the strain and stress that is put on your wrists, shoulders, and neck. The arm support is usually attached at the end of your desk, and some of the higher-quality ones can even follow the movement of your arm.

A Whiteboard

Many people may underestimate it, but having a whiteboard (or a chalkboard) can facilitate your workflow.

A whiteboard can be used to brainstorm ideas and visually lay out plans and strategies. It is always better to be able to see the grand picture, and a whiteboard can help you do exactly that.

Plants and Flowers

You need an environment that will stimulate concentration, focus, and work. Many may focus too much on having furniture and accessories that are strictly work-related, but it is important to bring at least a little bit of nature inside your home office as well. Plants deserve a place in our homes for more reasons than just visual appeal, however.

Take a look. Plants have been found to help us deal with stressful situations and improve our performance. Research has linked the absence of plants with increased levels of both physical and mental stress.

Another interesting study discovered that having several plants in your home or office improves focus, mood and reduces the feeling of boredom. And the results correlated positively with the size of the plant – the bigger the plant, the better the effect.

A Quality Audio Output and Input

No matter what I say I will not be able to do that topic justice. But investing in a quality headset, speakers, and microphone can really take your home office to the next level. Depending on the type of remote work, you perform a quality mic will breathe a sense of professionalism and class, especially if you are communicating with customers and partners frequently.

And having quality speakers can help you relax and enjoy the time you spend working more.

A Good Security Setup

Your home office is your business, and it needs to be treated as such. And even though it is located in the same place, you live you still have to take some preventative measures. Make sure to use strong passwords for all your accounts, wifi networks, phones, computers, printers, etc.

If needed, install CCTV for extra protection. Keep your documents and sensitive information stored and locked in storage cabinets. Make sure the door(s) and window(s) in your home office are all sturdy and lockable – and most importantly that they stay locked when you are not working there.

How to Setup the Work Environment in Your Home Office for Remote Work

Now that we have covered the very basics of everything you would need for your home office, let us continue with exploring how to set up everything properly.

The Home Office Room

It all starts with choosing the right area in your home where you will be working. For some people placing a laptop on the kitchen counter may be more than sufficient. However, certain professions may require some preliminary work to be done first.

For example, if you will be calling customers, partners, or taking customer service calls, you will need to have an area that is quiet and has good acoustics. In which case, you may even need to consider soundproofing your home office. Conversely, regardless of what type of work you do, a clean and quiet environment – ideally with a nice view – is going to allow you to be more productive and focused.

How to Setup Your Furniture

Besides the desk and chair, you will also need a couple more pieces of furniture depending on your needs like filing cabinets, shelving units, more chairs, a sofa, and more. Make sure you arrange your home office in a way that makes sense. You want it to have enough free space so that you can easily walk and move from one place to another. All the supplies you would need and the equipment you will frequently use should be within easy reach.

Make sure that your home office is not cluttered with objects that you do not really need and will just take up space. A cluttered room can impact your focus and even make you feel a little restless. Of course, you need some decorations too, but you need the right kind that will stimulate you.

Creating the right engaging environment may be hard if you have never had to think about your interior before. So start with reducing the clutter and surround yourself with beautiful things that represent you in some way and make you feel calm.

How to Setup the Lighting

There are a number of different types of lighting that you may need to take into account as you are setting your office.

Natural lighting;
Ambient lighting;
Bias lighting; and
Task lighting;

The position of your desk matters a lot, not because of the desk itself, but because of what will be placed on top of it.

The desk should be placed in such a way as to prevent and eliminate bright light and glare on your computer screen. Ideally, the light should be coming from the side, not behind you. It is also okay for the light to be coming from in front of you, as long as it is not too bright. If you have no choice, make sure you use the shades or the blinds on your windows. This may lower the overall light, but it will also reduce the glare.

An adequately positioned task lighting, on the other hand, is a good thing as it will provide increased localized illumination as well as improved contrast. Bias lighting, on the other hand, is believed to reduce eye strain from computer screens in darker rooms. And interestingly enough, bias lighting is also associated with improved screen contrast.

How to Set up Your Desk

There are no hard and fast rules here. However, generally speaking, the height of the standing desk should be at the same or slightly below the height of your elbows.

When working, you should keep your elbows horizontal or parallel to the ground – this also applies to the height of the desk when you are in the sitting position. That way, you will prevent any unnecessary tension created by the unnatural position of your wrists, elbows, and shoulder joints.

How to Set up Your Monitor

To set up the monitor, make sure that it is between 20 to 28 inches (or 50.8 to 71.1 cm) away from your eyes. The general rule of thumb is to keep the top of the monitor at eye level. And the upward angle of the monitor should be no more than 20°.

These little rules will ensure that you will not have to tilt your head or forward your neck unnaturally, which can create neck pain, shoulder pain, and potentially even headaches. Make sure to keep the monitor centered directly in front of you at about an arm’s length. This was a frequent mistake I used to make with my laptop. Keeping your monitor slightly to the left or right will promote unnatural twisting of your head and neck.

How to Setup Your Chair

You need to place the chair close to the desk. You should not need to extend your arms or your neck forward. The chair should provide good lumbar support and prevent you from slouching.

That being said, while slouching is bad, you do not want to overextend your back either. While sitting ideally, your hips should be at the same level or slightly above your knees.

Setting up a Home Office for Remote Work