Have you thought of everything you need to make your home office a place for success?

One of the best parts things about being a freelancer is working from the comfort of your own home. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be at the kitchen table working from your laptop in an uncomfortable position distracted by outside traffic or noise.

In fact, if you don’t create your own work space, it can hamper your productivity and decrease your results. Why not create a better home office with the equipment and resources you need in order to be productive?

In order to organize your office, we’d like to share a few tips to make your home office perfect. We hope that these tips will help you feel more at ease in your home office so you can be successful as possible.

10 Essential Elements for your Home Office

1. Computer

Your computer is an essential part of your office. A lot of freelancers ask if PCs or laptops are better. It all depends on your preferences, needs, and the kind of work you do.

If your work requires you to be on the go a lot, it’s a good idea to get a laptop. If you need a powerful work computer for projects like graphic design, maybe in this case a PC would be a better choice.

2. An Internet Connection

An internet connection is essential, and we always recommend a wide bandwidth in order to make the most of your time. Make sure you sign up with a trustworthy service provider! You’ll need stability and a good signal to do your work without interruptions.

When you work from home as a freelancer, your internet connection is one of your most important work tools. Remember that this is essential in order to work productively and also to ensure that you can keep in contact with your clients.

And as you know, being responsive is an essential part of keeping clients happy. This availability will allow you to work with the best clients and establish long term relationships with them, increasing your income and career stability.

3. Peripherals

This list can include a monitor, mouse, keyboard, printer, scanner, webcam, headphones… The most important part is having a wide enough screen depending on what kind of work you do. Whatever is most practical for your job is best. Adding a printer and scanner to your home office are great ways to improve your home office work quality.

4. A Smartphone/Home Phone

Having a working phone is an often overlooked but important element. Remember that they’re complementary to your IP voice tools. When you work from home as a freelancer, it’s important to always have your home phone and smartphone nearby.

If you’re going to use a home phone, make sure you have a line that you use strictly for keeping in contact with your contacts. If that isn’t possible, make sure you always maintain a professional attitude especially during work hours.

This may seem obvious, but it’s fundamental to keep it in mind. We can’t repeat enough that good, fluid communication will help you maintain the best relationship possible with your clients. And if the client is satisfied with your work, they’ll give you more work and recommend you to other clients who need your services.

5) Furniture

A desk, a chair, a closet, or shelves to keep files, books, or various documents in one place are just a few pieces of furniture that you may need. Whatever you need, make sure it’s functional and adapts to your needs.

An ergonomic desk and chair are essential for keeping good posture during your work day. Best of all, with the recent advances in design, there are pieces of furniture that are very comfortable, useful, and functional. We get that this may feel a bit too “office-like” but if you’re looking for a way to design a welcoming place that is functional and helps you keep a good workflow, getting ergonomic furniture is the best way to facilitate that.

6. Good Lighting

In order to make sure that you can work well, make sure you get good lighting. Natural light is best. This will help you avoid headaches, fatigue, and bad posture from not being able to see the screen.

7. Memo and Notepads

No matter what your specialty is, memos and notebooks are extremely useful to prioritize, create lists or plans, write down ideas, and more. There are different materials and designs that will suit everyone’s taste and make every home office feel a bit more personalized.

Keep in mind that having paper on you at all times will help you stay organized. There are tools that will allow you to organize your work like Asana or Trello, for example. If you aren’t familiar with these tools, we’d definitely recommend you try them; most of these organization tools are free! You can also recommend them to your client to manage projects with them and be more connected and organized.

8) Software

Emails, IP voice applications, IM programs, automatic backup programs… These are just some of a few resources you can find online to edit documents, share files, manage projects, and more.

All of these programs are essential for organizing your projects, communicating, managing time, and being as productive as you can be. As we said before, technology is a great tool to work with clients and be a star member of remote work teams from your home office.

9. Office Supplies

Paper clips, staplers, highlighters, folders, scissors, envelopes… Make a list of everything you need on a day to day to day basis and what you might need at some point. It’s a good idea to make a basic office supply kit.

This may seem obvious, but believe me, there are thousands of freelancers that work from home without taking it into account, and they waste a lot of time going out and shopping for office supplies whenever they need them.

However, if you make a list of what you use on a regular basis and make a shopping list of these materials once a month, you can organize your time much better and get back to doing what you do best: working as a freelancer and helping your clients finalize their projects and grow their business.

10. Your Own Personal Touch

Have you thought about how you’d add your own personal touch to your office? Great! Because it’s essential to making your home office truly your own. Whether it’s a photo of your next vacation destination, a desk clock, your favorite puppet, a mini poster, your office is yours, so you might as well decorate it!

Giving your office a personal touch will make you happy, and this happiness will reflect in your work. Whenever you talk with your clients, they’ll take note. They’ll see that you’re relaxed, confident, happy to work, and in turn they’ll trust you more and give you more work. Your freelance career will take off and get even better, which is what Workana wants for every freelancer!

If you’re ready to become a freelancer and begin a successful freelance career, sign up for Workana free of charge. As soon as you complete your profile, you’ll be able to send proposals to clients who publish projects looking for qualified freelancers to make their projects a success.

And now, it’s time to get to work! The idea is for your home office to be a comfortable and pleasant place to work during the day. It’s YOUR place, so make your home office yours!

The Workana team wishes you the best of luck.

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You might also be interested in:

10 Essential Elements for your Home Office (So You Can Set Yourself up for Freelance Success)

Have you thought of everything you need to make your home office a place for success?