I have been upgrading and re-organizing my home office. It has evolved with career changes and I wanted to explore what has changed for the better and why.
A friend recommended I share a photo of my home office with this post, but the thought of doing so made me anxious. I started to see all of the things I disliked and was self-conscious about in my office. But this also provided opportunities. I thought:
“What could I change that would make me feel more comfortable and productive in this space?
How can I adjust it to better reflect what I value (rather than what needs to get done)?”
Different things popped up, some of which required no money and little time to resolve. Tidying up and addressing things that are no longer important to me was instantly satisfying. There are many other things to consider: desk, chair, ergonomics, computer hardware, keyboard, mouse, tablet, monitors, speakers, headphones, microphone, acoustics, air flow, webcam, privacy, lighting, blue-light blocking glasses, writing utensils, paper, cable management, art, plants, drink coasters, storage, and more. I will discuss these in future posts, sharing photos of my office from different times in my life.
You can search and find millions of photos online of beautiful, clean, and well-organized home offices. Using generative AI tools also produces images of the perfect home office. These are helpful tools for inspiration and ideas, but they can set unrealistic standards and are not the real space where you are physically working.
Look around your home office and think: “What’s something I could do to better suit my needs, productivity, or well-being?” I have learned this is a very helpful exercise. You are welcome to share pictures of your home office or talk about it in the comments: we can all draw inspiration from each other.
Photo Note: This was my work-from-home setup when I worked for Industrial Light & Magic. My son moved a box so he could stand on it and reach the mouse and keyboard. Maybe he was the one actually compositing my shots?
Link to Part 2: https://andrewzeller.ca/the-ideal-home-office-part-2/