Your home office

Making the most of a view or adding a plant or two can enhance your office. 

Consider work goals when organizing it

Whether you work full-time from home, or you simply have a space dedicated to paying bills and keeping your life in order, a home office should inspire productivity and happiness. After all, you’ll do your best work if you actually want to spend time in your workspace. Here, four business bloggers share their tips for home office success.

Invest a few dollars

“The easiest way to start feeling more like a professional and less like an imposter is to invest in your home office,” says Cassie Boorn, guest blogger for Handmade Success, and the woman behind Maker Mentors, a free community designed to help creative entrepreneurs build business. “But there’s no need to spend thousands of dollars to create a great workspace. Boorn says it can be done with a budget as small as $25 and a trip to a home office store.

Evolve

As your business evolves and grows, be willing to make changes to your workspace. “The way I’ve been running my ‘business’ is from the perspective of a hustling freelancer. I was working a lot but there was no method to the madness. I had no structure,” says Vicky Ayala, brand strategist.

She recommends creating a workspace both at home and on-the-go that complements what you want your business to be, paying attention to details. In her case, she equipped herself with supplies that fit the way she works — a binding machine for customer handouts, a tablet and a briefcase that converts into a backpack. “Sometimes it’s the small things that help remind us of the bigger picture.”

Keep goals in focus

“Have your plan in plain sight for constant review and reminders. Without it, it’s too easy to fall back into old routines and unproductive habits,” says Lisa Jacobs, a marketing consultant to small businesses and the blogger behind Marketing Creativity.

Jacobs sets and tracks goals religiously by keeping a wall planner mounted in her home office. She used copy and print services to bring her own planner calendar design into reality. For ideas for making your home office more productive, visit Staples.com.

Keep area free of clutter

“One thing that I have learned about myself over the years is that I perform at my best when I have an environment free of clutter. That means no extra stuff on my desk, on my walls or in my office,” says Andreea Ayers, the entrepreneur behind Launch Grow Joy, a business that helps entrepreneurs elevate sales.

To beat the clutter, Ayers advises sticking to your essentials and thinking about multipurpose equipment that saves space. Her short list includes a stackable desk tray to sort and contain files, and a laser printer/scanner/copier that can do it all.