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As you all know, I currently work from home as a freelance writer, virtual assistant and – of course – a blogger. I have a study I could use as a home office but with a toddler, a puppy and Jack currently being at home too, I find it easier to work from the living room or dining room so I can keep an eye on the chaos. We were lucky enough to move into a house that has plenty of room for us all to have our own space. Whilst others could use the study themselves, they’ve all come to find their own particular areas that is theirs. Jack retreats to his room where he has a desk, Olivia heads off to hers and Steve tends to go to the annexe where he has his dart board.
Photo Credit – Anna from Don’t Cramp My Style
Recently Steve has been talking about going back into studying. He has always been interested in accountancy but never made the jump to actually do anything about it. He has now decided to start a course but this, of course, means he needs somewhere to study in peace and quiet. Our annexe isn’t sound-proof but it does block out quite a bit of sound and has a heavy door into it so this would be a great space to turn into a home office. We’ve already talked about what he will need and how we are going to set it up for him.
So how will we do this?
First of all, he is going to need a desk. We’ve been looking around at some options and decided we don’t have to go all out on this thus we can save the money for the technology we need. We do have laptops already in the house but those are quite old and run really slow so are only really used out of sheer necessity – this means we need to get Steve something that can run quickly and without any problems. He can’t use mine as obviously I will need it for work. I’ve found this fantastic HP laptop in black for £399! I’m definitely going to be using a discount code for £10 off a £299 offer (£10 off your next order when buying any product over £299) from AO when buying the laptop.The offer is available to anyone who makes a new AO.com account and will be emailed the same day. This is just one of the many discount codes available for many different brands on Codesium – definitely check it out if you are looking to save some money. They’ve also got LAPTOP50 which gives £50 off ASUS, Lenovo, HP, Huawei laptops over £799!
After the desk and the laptop have been purchased, then there are plenty of other things we need to consider. He is going to need a comfortable desk or computer chair such as this one from Argos for £80 as we don’t own any of those already and none of our chairs would be suitable for spending time in front of the computer studying.
We will also need to go on a stationery shop – I’m not entirely sure exactly what he will need – I don’t even think he is – but like all students, he is going to need stationery at some point and I don’t think the billion biros and felt tip pins that we currently have will pass for the stationery he actually needs.
We are quite lucky that the lighting in the annexe is actually pretty decent already, it definitely has the best artificial lighting in the house so we don’t need to consider changing this. Our window also luckily gets the sun but because it backs onto our alleyway, doesn’t get it too much so we get plenty of natural light without the sun blaring in. Perfect for a home office space, wouldn’t you say?
The last few things we are thinking about getting to kit out the home office completely are an external hard drive – this is so important as Steve will need to backup his studies on a regular basis, especially any coursework he has to do – and perhaps moving the printer down to the annexe. It currently lives in the upstairs study which made the most sense but with a whole home office space downstairs and a need for the printer would mean it makes more sense to bring it down. We currently have a HP printer with Instant Ink so I might also have to up my ink subscription once his studies start.
I think we have covered all bases for a home office but do let me know in the comments below if I have forgotten anything! What are your must haves for a home office – do you work or study from home?
Life Long Learning. We can learn and do learn. What we learn may vary from one individual to another, depend on circumstances, opportunities, interests, etc.
Being naturally curious can assistance us in seeks out information. Relevant information being available, accessible, appropriate, acceptable, etc :- All enables us to learn.
From practice / experience we may learn where, when and how we learn best. Learning is about gaining know / information. Therefore we need sources, opportunities, etc.
Learning is also about retaining the knowledge/information, as well as understanding. This is what takes time. Also having an area / room / venue which is conducive to learning can be beneficial. A study can be a real bonus when it comes to being prepared, and organised for the given task of Learning / studying. An individual study can facilitate an individual’s learning, by having some quiet time to think / contemplate, etc. No disturbances, no distractions.
Best Wishes!
These are great ideas! A comfortable desk and office chair are must-haves for me too x
Definatly a comfortable chair and more importantly, a tidy desk! I find if it’s cluttered, my mind gets cluttered. Great ideas.
I need to sort out a desk area to work. I’m afraid I work off my lap most of the time! Hope Steve does get back into studying
It sounds like you’ve thought it through well, I’d like to see it once you’re done!