Changes in the labour market have resulted in more and more people giving up classic employment in companies and offices in order to perform their duties in the remote working system. Is it worth working in this way? How to set up a home office to work efficiently in your own home?

Distance working lights and shadows

The idea of remote working is to be able to perform all duties without having to commute to a stationary office. This involves a great deal of freedom of action, but it also has its drawbacks. The advantages of remote working include

• The possibility to work from home without commuting, which is ideal for people from small towns, for people caring for someone (e.g. a child or seniors) and for people with physical disabilities.
• Possibility to work during trips and travels. Remote working makes it possible to combine rest, recreation and gainful employment.
• Remote working is cost-effective and saves travel costs.

Depending on the nature of remote working and the specific duties involved, in many cases it is possible to set up the schedule yourself, work at night or at dawn. Remote working can be done by sitting on the couch or in bed, but then you need a laptop or tablet.

However, employment in the remote working system has some drawbacks that are worth knowing about:

• A sense of isolation, lack of contact with co-workers - for some people this is a disqualifying factor for this variant of employment, but with a bit of good will you can keep in touch with co-workers and friends, but not during working hours, but in your free time.
• Difficulty in mobilizing to work is the greatest pain in people who are not very well organized. However, there are many ways to manage working time well and avoid activities that draw us away from it.

How to create a workspace in the comfort of your home?

Remote working means that somewhere in your own home you will need to create a comfortable and well-equipped workspace. The exact arrangement depends on the nature of the work and the type of duties. Completely different furniture and devices will be needed by a dressmaker or jewelry designer, and different programmer or photographer. In a home office there must therefore be furniture and devices of a universal character, as well as equipment and accessories specific to a specific activity. What cannot be lacking in a home office is:

• Computer - it can be both a desktop computer, which will be an excellent choice for work in advanced graphic and design programs, but it can also be a laptop. When choosing the equipment to work, it is worth taking into account the available budget, the parameters of the device and the brand. A Laptop Asus, Dell or Lenovo will be a more reliable choice than a device from a not very popular manufacturer. A desktop computer will be a sensible solution if we do not care about mobility, and if we want to work both at home and outside, it is worth betting on a good laptop.
• Desk - it is hard to imagine a home office without a desk. It does not have to be a spacious office desk. A compact computer desk or laptop desk is all it takes.
• Office chair - you can try to work on an ordinary chair, but it will soon turn out that this saving of space and money will have a painful effect on our spine. For hours of work at a desk, the best choice is an office chair with a swivel seat, armrests and a profiled backrest.

A remote workspace is not just a desk, chair and computer. Depending on the type of work, you may also need shelves, cabinets, chests of drawers, tilting table top and other elements. The optimal solution is to have a separate room in the house where you can arrange your office.

How to be motivated to work and not be distracted by home affairs?

Remote working is difficult to organise, not because it requires a good Internet connection, a computer and a desk, but also because many home things can distract us from it. You need a lot of willpower and good organization to really focus on your duties and not to break away from them every now and then, to watch your favorite program, browse through websites or do quick online shopping.

There are many solutions to this situation, and the most effective ones are:

• Rigid remote working hours - if we opt for this solution, we will lose some of the freedom of remote working, but we will be sure that we will not be sitting at the computer all day long.
• Go offline when possible - if you don't need an Internet connection for our work, it's a good idea to go offline so we don't get distracted by email notifications and numerous applications every now and then.
• Take breaks at specific times - if you also have to deal with some personal and domestic matters during the fixed working hours, it will be helpful to set a time limit for this.
• Planning the scope of activities on a daily basis - for many people working remotely, all organizers and applications for planning work are necessary and indeed it is a solution that helps to meet all obligations on time.