Working From Home – Desk Setup

The Working From Home – Desk Setup post is sponsored by The Container Store, but as always all opinions and images are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that allow Home with Keki to create unique content and keep going!

I have been working from home for almost a decade now, but in the last two months, working from home has become the new norm for many. Companies, like Twitter, are even considering allowing employees to continue to work from home after stay-at-home orders are lifted. So, creating a working environment in your home is essential and a desk setup that allows you to be productive is key.

Working From Home – Desk Setup

There are just too many ways to get distracted, feel unmotivated, or simply lose interest in the task at hand while working from home. Believe me, I have been doing this for almost a decasde and it was only in the last couple years that I created a plan that has been working for me. Allowing me to truly succeed.

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A few tips to consider before your desk setup.

Working From Home – Designated Space

• No condo/apt/home is too small to have your own desk setup. I live in a smaller 100-year-old home and there is not a designated room I can use. That was when I looked into our “formal living room,” a space the kids don’t “live in.” They have a basement play space and the family room off the kitchen. So, I placed a white desk (any sofa table will work) behind the loveseat in our formal living room.
• When working I prefer to not stare at a wall but look out the window. I don’t feel so isolated from the rest of the world this way.
• It is important to set-up a space that is only used for work during office hours. When I sit at my desk, it is working hours, not time to check Facebook or chat with my girlfriends on the phone. My kids also have learned, over time, that when mommy is sitting at her desk/office, you better be bleeding in order to bother me 😉
• Setting up a designated space and having work rules in space will allow for a more functional workday at home.

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Working From Home – Create A Schedule

There were many years when I was working from home that were not productive. I might have been doing laundry during work time or prepping dinner, or working on school volunteer items. Only a couple of years ago I said enough was enough and created a schedule, a plan. And stuck to it.

• I “go-to” work M-F at home, just like I would if I went to a corporate office. Monday through Friday I wake up by 6 am, check my personal emails while I have my coffee in the kitchen, not at my desk. Give the kids breakfast and get them settled for the morning. Shower, make the beds, make sure things are tidy so I can concentrate, and sit at my desk by 8:30 am every Monday thru Friday.
• I created a time blocking schedule last year that I actually still follow. No more morning school drop-offs so I was able to move up the green-work time.
• What if a kid has a school question? They come to me at my “office/desk.” I will not leave my desk to go to them.
  • While at my desk I have my headphones on. I usually listen to music to block off any loud playing or arguing between siblings. BUT, sometimes I just in my ears, no music. Mommy wearing headphones means, “DO NOT DISTURB.”
  • If my headphones are on they stand there and wait. It gives me time to finish my thought, finish the sentence I was working on, and then help them.
  • I work from 8:30-noon every day. I rarely get up, just for a snack or bathroom break. AND I do not multi-task HOUSE CHORES between 8:30-noon. Laundry, dirty dishes piling up in the sink, or emails from schools are all put on hold during “work hours.”
• Lunch Break: At noon I make lunch for the entire family and we eat all together. Daddy too. The kids and daddy clean up the “cafeteria” as I have been calling it, aka the kitchen, while I finish anything I have not finished that morning.
• The end of the day is 2:00-2:30 p.m. because when the kids were in school that was the end of my usual workday so I could go and pick them up and begin afterschool activities/dinner prep. Dinner is every day at 5:00. Which always for an early evening so if needed, I can sit back at my desk and check for work emails or finish a project before heading to the family room to relax with my family or upstairs to bed.

Working From Home – Desk Setup

I am a firm believer that the right products are necessary to have a successful workday at home. I need everything in the right space so that I don’t waste time searching for supplies or files.

• All important files that I refer to on a daily basis are kept in my desktop mail center. I love this organizer as it is the perfect size for important file folders and a quick easy reach.
• It also holds my TOP 3 DAILY PRIORITY gold metallic notebooks.
  • Client Work
  • HWK (blog) Stuff
  • The Life, aka meaning Personal.
  • As I read emails, work on projects, or simply something comes to mind I grab the notebook to write it down those thoughts I need to research more about at a later time. i.e.; “would those brass lights I saw at RH work for Florida client? HWK Stuff: Should I offer free design zoom calls? Personal: What supplies do new pets need?
• Lastly, I keep my letterhead/envelops for personal notes and my fave ballpoint pens.
• I am a sticky note lover! Always have been. They keep me on task for the day. I jot down things I don’t want to forget to do THAT DAY. I have always used stick notes and place them on my desk or calendar for that day and I don’t remove them until that task is done.

Shop The Post: No. 1 Acrylic Stapler // No. 2 Desktop Calendar // No. 3 Metallic Notebooks // No. 4 Paperclips // No. 5 Sticky Memo Ball // No. 6 Maildrop Organizer // No. 7 Acrylic Tape Dispenser // No. 8 Ballpoint Pens // No. 9 Acrylic File Folder Holder // No. 10 Magazine Slipcase // No. 11 Black File Folders // No. 12 Acrylic Drawer Organizer

Working From Home – Filing System & Storage

Having a smaller desk or console table as a work space in a living room means I had to be creative. I didn’t want a visible filing cabinet or for the space to feel like a home office.

I have a built-in bookcase two feet from my desk (if you don’t have built-in’s you can easily use bookcases). I decorated the shelves in a way that make it work for a living room or office space but yet it has everything I need.

• Magazine slipcases are great for storing those inspirational magazines I actually keep to refer back too and some of my spec books for designing.
• For my designs, I like to print on photo-style paper. I like to keep them protected. The acrcylic paper drawer was the perfect solution and actually makes the paper, well, look pretty on the shelf.
• Naturally, I have more files that I don’t need on my desk, so I use the acrylic desktop file holder and white file folders to give it a clean look on my white shelves.

Shop The Post: Drawer Organizer // White File Folders // File Folder Organizer // Magazine Slipcase

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How has working from home been going for you? Share your stories in the comments below