The ‘home office’

I have (finally) sorted some much-needed decoration for my home ‘office’. I planned it nearly 3 years ago, when I was last long-term working in this room and, after just over 3 months here this year, I’m going for it.

It’s nothing clever or even remotely interesting for some of you, but it’ll make it less ‘spare room’ and more ‘this is where I work’. I’m not a great decorator or home ‘improver’, my ideas and wish-list far outweigh my ability and patience, but this should be a simple win.

All it’s going to take is a few strips of self-adhesive, vinyl wallpaper and some photo frames to break the wall up, and make this space look a little tidier and more suitable to it’s current use. There. Simple.

I’m lucky that it’s also liked by both my kids so if one of them ever wants this as their bedroom it can stay on the walls for them too!

Earlier this year I moved my vinyl LP collection back into this space when I purchased speakers and an amplifier to join the LPs and turntable … I can now listen to the crackle and pop (and dusty silence between tracks) of my music collection as it was meant to be heard (not the ripped MP3 versions through tinny speakers) as I work, in between video calls.

A more comfortable space in which to work, somewhere I have more control over (I’m usually in an open-plan office), and somewhere I hope I can work in for much longer.

PS. I wholeheartedly support the sentiment that we should support colleagues who can and want to work more remotely. This resonates with others too, the below quote from LinkedIn follows on from my post about the ‘new normal’:

“I don’t want things to go ‘back to normal’. I like my home office. I enjoy taking my dog for a walk in the afternoon instead of reaching for a chocolate bar to get me through the 3pm slump. I’m eating healthier meals (and I don’t even miss boozy client lunches!) I am less distracted and more focussed. I am absolutely, without a doubt, working more hours than ‘before’ but I don’t resent it (as much) when I’m in my ugg boots and don’t have to drive myself home at the end of the day.

“Just because we CAN go back to the office, I‘m not convinced that we SHOULD. At least not all day, every day. Let’s not go back to thinking that if a person is not in the office at their desk this somehow demonstrates their lack of productivity. Let’s trust ourselves and each other to get the job done from wherever we choose. Let’s value work-life balance, and mental health more than we did ‘before’. Just as we have for the past 3 months.”
Andie Killeen (and that is a spectacular working environment right there!)

PS. Photo’s coming soon :)