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Collins Street Business Centre
Chapter Three: Your office is where you are
Work wherever you happen to be – at home, in a leased office space, or at a hotel
Setting up a home office
If you're used to working in a corporate environment, the major benefit of working at home is that your office can be as simple or as expansive as you please. Your office can be in your computer bag; you can splash out an build a home office addition to your home; or, you can convert an existing room.
Consider the amount of time you will spend working in your home office. If you're spending several days a week working from home, it's imperative that you make your environment as comfortable and ergonomically sound as possible.
Set up a healthy ergonomic working environment
The healthier your environment, the healthier, happier, and more productive you'll be. You need:
A large desk, and a smaller desk or workstation for your computer. Preferably ergonomic;
A filing cabinet;
A window: does it open? If you suffer from allergies, and have a large garden, you may not want to open it in spring, but an open window gives a feeling of spaciousness;
Air conditioning and lighting;
Storage space for stationery, reference books, and other office supplies;
A whiteboard for scheduling, and timelines
Try Feng shui -- Davina Noakes, of HappyToWorkAtHome.com recommends Vicky Wright, of Life Design Strategies, who teaches a three-month program on feng shui, combined with the law of attraction, to create the perfect work-at-home environment.
Stay fit in your home office: healthy ergonomic resources
Stretch Now, a Melbourne company, offer everything from Yoga classes to ergonomic keyboards;
Sit Back and Relax, for ergonomic chairs, including the fabulous Aeron, massage chairs, tables and bases, and more;
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia: has lists of professional certified ergonomists in every state;
Ergonomic Office Online: chairs, headrests, footrests, and laptop boards.
Tips to help you set up your home office and have fun doing it
Don't buy "almost right" items: buy what you need, and items that will last;
Get quotes – who can supply what you want, when you want it, at the price you want to pay?
Each time that you buy will take around a day to incorporate into your working style, so don’t buy new office furniture when you're in a time crunch and working on deadline;
Start with what you have, and expand slowly – a multi-function printer may make more sense (how often will you use it?) than buying a scanner and fax separately;
Is there a warranty? A guarantee? When buying software online, make sure that you can get your money back if the program won’t work for you, or conflicts with other programs on your system;
When buying plans – for your mobile phone, or broadband connection, mark your calendar to check prices in six months: in competitive services, prices go down;
Use the Collins Street Business Centre's Virtual Offices service to give your home business a big business image;
Check with your accountant whether leasing would be a better option for you than buying equipment.
How to manage when you're your own Information Technology department
A telecommuter depends on his computing equipment, and when you telecommute, you're your own IT department. Luckily, computers are becoming more user-friendly all the time. However, it's a good idea to invest in training in basic computer management: backing up your machine, starting your machine in Safe mode (if you use a PC) to identify a peripheral that could be causing a problem, and how to set up programs – even how to reformat your hard drive, and start over from scratch, if a particular annoyance is becoming too much too bear. Check your local paper for short courses in basic computer trouble-shooting.
If you do need help, try these Web sites for mobile computer repairers:
Melbourne : Call Staff Australia
Mellbourne: Mr Fixit
For more information, simply fill in the survey below and we will send you a free ebook on "Telecommuting" Today!
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