Optimise Your Home Office to Maximise Your Potential!

Your work environment can impact you in so many ways...

- your sense of self esteem and confidence in your own abilities
- your ability to get things done and achieve your goals
- your health and wellbeing
- the way others see you; their estimation of your capabilities and willingness to work with you
- your inspiration and motivation, and many more...

These things can all have a direct impact on your earning ability, and how well you feel both physically and mentally.

When you work from home, either remotely as an employee or running your own business, the balance between your working life and your home life also becomes a significant factor.

After redundancy in 2008, I decided to work for myself from home.

Overnight I went from working in a large, sociable open-plan office, delivering huge multi-million pound projects, to being sat along at my kitchen table struggling to find clients.

I felt lonely, scared, overwhelmed by the task ahead of me and struggled each day to motivate myself to make a start.

Since starting at the kitchen table, I've made my home office work well for me, while ensuring that my work-life doesn't impact negatively on my home-life and vice versa.

Now I enjoy starting work each morning, knowing that it's an easy and comfortable place to work, and I can delivery projects for my clients that I am proud of, which often includes designing their home offices.

Take this short quiz to discover what to prioritise so you can optimise your home office for greater wealth, wellbeing and work-life balance.

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Choose which option most closely matches how you feel right now when working from home and keep a note of how many A's, B's, C's etc that you choose.

Question 1: What's Your Biggest Challenge When Working from Home?

A. Some days, I just can't seem to get going. It's like my brain's on vacation!
B. I worry about how I come across on video calls. It's like being under a spotlight!
C. My back feels like it's been hit by a truck after a day at this desk. It's torture!
D. I feel like a couch potato glued to this chair all day. I need to get up and move!
E. It's chaos here! My work stuff is everywhere, and I'm still answering emails while I'm trying to cook dinner.
F. I can't remember the last time I had a moment to myself. The kids keep barging in and it's so hard to focus on what I'm supposed to be working on.

Question 2: How Do You Currently Feel in Your Home Office Space?

A. I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to make any progress.
B. I'm self conscious about how my home looks on video calls. I worry about what people think about me!
C. I feel so many aches and pains, especially by the end of a workday.
D. I'm churning out work, but I feel stuck to my chair all day. I need to get moving!
E. I feel constantly on, never switching off from work or finishing the working day.
F. I love working from home, but I need some peace and quiet to focus!

Question 3: What Aspect of Your Work-Life do You most want to Improve Right Now?

A. I've got so much on my plate, but I'm struggling to stay focused. What I need most is just to get things done.
B. I feel like I'm not being seen or valued. I need to find a way to make more sales and advance my career.
C. If I could just stop the aches and pains, I'd feel so much btter able to get stuff done and enjoy my life.
D. I've got some health and fitness goals and I'd really like to make it easier to achieve those.
E. I need to carve out space for work without sacrificing my family time.
F. I want to be present for my family, but I need it be easier to focus more on work.

Question 4: Which of These Would You Like to Improve in Your Home Office?

A. I'd like my workspace to feel inspiring and calm so I can focus on what I need to do, instead of feeling overwhelmed and distracted.
B. I want my space to look professional on video calls, so I feel like other people value and respect me and my contribution.
C. I want to be comfortable and pain free at the end of a day sitting at my desk.
D. I want to be more fit and active, but I don't have time to fit in hours of exercise during the working day. I'd like my workspace to help me meet my fitness goals.
E. I'd like to be able to shut off at the end of my work hours so I can relax and give my family my full attention.
​F. I need a quieter space to work, where I'm not disrupted so much.

Question 5: What Would You Most Like to Achieve in Your Home Office?

A. I want to achieve my goals and feel like I've accomplished something each day.
B. I want to look sharp and feel good about myself, especially when I'm on video calls.
C. To go from needing a massage to ease my aches and pains, to enjoying a massage to just feel great.
D. I'd love to feel comfy wearing my favourite jeans again.
E. To feel like I'm not sacrificing family time for my career and business goals.
F. I'd love to be able to say yes to my family more without it affecting my ability to get stuff done for work.

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Great job! You've finished the quiz!

,Now count up your choices and see which letters come up most frequently for you.

The Results!

A. Your home workspace improvements need to focus on supporting your productivity. You need to make your space more inspiring and an easier space to focus. You could do this by decluttering, and removing distractions and any obstacles to being able to easily do what you need to do.

B. Your home workspace improvements need to focus on supporting your personal and business branding. You need to create a backdrop for your video calls that help your customers and colleagues relate to you and perceive you postively.

C. Your set up needs to be adjusted in line with ergonomics to reduce the stresses and strains that it is putting on your body. This will help you feel comfortable and protect yourself from injury.

D. You need to create more opportunities for movement during your working day. This can be by adding in equipment that helps you incorporate movement as you work, or it could be by adding in some inconvenience to regular activities so that you have to move more in order to take those actions.

E. Your home office needs to be clearly defined and able to be shut down or closed off once you finish work, so you can forget about it and allow yourself time to be at home without work demanding your attention.

F. Your home life is distracting you from work so you need to create some boundaries to reduce the disruptions. These boundaries could be physical such as doors and screens, or they could be through timing and clear communication with family members.

I send semi-regular emails giving many more tips and advice around how you can optimise your workspace and design your space at home. To get these sign up for my newsletter here: