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Home Office Buying Guide
Even before out-of-control gas costs made your commute to work a $40 affair, telecommuting was a good idea. Many people find that the liberation from mind-numbing meetings and water cooler politics can recharge the batteries while allowing one to often be more productive than time spent at the office. The key to a successful telecommuting experience is to have a home office that works the way you work. In this buying guide I provide a basic outline on how to set up the killer home office.
There are three basic elements to any good home office: i) the Room, ii) the Furniture and iii) the Equipment. Proper selection of each will assure an optimal telecommuting experience.
i) The Room
Dedicate a room. Don't use the kitchen, the dining room or the kids play room. You are supposed to be working and you need somewhere quiet where you can get your work done. If, like most people, you don't have an extra room lying around, convert one. That guest bedroom ? How often do you really have guests ? The den ? Your kids watch too much TV anyways. Make them go outside and play. You've got work to do ! Ideally, this is a small room. You aren't back at the office where the size of your office is some twisted proxy for the size of your..... well, you know. There are no underlings to impress when you are working from home. Think cockpit. Small space with all the essentials within an easy swivel of your chair. Go for a 10x10 room with a lousy view. Natural light is important and healthy but you don't want a view of the beach or the mountains that is going to make you question the value of every minute you are spending in your home office. Finally, if you are fortunate to have a large enough house where one room can be far enough away from another room, keep your home office the maximum distance possible from the bedroom and the kitchen. This will help draw the line between living and working.
ii) The Furniture
There are four critical pieces of furniture in the home office: i) the Desk, ii ) the Chair, iii) Cabinets and iv) bookcases.
Desk - go big and functional. Leave enough room for the computer and a place to spread all your papers out. Maybe you have a cube at the office or maybe you are lucky enough to have a 4x6 mahogany monster. Either way, your home office desk should have at least 70% of the desk space of your work office desk. Those desks at the office are that big for a reason - its easier to work with more desk space. Don't handicap yourself just b/c you are at home.
Chair - Aeron. If you don't like the Aeron, you can try the Aeron. If that doesn't work, try the Aeron. Seriously, why are we even talking about this ? It's the best selling office chair of all time for a reason. Its really good. Don't be stingy. Your backside might be parked in this thing for 7 hours straight. Your rump is worth it.
Cabinets - File your stuff in a real file cabinet. It will help keep you organized and organization is the cornerstone of a good home office. For the overachievers out there, good filing system software such as that marketed by Avery can get you really organized.
Book Cases - go real wood and go sturdy. The milkcrates went out of fashion right around your senior year of college. Anything from IKEA is likely to buckle under the weight of anything more than a few paperbacks. If you're a lawyer, banker, engineer or any other profession that requires reference materials, order a duplicate set for your home office. Your book cases ought to be able to support the weight of these hefty tomes.
iii) The Equipment
Now for the fun stuff - i) the CPU, ii) the Monitor, iii) the Network, iv) the Printer/Fax/Scanner, iv) the Speakers and v) the Headset
The CPU is probably the easiest of all the decisions. DO NOT buy a laptop. You should not be bringing your work out to the pool or into the kitchen. Remember, we are trying to tether you to your home office, not provide you with a Wi-Fi leash to your home theatre where you will get sucked into the afternoon soaps. Any CPU will do but I like to think that less is more. If your CPU isn't optimized for multi-player DOOM, chances are your kids won't play DOOM on your home office computer. Isnt that a reassuring thought ?
The Monitor - go flat and go big - as big as you can afford. A CRT monitor is the modern day equivalent of leaded gasoline and remote controls that actually click. There is simply no reason not to go flat screen monitor. Furthermore, the screen size is the equivalent of the size of your desk. A bigger screen really does make you more productive.
The Network - put in a wireless network. The latest is 802.11g which will provide you with more than enough bandwidth for work and any "non-work" pursuits you find yourself slipping into on those long conference calls. Even though your CPU is a tower, there is no reason the configuration or location of your home office needs to be dictated by phone or cable lines. Make sure you enable the WEP or other security protocols. No reason to let your neighbors scam a free ride on your home WiFi. Finally, most providers are offering two levels of high-speed service these days. Pay the extra $20 a month and get the faster service. Most companies will pay for it and its worth avoiding the monitor-throwing frustration that often accompanies slow connection speeds.
Printer / Fax / Scanner - You don't really need all three but I have yet to find a high quality printer/scanner only combo. With the widespread availability of quality internet faxing, I'm hard pressed to think of a reason why people continue to fax over the telephone. The primary concern on your printing device is the footprint. You don't have room or need for the 100ppm monster from the office. Something in the $500 range from HP will generally do the trick. You'll also want to network your printer with a wireless print server. That way you can put it anywhere in your office without having to worry about tripping over a USB cord.
Speakers - not an essential for the home office but studies show that music can make you more productive. No need to spend a fortune. A decent pair can be had for under $200.
Headset - I think this is the most exciting part. With fantastic VoIP services like Skype, the need for an office phone (and long distance charges) is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Sign up for Skype and get yourself a high quality, high fidelity wireless headset.
And there you have it. The perfect home office. Call your boss and tell him you'll be working from home today. Then put on your wireless headset, Skype the local golf course and make a tee-time for the afternoon !
Recommended software titles for your new home office:
Norton Internet Security
Adobe Acrobat
Skype
Even before out-of-control gas costs made your commute to work a $40 affair, telecommuting was a good idea. Many people find that the liberation from mind-numbing meetings and water cooler politics can recharge the batteries while allowing one to often be more productive than time spent at the office. The key to a successful telecommuting experience is to have a home office that works the way you work. In this buying guide I provide a basic outline on how to set up the killer home office.
There are three basic elements to any good home office: i) the Room, ii) the Furniture and iii) the Equipment. Proper selection of each will assure an optimal telecommuting experience.
i) The Room
Dedicate a room. Don't use the kitchen, the dining room or the kids play room. You are supposed to be working and you need somewhere quiet where you can get your work done. If, like most people, you don't have an extra room lying around, convert one. That guest bedroom ? How often do you really have guests ? The den ? Your kids watch too much TV anyways. Make them go outside and play. You've got work to do ! Ideally, this is a small room. You aren't back at the office where the size of your office is some twisted proxy for the size of your..... well, you know. There are no underlings to impress when you are working from home. Think cockpit. Small space with all the essentials within an easy swivel of your chair. Go for a 10x10 room with a lousy view. Natural light is important and healthy but you don't want a view of the beach or the mountains that is going to make you question the value of every minute you are spending in your home office. Finally, if you are fortunate to have a large enough house where one room can be far enough away from another room, keep your home office the maximum distance possible from the bedroom and the kitchen. This will help draw the line between living and working.
ii) The Furniture
There are four critical pieces of furniture in the home office: i) the Desk, ii ) the Chair, iii) Cabinets and iv) bookcases.
Desk - go big and functional. Leave enough room for the computer and a place to spread all your papers out. Maybe you have a cube at the office or maybe you are lucky enough to have a 4x6 mahogany monster. Either way, your home office desk should have at least 70% of the desk space of your work office desk. Those desks at the office are that big for a reason - its easier to work with more desk space. Don't handicap yourself just b/c you are at home.
Chair - Aeron. If you don't like the Aeron, you can try the Aeron. If that doesn't work, try the Aeron. Seriously, why are we even talking about this ? It's the best selling office chair of all time for a reason. Its really good. Don't be stingy. Your backside might be parked in this thing for 7 hours straight. Your rump is worth it.
Cabinets - File your stuff in a real file cabinet. It will help keep you organized and organization is the cornerstone of a good home office. For the overachievers out there, good filing system software such as that marketed by Avery can get you really organized.
Book Cases - go real wood and go sturdy. The milkcrates went out of fashion right around your senior year of college. Anything from IKEA is likely to buckle under the weight of anything more than a few paperbacks. If you're a lawyer, banker, engineer or any other profession that requires reference materials, order a duplicate set for your home office. Your book cases ought to be able to support the weight of these hefty tomes.
iii) The Equipment
Now for the fun stuff - i) the CPU, ii) the Monitor, iii) the Network, iv) the Printer/Fax/Scanner, iv) the Speakers and v) the Headset
The CPU is probably the easiest of all the decisions. DO NOT buy a laptop. You should not be bringing your work out to the pool or into the kitchen. Remember, we are trying to tether you to your home office, not provide you with a Wi-Fi leash to your home theatre where you will get sucked into the afternoon soaps. Any CPU will do but I like to think that less is more. If your CPU isn't optimized for multi-player DOOM, chances are your kids won't play DOOM on your home office computer. Isnt that a reassuring thought ?
The Monitor - go flat and go big - as big as you can afford. A CRT monitor is the modern day equivalent of leaded gasoline and remote controls that actually click. There is simply no reason not to go flat screen monitor. Furthermore, the screen size is the equivalent of the size of your desk. A bigger screen really does make you more productive.
The Network - put in a wireless network. The latest is 802.11g which will provide you with more than enough bandwidth for work and any "non-work" pursuits you find yourself slipping into on those long conference calls. Even though your CPU is a tower, there is no reason the configuration or location of your home office needs to be dictated by phone or cable lines. Make sure you enable the WEP or other security protocols. No reason to let your neighbors scam a free ride on your home WiFi. Finally, most providers are offering two levels of high-speed service these days. Pay the extra $20 a month and get the faster service. Most companies will pay for it and its worth avoiding the monitor-throwing frustration that often accompanies slow connection speeds.
Printer / Fax / Scanner - You don't really need all three but I have yet to find a high quality printer/scanner only combo. With the widespread availability of quality internet faxing, I'm hard pressed to think of a reason why people continue to fax over the telephone. The primary concern on your printing device is the footprint. You don't have room or need for the 100ppm monster from the office. Something in the $500 range from HP will generally do the trick. You'll also want to network your printer with a wireless print server. That way you can put it anywhere in your office without having to worry about tripping over a USB cord.
Speakers - not an essential for the home office but studies show that music can make you more productive. No need to spend a fortune. A decent pair can be had for under $200.
Headset - I think this is the most exciting part. With fantastic VoIP services like Skype, the need for an office phone (and long distance charges) is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Sign up for Skype and get yourself a high quality, high fidelity wireless headset.
And there you have it. The perfect home office. Call your boss and tell him you'll be working from home today. Then put on your wireless headset, Skype the local golf course and make a tee-time for the afternoon !
Recommended software titles for your new home office:
Norton Internet Security
Adobe Acrobat
Skype
Guide created: 09/22/05 (updated 11/12/07)
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