Working from home offers a lot of conveniences – no commute, relaxed dress code, optional naps – but unless you carve out a dedicated work space, you'll find it hard to get things done.
However, unless your home business has really taken off, you may not have that much money to equip yourself. So here are some tips on how to do it on a reasonable budget, under Rs. 25,000. This post is brought to you by The Concept Store, one of the only places we found that lets you get quality items that deliver value for your budget.
If you're shopping around, you can easily spend 25k on one chair alone, but here's how to squeeze more value for your rupee.
Chairs
A good office chair is the most important thing because this is where you'll spend most of your time. However, no matter how good your chair is, you still need to get up and move around every hour.
Even in Sri Lanka you can easily find office chairs that cost lakhs, but they all keep your butt of the ground. You can get a good chair with breatheable mesh for less than Rs. 5,000.
Shelving
If you're going to clear your desk you need to put that stuff somewhere. Hence a good shelving system is key to keeping your home office and your mind organized. You can get a 2-level wall-mounted shelving system for under Rs. 12k. This is more than enough to keep your desk clear, so use it.
Lighting
Then finally you need some lighting. You can get a track and three spots for around 5k. So now you can see what you're doing.
Other Bits
All that, and you're still below 25k. Then you can start thinking about the other items that complete a home office. First, a cupboard for the items you don't see (a printer, photo copy machine, files, stationery). That can also be designed custom to fit your space.
Then a few items to keep you away from your phone. A desk calendar and clock will keep you from checking your mobile for the time or appointments. And then of course a lamp to see what you're doing when you're not staring at a backlit screen.
Then, once you settle in, you can keep improving your home office, especially if you know one place to go. So visit The Concept Store and get to work.
