A majority or 56 percent of adult Americans were working remotely from home in January 2021, according to the results of a Gallup poll. Working at home can be dreary, though, when you see the same interior space 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Suddenly, you find things to criticize and details you no longer like in your home, not to mention all the things, big and small, that need repair.
Although almost all or 97.6 percent of those working from home want to do so throughout their career, according to the 2021 State of Remote Work report by Buffer, it is not surprising that 12 percent said they were having difficulty staying motivated. On the other hand, 27 percent said they were having problems disconnecting from work even after work hours were over.
If you are among these employees working from home and you are starting to feel unmotivated, you need something to spark inspiration. This can also be the same thing that will give you a reason to leave work on time.
Work on Your Space
After leaving work, you can look forward to working on improving your workspace and your entire home, one project at a time. You can use the extra time you save from not having to commute to and from work.
This extra time of people working from home spurred a surge in home repair and renovation activities in 2020 and 2021. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) cited a report by Porch.com stating that 76 percent of American homeowners worked on at least one home improvement project during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, the forecast for annual growth in renovation and repair spending was 4.1% in the first quarter of 2021. Homeowners’ annual spending for renovation and repair is expected to increase in the second half of 2021 from $332 billion to $337 billion.
Start with your workstation. This is no longer a temporary week-long arrangement, so you must get a real desk for yourself. Set up a real home office to acknowledge that you are doing real work from home. Have shelves and drawers for your books and other work materials.
Make your home office reflect who you are. If you have artistic skills, put up your paintings or sketches. If you appreciate art, put up your choice of artwork. The goal is to feel great whenever you sit down to work.
If you do not live alone, you need to have a quiet place to work in, especially in work calls and meetings. Locate your home office in a spare room if you have one. If not, you can put it in your bedroom provided you can close the door and remain undisturbed during work hours.
Redesign Your Home Interiors
Thoroughly check your house and list down all the necessary repairs. Before starting on each one, deliberate whether you want to do the repair and restore it to what it was before or if you want a change. If a certain part of the house needs work, it is an opportunity for you to change it if you want to.
Many changes can immediately alter the look and feel of your living space. For instance, repainting every room a different color will make a major impact on your spirits. You can combine this with changing your curtains or blinds as well as your floor rugs, throw pillows, and bed linen. Have separate sets of these soft furnishings in different colors or even prints that complement your walls so that you can switch them every month or so for an entirely different look.
Go through various interior design websites online to look for inspiration on color combinations and styles. You will surely find pairings that call to you and resonate with your personality. Alternatively, you can make combinations that may seem weird to others but make sense to you. Do whatever makes you feel good about your living environment.
Change your light fixtures and choose those that have dimmers. You will discover how different your interiors look in varied combinations of light levels.
You can design accent pieces for your space. Through laser-cutting services, you can have even the most intricate design you can imagine made into customized metal grills for your window. Imagine it glowing against the light, with a different look during the day and a different look against moonlight and starlight. You can also make customized grills for your stair balustrade or make it into a divider to delineate separate areas of an open-plan home.
Stamp Your Personality on Your Home
From the moment you open your eyes in the morning, you must love what you see in your home. This will make you excited to get up and start your day.
Once you sit down at your desk, your workstation must express your love for your job and energize you for it. At the same time, you must have reminders on hand to show you that there is life after work. Park your hobbies near your desk so that you know what awaits you after a job well done.
For your home to always reflect you, your preferences, and your aesthetics, you must let it continue to grow and change with you. Tend to your home this way, and it becomes a true haven.
