Essentials to Maintain a Clean, Functioning Office

When you spend eight hours (or more, according to various studies) a day working from home, how your office looks is important. You want a space that fosters creativity and makes you feel at ease. Aesthetic design, however, shouldn’t be your primary focus. Just because something looks good doesn’t mean it works well for the purpose it was intended. As you look around your office, consider how you interact with everything around you. Then consider how these essentials might help improve your remote working experience and productivity.

Multi-functional Desk Tech

Depending on the size of your office space, there’s only so much desk real estate to go around. Clutter is the last thing you want when channeling your most productive, high-functioning self. Organize your desk with objects designed to do double duty. This headphone stand from Satechi, for example, will keep your headphones nicely stored while charging them with one of its three USB ports. A table lamp from Union & Scale functions similarly—shedding light on your workload and charging up your tech with its single USB port. You can also boost the capabilities of your current tech with a compact USB hub from NXT. Data transfer speeds of up to 5Gbps let you share files quickly while additional USB ports allow you to connect up to four devices to your computer.

Designated Space for Brainstorming

If you no longer have access to conference rooms lined with whiteboard walls, bring the whiteboard walls (or a small piece of them) to you. Magnetic glass boards from Evoque cater to both high-end aesthetics and function. Invisible mounting makes the board appear as though it’s floating against a wall and the smooth magnetic surface enables easy dry erase note taking. The combination bulletin and dry erase board from Quartet is another option for those seeking a cheaper but equally as effective option. Hang it somewhere for easy reference and appreciate the executive feel of its framed edges.

A Regular Cleaning Schedule

It may not be glamorous but blocking time for weekly and monthly office cleaning can help with staying organized and focused. At the end of every week, cover the basics like emptying your trash bin, clearing away empty cans and coffee mugs, and storing supplies away in their designated compartments. On a monthly basis, you can do a deep clean that involves dusting, wiping down keyboards, and tossing unnecessary paperwork. This might also be a good time to mark your calendar with long-term todos and reflect on important goal metrics.