7 Home Office Hacks You'll Love

Whether you're headed to a party, seeking to win a game, or even just getting dressed in the morning, the internet is filled with tons of helpful tricks to get you there faster and smarter. In the office, there's plenty of places where hacks can come in handy - and in the home office without a boss looking over your shoulder, you have complete creative freedom! So get ready, and enjoy these awesome hacks and make the most of your home office!

Plants and Animals

This first one may not seem like much of a hack, but in the home office, plants and animals can make some of the most productive coworkers around. Poor air quality is something that unconsciously plagues many office workers, both in and out of the home, and especially around cities. Toxins in the air can negatively affect workers' breathing, general health, focus, and energy throughout the day. Adding a VOC-reducing plant to the mix cleans the air, keeping you in top notch health. Some of the best low-maintenance house plants include air plants, peppermint, english ivy, and lemon balm.

In addition, pets like dogs, cats, and even fish have been known to reduce stress. Letting your pet sleep under your desk while you work not only keeps your feet warm, but reaching down to scratch a furry head can be a saving grace when tensions are high. Taking Fido for bathroom breaks and short walks on your lunch hour keeps you fitter and energized. Best of all, these necessary lapses in the tedium of office duties are major brain boosters! Don't believe us? Scientists say pets like dogs have been known to lower resting heart rate levels, reduce blood pressure, and even lower the risk for depression and heart disease! Just ask a doctor.

Declutter

Taking the time to declutter your workspace offers a host of benefits for the devoted office worker. Not only are things easier to find in a clean office, but the look and feel alone can do wonders for psychology and health. Adding a few simple products for office organization can keep the office clear of clutter, increasing efficiency, reducing stress, and offering a much needed sense of accomplishment. But don't stop there! Taking an extra minute to defragment, scan, and sort the items in your computer can also increase work speed and improve computer health!

Bonus Tip: Got a dirty keyboard tray? Nothing a little strand of tape between the keys can't fix!

Lighting and Color

One thing many office hack websites take for granted is the importance of physical surroundings. If you're unhappy with your home office, perhaps it's time for an upgrade! Color plays a major role in the productivity and psychological health of office workers according to color theory. The color blue is even backed by scientific evidence as the best color for office environments as it reduces stress and slows the metabolism, reducing hunger to produce a calming effect - it also makes the room appear bigger!

Feng-Shui Furniture 

Rearranging furniture is another way to improve the psychological effect of your home office. Set your desk facing the window; a view into the outside world offers greater health benefits. Choosing furniture that combines functionality with user health is ideal in a home office. Even things as simple as ergonomic executive chairs, height adjustable office desks, or dual purpose lighting fixtures can help make a home office more like a personal haven. After all, you're at home. Why not take full advantage of it?

Wallflowers

If storage is a problem in your home office, one of the best solutions is thinking outside the box - or, off the floors! Few amateur designers know how to make full use of a room's walls as a place for storage and organization. Adding useful presentation boards helps users keep track of papers and daily tasks without making a mess of the desk. At the same time, cabinets and stylish wood bookcases offer shelving for easy, clutter-free storage. You may even decide to DIY a few crates or boxes for clever, attractive office storage!

Discomfort

Hacking workplace discomfort is perhaps the most important thing you can do as an office user. Too many Americans suffer from unhealthy working habits, which can result in terrible bodily pain. Some of the most common office-related conditions include pain in the neck, back, or legs, stiff joints, aggravated arthritis, and even carpal tunnel syndrome. Thankfully, ergonomic furniture and tools can save the day. Outfitting your workplace with monitor arms, retractable keyboard platforms, and high tech desk chairs to enforce proper posture do wonders for health. The benefits include maximized efficiency, improved workplace productivity, and a better outlook on life!

Clip Ons

One organizational hack that's been sweeping offices all over the nation are the clip ons! Ever since someone figured out that a few binder clips hooked to the edge of a desk makes perfect cord organizers, the trend has exploded to do all sorts of amazing things! Clip on wire organizers, cup holder, baskets, and even high tech tools like the Symmetry JUICE-POW-JUC-CC clamp on power module are all available for sale. Of course, DIYing your own is an option too. Just super glue some binder clips to a stylish desk organizer and voila! Not only have you maximized usable desk space, but you've also cleaned and organized.

Don't Settle For A Boring Office Space

No one should ever have to settle for a boring office space - especially with all the great modern furniture out there! If you've ever thought you couldn't afford cool office furniture, you're in luck. In today's article, we'll not only show you the basics on how to design your space, we'll also highlight some super affordable office products to add to it for those on a budget. Enjoy!

Choose A Cool Chair

Stylish chairs are not hard to find, but it's definitely true that not all chairs are created equal. A fun looking office chair will quickly lose it's luster if it doesn't have the comfort to back it up, and in the office, both are important. Choosing cool ergonomic chairs with comfortable features not only ensures that occupants feel rejuvenated at the end of the day; they also improve health! Many ergo chairs boast mechanisms specifically designed to alleviate certain pains. Head, neck, back, arm, and even joint pain can all be taken care of by a good ergonomic chair. Best of all, they're so common now that it's a snap to find them at affordable prices. Here's a few greats that won't break your bank:

 Boss B9406 White Leather    OFM 610 Mesh Task    Global 5380-4 Max

Select A Stylish Office Desk

In home and corporate offices, desks are usually the first thing a client sees, and the way it looks says a lot about both the business and the business representative. Because of their large size, they are almost always the focal point of any room, so looks are just as important as usefulness. Finding one that sets the tone for your business, but that's also affordable and effective can be a big challenge. Desks will differ in size and design depending on the position they were designed for. In most cases, computer desks are more compact for use in small offices and bedrooms, while quality desks and workstations are larger and usually cost a bundle. Fortunately, there are excellent discount options like the BT11LCR Brighton Office Workstation by Mayline for those that want to save a buck!















Brighton BT11LCR Workstation                              Studio Designs 10080 Catalina Work Center

Get Organized

A boring office starts with a cluttered space - and it only gets worse from there. Messy offices tend to give the impression that a person is disheveled and unprofessional. Guests and executives can be turned off or even turned away by the sight of a mess in an office, even if they aren't germophobes. Fortunately, the most common reason why so many office workers experience clutter has a simple solution. In many cases, the person just doesn't have enough storage to stay organized. With the addition of a few simple wood storage cabinets for office use, shelves, or bookcases. Models like the 1851 Moblie Printer Stand by Safco are perfect for printer organization, and there are penny of other desk organizers and equipment for other parts of the office as well. All it takes is a quick search!

1851 Safco Mobile Printer Stand           Mayline Stella SKSC Storage Cabinet

Go Ergo

And finally, no office is complete without ergonomic accessories to amp it up! Whether you're going for high tech, professional, efficient, organized, or trendy for your office space, or even if you're going for all of it, office accessories with ergonomic benefits have to be part of the mix. Devices like ergonomic keyboard platforms, CPU holders, and monitor arms can be huge saving graces in the office. The ergo designs almost always prevent some sort of pain for the user, and if not, they always increase productivity and efficiency. Here's a few tips on great affordable ergonomic accessories and how they can benefit your office!

Ergonomic Monitor Arms: Monitor arms work by attaching computer screens to adjustable arms, equipping computers with maneuverability. When users are able to adjust their computer screens to a more helpful, healthful position, productivity and efficiency can increased drastically. Users of ergonomic monitor arms have been known to experience reduced neck pain, upper back pain, eye strain, and all around better focus.

Keyboard Trays: Keyboard trays and platforms typically mount underneath an office desk to put the keyboard within ideal range of the user's hands. Reaching on top of the desk to type can cause poor circulation and joint pain in the wrists and hands. Over time, this can even contribute to the development of carpal tunnel syndrome in serious cases. It's an affordable addition that offices should never be without. 

Other Tips and Tricks: These last few tips are great ways to keep an office efficient and organized: CPU holders provide a super affordable way to keep a computer's hard drive off the floor and away from kicking legs or spilled drinks. Binder clips attached to the edge of an office desk can have cords threaded through the metal parts, providing a cost-effective way to keep handheld devices and wires from getting tangled up.