Working from home always sounds so glamorous….well more often than not, it is yoga pants and a messy bun!
Having the freedom to work from home had always been something I dreamed of, and now having worked for myself from my home office for 3 years it definitely has its benefits and disadvantages.
I thought today I would share some of the things I love about working from home, how to get past the things that will creep up and challenge you along the way and share my current home office setup and really what my dream office looks like!
Running my own business gives me so much freedom to work from wherever I want in the world. That is one major plus point to being my own boss and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I have worked from my home in the UK, cafe’s by the beach, in the Alps, whilst on a month road trip in the US, in the South of France, it means I have the flexibility to work as and when I want, and earn an income online.
As much as I would love a totally digital nomadic lifestyle as a photographer, I love our hometown of Dorset so we currently living and loving life on the South Coast in the UK, which ticks so many boxes for me of living the dream life I envisioned. So because of this I have chosen to have my office from home.
Making sure there was a dedicated space in the house for work was a big task high up on the priority list. I’m not one to sit on the sofa and curl up with my laptop and try and work with daytime TV on in the background. I knew that to have productive work time I needed a dedicated space in our house that was the office.
We currently have a spare room that we have been using as our home office now and have done this in the different properties we have lived in for the last 4 years. However, before this, when living in a small flat, and when we lived in a house share I had a desk space setup in either the corner of our living room, dining room or bedroom. I find this super important to making sure I have productive time when I sit down to work.
That would be my first tip, make sure you have a dedicated space, no matter how big or small, whether it is a little nook in your room or an actual room in your house.
As a creative….and interiors obsessed, having an inspiring, beautiful area that I can go to and feel motivated to work was really important to me. At the moment I share my office space with my husband so one half of the office is all mine to do what I want with…the other side I just close my eyes on…although I did manage to negotiate that he had a white desk!
We are hoping that next year we will be able to buy our first property so we will have a lot more freedom with what we can do with the space, but for the time being, this is my little nook of the office.
Having a space that helps me feel creative and at home makes me excited to sit down to work. I have a big mood board which changes up every now and then of imagery that inspires me, places I would love to visit, the lifestyle I aspire to and just general images that I look at and make me happy.
I run my entire business off my iMac and Macbook, basically wherever one of these are I can work which is amazing! But they are a fundamental part of my business. Although I am a photographer, this actually only makes up about 20% of my work, the rest of it is sat on this chair (which I am in LOVE with!) doing everything that is behind the scenes of running a business.
I wrote a recent post about how I keep organised in my business, now to be completely transparent, yes I did clean up my desk area before taking this pictures…however I do like to keep a pretty clear desk. Mainly because I can’t work clearly and productive when I have a messy desk/office. My Dad always used to say clear desk, clear mind and I always have taken this approach! The only thing you will usually find stacking up on my desk is cups of tea! But keeping my desk tidy, helps my keeps myself organised and on top of things. I also want to love my space, it makes me feel more inspired and wanting to sit and work!
This is my dream office spaces! I have 2 dream ones in mind, one just for me, my at home office, I feel like I am getting there a little bit, but will be easier once we have our own place. And then my dream would be to one day have a small team where we all work together in an office space.
Top Left / Top Right / Bottom Left / Bottom Right
I would to hear from you about where you work and what your dream office would look like? It might be you are already working in your dream office, so I would love to hear from you!
