“That rug really tied the room together.”
The Dude from The Big Lebowski
Your office is where you’re going to be spending a LOT of time. I had a friend that said “I’m self-employed, so I can work any 80 hours a week I want!” That’s true. Especially when you’re starting up. The more you put in, the more you get out. We’ll talk about that later (no, really - I’ve got a point here,) but the reality is that you’ve got to get things set up right. We’ll start with the basics and get into some minutia later…
ESSENTIAL NUMBER 2 - Where You’ll Put Your Equipment - and Your Butt
Your Furniture:
A good chair. Think about this: You will be using this piece of equipment more than you will be using ANY other piece in your office. Don’t skimp - if you do, you will regret it. The comfort of your butt is tantamount. A folding chair or a spare kitchen table chair just ain’t gonna cut it. Get something with plenty of padding - but nothing too soft. It’ll just crush down too quickly. You’ll need a chair with arms - preferably adjustable. If your arms “dangle” off the chair or off the desk, they’ll fall asleep, you’ll get exhausted much more rapidly. Also, proper ergonomics will help alleviate the onset or symptoms of carpal-tunnel syndrome or repetitive stress injuries. THIS IS SERIOUS! INVEST MORE IN YOUR CHAIR THAN YOU THINK IS PRUDENT. I’ve bought crappy chairs - and I know what a drag they can be.
Your Desk. Working on the kitchen table will not really cut it. You’ve got a lot of expensive equipment, and you need to keep it off the floor. Things like dust bunnies, dog hair and gremlins live on the floor, and your gear will really suck it all up. Keeping your CPU off the floor is important for a number of reasons - it stays cooler, which will help it live longer - it stays cleaner, which is crucial for longevity - and it keeps it closer to your hands, so you can swap disks, plug and unplug things and look at the lovely case (if it’s a Mac. If you’ve got a PC, ignore the beauty thing…) Get as much real estate as your office will stand. The bigger the desk, the more essential stuff you can keep at arm’s length. Copy, printers, scanners, your phone, etc. Keep it close, keep it accessible. One more important thing - MAKE SURE IT WORKS WITH YOU and YOUR CHAIR! I’m a reasonably tall guy, and I like to have my keyboard at lap level, so any desk I buy has to have a keyboard tray and it has to be around the level of the arms of my chair. If possible, buy them both from the same place - and test them together before you buy. Like I said - you’ll be spending a LOT of time with both of these, so make sure they work well for - and with - you.
Your Office Itself. Picking where you’re going to work is pretty important, too. If you’re working from home (and most likely you will be,) try to place your office as far away from the rest of the action in the house as possible. I’ve worked in a couple of basements, an attic and finally in a mother-in-law apartment attached to the main house. They’ve all had their perks, and they’ve all had some disadvantages. The basements, no windows. The attic - too hot. The mother-in-law apartment - too easy for the kids to come in and play with my toy collection. THINK COMFORT. A window is good. Carpeting is good. Air conditioning is really, really good. A quiet space will help you concentrate - and it always helps when you have clients on the phone to not have a washing machine kicking in to spin cycle right next to you.
