10 Ways To Protect Your Workspace From Family Members Or Room Mates When Working From Home

For many people, working from home is a new norm that has come to stay.

This is because the covid-19 pandemic brought with it, a new paradigm to how business and office work should and could be done.

However, it isn’t easy a thing to adapt to, especially for employees and employers that are used to the ritual of leaving home to work in the traditional office, but the inevitable is the “work-from-home” new paradigm.

As much as this new introduction into office work seems strange, it behooves on employees who have to ultimately work from home to ensure that a true office environment is replicated in a way that employees can be as effective as such would be in the conventional office.

This also means, creating such workspace may also result in inconveniencing family members or roommates. The challenge however can be a work-over like an “ABC” recital, if employees who have to work from home can thoroughly map out a pragmatic approach that would help protect the work-space at home and also avoid uneasiness for members of the family.

Below are 10 ways to protect your workspace from family members or room-mates when working from home:

 

1. Inform family members and roommates about your workspace

If you have never had a workspace in your home, it would mean that this new development would be strange to members of the family. You would need to inform them of this new development and let them know how it would change the course of things in the house; especially, the movement and use of sounds.

 

By getting them acquainted with this new development, you would have solved a major problem of distraction and infringement into the privacy required for your work.

 

2. Never set your workspace close to your bedside

Ensure that you never set your workspace close to your bed. Create a space that is entirely isolated from your bedroom. This is because there is always a subtle endearment to rest or sleep when the workspace is close to the bed. 

By all means, do not create your workspace in your bedroom.

The goal you intend to achieve is to have duplicate and replicate a feel of your office in the home, and you cannot achieve that if you choose to have your workspace in your bedroom or close to your bed.

 

3. Anytime you want to use the workspace, dress up for the office

It would be hard for you to regulate informal activities around your workspace if you don’t create the mindset. Creating the mindset starts with you dressing up as you would usually dress up for the office. What this would do is that it would condition your mind to be officially alert.

 

4. Do not snack in your workplace

Snacking in your workspace should not only be prohibited for your family members but must be prohibited for you. This is to portray a sense of responsibility.

Create short breaks within the duration of time you will spend at your workspace to excuse yourself to snack or eat. In the end, it is the impression you portray of your workspace that your family members will form their perception.

Forbid snacking around your workspace not only for your family members but also for you.

 

5. Keep only office items in your workspace

A regular and conventional workspace would have only items needed in the office. This is also the conduct that you must uphold in your home office. By all means avoid putting things other than your office items in your workspace, especially things that could make intruders (family members) infringe on your workspace.

If you want to make it the workspace it should be, ensure you avoid bringing items that are not needed in your workspace.

 

6. Personalize the corner by arranging it to fit as a workspace

Make your family members see your workspace as a personal office by arranging almost as exactly as what you would have in your actual office. This includes aesthetics, arrangement of chairs, tables, shelves, files, and other office appliances.

By giving it personalized looks, family members would unconsciously avoid straying towards your workspace.

 

7. Create your workspace around a free area 

One of the things that would also help you avoid intrusion in your workspace is to ensure it is situated in an area that is not frequently used. It would be unwise to situate your work area around the kitchen. This is because there will be much movement around that area and this would only be a distraction for you.

You must also ensure it isn’t situated around your children’s room or refrigerator because you will not be able to control movement around this area. Most importantly, is the prevalence of noise that would ultimately affect your effectiveness.

 

8. Use that space only for work

As indicated in an earlier suggestion; if it is a workspace, ensure that the workspace exemplifies exactly what you have in your typical office. This means you must use it for no other thing other than what a workspace is designed to be.

 

9. Create your workspace around an area that has a door

This is expedient because oftentimes if the work area isn’t cordoned or partitioned physically, many a time, intrusions and unsolicited visits may occur. It thus makes it safer for you to have your workspace isolated with a door.

This means that family members would have to knock before they can access your work area, and you can lock the door to avoid distractions. Once your family notices that you have locked yourself in your work area, they would avoid intruding on your workspace.

 

10. Take away distractions or things that may attract people to your workspace.

Distractions can be anything. It can be a television program you choose to watch or favorite music you decide to play. It can also be a conversation about an issue of interest that may allow family members to come into your workspace.

By all means, avoid it!