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So… I have some exciting news. I’M GETTING AN OFFICE! A real, proper, office. With walls and heating and a desk and EVERYTHING. To put it into perspective a bit about how excited I really am: I’ve been working for myself, from home, for a number of years now. I live in a not particularly big house with 3 other people. I don’t have a “space” to work, other than my bed (where I’m writing this from now). I’ve given myself permanent back pain from it.

Photo by Ella Jardim on Unsplash

So having an actual office which is mine and only mine is an actual dream come true for me. It’s going to positively benefit me and my work life so much that I can’t even fathom it right now. At the time of writing, I have a quote for the price and I’m just waiting for our builders to give us a date that they can come round and make a start.

It’s been a pretty long process already and the main bulk of the work hasn’t even started yet. The office will be a garden room, with heating, electricity, windows and doors – the whole works. So there’s a lot involved to get the building actually up and safe for me to use.

There are definitely things we could have done ourselves. But without the time collectively as a family and the proper resources, it was always easier to get someone to do EVERYTHING for us. Including tearing up bushes and landscaping the area. Although we have one group of people who are doing everything for us, you can always hire a professional landscaper to clear your bushes if you don’t want to lose a weekend doing it yourself!

So, it’s safe to same my office can’t come quick enough! Here’s how having my very own garden office will improve my work life:

Photo by Ella Jardim on Unsplash

No distractions

This is always my main problem with how I work at the moment and that’s there’s just so many distractions all the time. Of course not all of them can be helped but it’s very much got to a point now where I can’t cope with it anymore. Having my Dad ask me to come and walk the dog. Having my Mum ask me to do chores around the house. The dog barking. The doorbell going. It’s constant.

Being taken more seriously

That girl you know who works from home? She’s still at HER JOB in the middle of the day. Which is something I would quite like to get tattooed on my forehead. Because I’m working in such a casual environment, I don’t think people take me seriously. That could be why I get so many distractions throughout the day. But by having an actual office, I’ll be able to physically go into my “place” of work and not have those distractions.

No clutter and decorated how I like it

My boyfriend and I share a bedroom. I don’t like clutter. He does. So my bedroom definitely ISN’T a place I find entirely relaxing and calming anymore. Especially as I work in there too. My office will be totally mine. Decorated exactly how I want it. Calming colours, no clutter and extremely organized. Exactly how I like it.

It’ll give me a better work/life balance

Another one I REALLY struggle with and that’s the ol’ work/life balance chestnut. The line between my work life and personal life is EXTREMELY blurred. I work where I sleep. I work where I play games. I work where I chill out and watch Netflix. And my laptop is ALWAYS accessible for me to whip out at any given time to do more work. Having my office will allow me to literally be able to lock up for the night and create a much more stable work/life balance.

It’ll help me work more efficiently

This ties in with the no distractions one but it’ll definitely help with efficiency too. Due to the distractions and everything else, it takes me 3x as long to do everything sometimes. My mind is constantly somewhere else because there’s so much going on around me. So I think by having this office, I won’t only work more efficiently but I’ll also produce higher quality work.

Do you have a home office? Did you build it yourself or hire someone to do it for you? If you work from home, what are your main obstacles?

84 Comments

  1. I was house hunting a few weeks ago with my boyfriend and saw lots of properties where people build a separate building as office or gaming space in their garden. I think that is a great idea if you have the space and necessary to have your own space when you are working from home. So, good for you getting one! Now due to Covid-19, me and my boyfriend are both working from home. He stays in our second bedroom that is an office/guest room and I am working in the living room. But at the moment I feel the same pain. He comes in and distracts me and I do the same to him actually and I find it difficult to switch of after work. Is that project still on track for you? I hope yes.

  2. How exciting! I hope you’ll share some photos when it’s all finished? 🤞🤞 At the moment I also work from my bed, or the sofa, which isn’t ideal either. Like you said there are so many distractions – especially from family members. I’d love my own workspace one day.

  3. Ooo, that sounds like a super relaxing place to have an office! I have a teeny room with a desk that came with the flat but it needs a lot of work since the window there is tiny!

  4. I’m so excited for you! One day I’d love to have an office in our home for the days that I work from home, but for now I live vicariously through viewing office inspo, haha Having your own space to decorate, organize and work inside of will be so nice!

  5. This is so exciting! So jealous right now! I kind of wish we had a breakfast bar in my kitchen so I could pretend that was my home office. I like being able to work from the comfort of my own sofa but sometimes I do think I’d be able to work more efficiently if I had a proper designated space for it x

    Sophie

  6. YAY how exciting!

    I don’t have my OWN office, but we have a media room with the computer, my business materials, TV + switch, etc. that we all use and I love it!

  7. Congratulations on this!! It’s so exciting & will definitely be so beneficial. I still live with my parents, so I’ve not got my own office, but I do have my own desk and that area of my room is where I like to do my work. I think I heard somewhere that it’s far better for your mind to associate your bed & bedroom with rest and relaxation rather than work because it makes winding down and getting to sleep far more difficult otherwise. I can attest that that seems true enough even just when I got my desk and moved from my bed to there. A garden office sounds even more charming & so lovely! Can’t wait to hear more and more about it as things develop xx

  8. I’m so happy for you Jenny! Can’t wait for pictures of your new office, if you choose to share them with us!

  9. This is amazing! I am so jealous right now. Unfortunately I do not work at home so I do not actually need a garden office but I recon if I had one it would be a big push to work from home!

    Abigail | Abigailtalksabout.com

  10. Right now I just work in the bedroom but I would love to have a garden office someday. I live with my others as well, so some days it’s really hard to stick to my calendar blocking schedule.

  11. Oh my goodness I would love to have a garden office! How fun! I have a home office and I love to work in there on my blog because it definitely minimizes my distractions too.

  12. My office space is my sofa. I have a day job so blogging for me happens in the evenings or during half terms. If it’s day time during half terms I will sit at the dining table, but in the evenings when I have been at work I enjoy my sofa too much. Good luck with your office space 🙂

  13. I am so excited for you! Having an office will 100% help your work/life balance and also hopefully help your permanent back ache! I can’t wait to hear more about your experience with building your office and decorating it and also whether or not it has improved your work/life balance

  14. This is my dream to one day have an office of my own. Right now I don’t even really have a dedicated spot. I just blog from my bed or the couch. But hopefully soon I should be able to get at least an “office space”.

  15. I honestly think a garden office would benefit me so so much! Unfortunately, we don’t quite have space for such an innovative idea but I’m really excited for you and also a smidge jealous!! Keep us all updated with the progress!

    Tori – ohsot.co.uk

  16. After raising four children in our house, I never had a private space for all my books…I have a lot of books! Three of my children are married now with children of their own. Only one of our children is still at home. Although the family often comes to visit, we now have extra rooms! One of the extra bedrooms is a guest room. The other room is an office just for me… I used to have a desk and all those books in my bedroom! My office room is painted a sunny yellow and I love it! {I do need to unclutter a bit…:)

  17. A would love a home office! A garden office sounds good especially in the summer with all the natural light. I like the idea of no distractions! Thank you for sharing! ❤️xxx

  18. I’m so happy for you that you’re getting an office!I spend all day in starbucks when I’m working because I cant get anything done at home for the same reasons as you. I’d love an office one day because the Starbucks wifi is bad (and its loud)

  19. Goddess, I wish I had an office. I live in a three room apartment (not bedrooms, actual rooms plus a tiny kitchen and bath) so my bedroom is also the living room and my office and it’s just a mess. When I get a new apartment I’m gonna have a dedicated work space and I’m so looking forward to it. It won’t be a real office, but it will be my spot.
    Big congratulations on your new office ❤️❤️❤️

  20. Great article as always…I consult with a number of companies and do much of it from home via email and tele-conferencing…can I get distracted? Sure, but I stay focused and everything seems to get done….your post is filled with great tips!

    1. Everything gets done my end too but not the way I need it to. I can’t be working until 9pm every night to get everything done just because I’m constantly getting interrupted during the day!

  21. I’m honestly delighted for you that this is happening! You are without a doubt the hardest-working person I know so not only do you deserve this, you need it haha! I like the fact you’ll have a clear boundary between ‘work’ and ‘home’, hopefully people will stop disturbing you and you’ll also find it a bit easier to chill out in the evenings. We have a spare room that we never use that I’m hoping to turn into a bit of an office area, if I can ever get Blair to help! I just love the idea of having a separate space to concentrate in!

  22. Good idea! I will it give you the personal place to do good creative work, it is very very hard to be distracted all the time and keep on doing quality work. I feel the same with workouts too, I wanted to do it at home but it is impossible you just need some environment change for certain activities. Good luck with it!

  23. This is very exciting. I definitely think having your own space supports success. Also, having everything that you need to support your success (nice pens, etc.) all in one centralized space is important. You can definitely use this as a opportunity to create a entire mood for your work space.

  24. You are absolutely right: a home office makes so much difference in so many ways. We built one in our garden a few years ago. I do still struggle with distracting thoughts like: ‘I’ll just put the washing on’ or ‘I’m hungry, what’s in the fridge?’, but then I’m a procrastinator-extraordinaire! 🙂

  25. Yassssss, girl, that’s amazing, I’m so chuffed for you! I work from home too, albeit in a spare room, but I know EXACTLY what you mean about distractions. The worst is when you’re trying to write something and a family member comes to witter at you, so you completely lose your thread and have to start again, aaargh. Can’t wait to see some photos of your new office, I’m super jealous, but very excited too, congrats! xxx

    Lisa | http://www.lisasnotebook.com

      1. What a great idea for an office! It’s so true that work and home can get really blurred. If I’m honest it really has for me – perhaps I should actually use my office!

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