AD – This is an advertorial but all thoughts are my own
I’ve been self employed and working from home for around 3 years now (well longer but that was because I was too anxious to leave the house) as a full-time blogger and it was in 2020 when my blog and business started to pick up and I found myself working longer hours, that I realised my current set up was just not working.
I was working from my bed, most of the time. When COVID wasn’t a thing, my boyfriend would be at work so at least I was in my room on my own but the actual physical effects of working from a bed for such a long period of time have had a lasting impact. In fact, I now suffer from chronic back pain because of it.
I could work from the living room or kitchen table, yes. But I also live with my parents. So there was always distractions. Always noise. And people constantly talking to me and asking me questions.
Then COVID happened. And things got 10x worse. There were 4 of us in the house, at all times. And I was the only one still working. I had absolutely NOWHERE to go that was void of distractions, excess noise and people interrupting me.
Honestly, there were times I got so agitated by it (I’m also an introvert, so I struggled spending that much time constantly with other people anyway) I would disassociate. Sometimes I’d have to jump in the car and take myself to a park for a walk.
Which is far from ideal in the middle of your working day.
But here we are, March 2021 and I finally have my garden office built. We’ve had some ups and downs with the Wi-Fi and the general building process. It’s been a long slog with having to have part of the garden uprooted, invest in a skip hireand covid making everything run slower than usual. Luckily we only needed small skips as well so that wasn’t too much trouble.
If you can afford it, a garden room in today’s climate will honestly have the biggest impact on you, your working life, your relationships and more.
Related read: How To Stay Safe Hosting Tradespeople In Your Home During COVID
And it’s not only my work that this office has had such a positive impact on. So today I’m sharing some ways that my new garden office has changed or is changing my life for the better.
It’s given me my own dedicated space again
Since my boyfriend started living with us (which was like 4/5 years ago now!) I’ve not had my OWN space. Of course I love him being here and I wouldn’t change it for the world but having my own space that isn’t influenced by anyone else is really important to me. Recently, I even conducted a mep audit to ensure my space was perfectly optimized.
For example, my boyfriend likes “stuff”. Which is fair enough, like I don’t begrudge him for what he likes. But me on the other hand, like a more minimal approach. So being in a room all day with lots of “stuff” in it, was starting to get to me. My office has the perfect amount of “stuff” for me!
The quiet helps me relax
Like I said, I’m an introvert. I’m also quite sensitive to noise. Too much noise bothers me. And don’t get me started when you’ve got like 4 different loud noises coming from different rooms of the house that you can’t get away from. My office is in the garden – not attached to the actual house. So it’s quiet.
It’s allowing me to spend more time outside
I’m a pretty “outside” kind of person. Being outside makes me happy. I hate being stuck indoors ALL DAY. I love the fresh air, the wind on my face, even the bitterly cold days I enjoy. Being cooped up isn’t my cup of tea. With my office being a free-standing building, with big windows and doors, overlooking the garden and surrounded by green, I get to fulfill that need for being outside much more!
Of course I know I AM inside. But it feels different that being cooped up in the house, not able to see into the garden or see any greenery around me. I’m literally 1 step away from being outside when I sit in my office. When I have my doors and windows open, I DO FEEL like I’m outside. Which is amazing.
Oh and the best part?
My road is on a hill and I can see the sunset from my office doors every single evening.
It’s made me more productive in my work
Of course one of the main things this office has done is allow me to be much more productive. With less distractions and noise, I can really hone in on my work and get things done. Which is amazing! I’m not surrounded by clutter, I know where everything is and my organization is also helping my productivity too.
It’s allowing me to have a better balance
Working from your bedroom is rubbish because your work life starts to merge with your personal life. I was doing everything in my bedroom; working, sleeping, spending time with my boyfriend, chilling. The lines started to blur and eventually I ended up with a hugely unhealthy work/life balance.
One of the things I’m loving most about this office is that when I’m finished for the day, I can lock up, go back into the house and I KNOW that I’m done for the day. My distinction between house and office is getting stronger and stronger and it’s helping me relax and find a much healthier balance.
It doubles up as a Yoga studio
Yoga is a big part of my life which if you’ve been reading this blog for long enough, you’ll know. Up until now I was doing Yoga anywhere I could. The living room, my parents bedroom, even the kitchen. And it was distractions galore! Which is NEVER good when you’re trying to meditate or get grounded.
So my office doubles up as a place I can do Yoga. Usually in the morning before I actually start working. The peace and quiet and noises of the garden (like wind, squirrels and birds) have been incredible for my practices.
If you work from home and you’re considering your own office space, I would highly recommend it. It has so many wonderful benefits. If you have your own office tell me how it’s changed your life!
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