How to set up a home office that works

To set up a home office, choose a spot where you can work without being interrupted, then judge every choice by three tests: is it sturdy, is it useful, and is it pleasant? A desk that does not wobble, a chair and screen you can adjust, good light and a little order will do more for your working day than any expensive gadget.

Those three tests are old ideas about good building, and they work as well for a corner of a spare room as for a temple. Here is how to apply them, step by step.

Step 1: Choose the place

Before you buy anything, pick where the office will live. Walk through your home at the time of day you usually work.

• Look for the quietest spot you can close off, even if only with a curtain or a bookcase.
• Notice the light. A place near a window is pleasant, but a window directly behind your screen or directly in front of your eyes can cause glare.
• Check for outlets nearby, and for a decent internet signal if you rely on wifi.
• Think about the end of the day. A desk you can close or cover helps you stop working.

Step 2: Make it sturdy

The first test is about things that hold up, stay put and stay safe.

• The desk should not wobble when you type or lean on it. Tighten fittings, and add felt pads or shims under a rocking leg.
• The chair should be sound, with no cracked base, loose arms or a seat that sinks during the day.
• Fix tall bookcases and shelves to the wall with suitable anchors, especially if children or pets are about.
• Plug equipment into a proper surge protector, and do not chain one power strip into another.
• Keep cables out of walkways, bundled along the desk or wall, so nobody trips over them.

If you are planning anything more than furniture, such as new wiring, a partition wall or work on a loft or garage, this post is not the guide. Talk to a qualified electrician or builder and check your local rules.

Step 3: Make it useful

The second test asks whether the space helps you do the work.

• Desk surface: deep enough for your screen at a comfortable distance and room for a notebook in front of the keyboard. Wider is better if you spread out paper.
• Storage within reach: the things you use every day should be reachable from the chair. Everything else can live on a shelf or in a box.
• Light: combine daylight or overhead light with a desk lamp you can aim. Light the work, not your eyes.
• Sound: a rug, curtains and soft furnishings soften echo on calls. A headset helps more than any room fix.

Step 4: Set up for comfort, in general terms

Everyone's body is different, so treat this as a general starting point, not medical advice.

• Adjust the chair so your feet rest flat on the floor or on a footrest, with your knees at roughly a right angle.
• Sit back in the chair with your lower back supported; a small cushion works if the chair does not do this.
• Keep the keyboard and mouse close, with your elbows near your sides and your shoulders relaxed.
• Place the screen about an arm's length away, with the top of the screen at or a little below eye level.
• If you use a laptop all day, a separate keyboard and mouse with the laptop raised on a stand makes these easier.
• Change position often. Stand, stretch or walk for a few minutes every so often; no single posture suits a whole day.

If you have pain, numbness or discomfort that does not ease, talk to a doctor or physiotherapist rather than rearranging the furniture again. An occupational health service or a qualified ergonomics assessor can also look at your set-up properly.

Step 5: Make it pleasant

The third test is the one people skip, and it is the one that makes you want to sit down in the morning.

• Bring in something living: a plant that suits the light you have.
• Choose one or two things you like to look at, such as a picture, a view, a well-made object, not a wall of clutter.
• Keep the desk clear at the end of each day so the next one starts fresh.
• If you can see outside, use it. Looking into the distance now and then gives your eyes a change from the screen.

Judge it by all three

Now stand back and test the room as a whole. A beautiful desk that wobbles fails the first test. A sturdy, well-lit desk crammed into a noisy hallway fails the second. A safe, efficient corner that you dread sitting in fails the third. A good home office passes all three, and the fix for a failing one is usually small.

A quick checklist

• Sturdy: desk steady, chair sound, tall furniture anchored, cables tidy, no chained power strips
• Useful: quiet spot, enough desk, daily items within reach, aimed lamp
• Comfortable: feet supported, screen at arm's length and around eye level, regular breaks
• Pleasant: something living, something you like, a clear desk each evening

Set it up in an afternoon, work in it for a week, then adjust. A room is judged by living in it.