In March 2020, our homes took on many new roles. Not only were they the place where we eat, sleep and spend time with our families, but they became our sanctuaries, a place to stay healthy and safe from COVID-19. For many more of us, our homes also became schools for our kindergarteners and our college students. And for even more of us, our homes become offices when our real workplaces shut down to help slow the spread.
If you too experienced all of this at once, you may have found it difficult to establish a dedicated space for each person to accomplish his or her tasks throughout the day. And how do you keep work, school and home life separate when you're doing it all under one roof?
With everyone spending so much time together in one location, having your own space to work is more important than ever to eliminate distractions. So is having a place to unwind at the end of the day without thinking about that essay, project or paperwork. We'll show you how to do it without spending too much money or time on designing a flexible home.
Importance of Having a Space for Work and School
As tempting as it is to set up your laptop at the kitchen table or snuggle up on the sofa with your tablet, experts recommend having a dedicated space for school and work when you're working from home. First, it's good for your mental health. Everyone in the country is under so much stress right now as we worry about the virus, so anything you can do to eliminate that stress is a good thing. That may mean enjoying more downtime, but it's hard to read a book, play a game or watch a movie when your school and work supplies are cluttering up the kitchen or living room. And let's face it: With everyone at home all day every day, some time apart is just necessary to keep harmony in the home.
Having a dedicated workspace also increases productivity and creativity. It limits distractions — imagine working on the sofa when your teenager comes in and turns on the TV. And it can help you get into the right mindset for the task at hand. It helps with scheduling and consistency and makes it easier to prioritize working from home, even on those days when you aren't quite feeling it.
Finally, having a dedicated space also helps each individual handle their own needs. For example, maybe your husband likes to listen to music while he works, but you need complete silence. Maybe your daughter is FaceTiming with friends for a group project, but your son is on a Zoom call with his professor.
How to Manage Multiple People Working From Home in the Same House
But with everyone working or doing school from home, finding a dedicated space for each person can be a difficult task unless you just happen to live in a mansion. If you have enough spare bedrooms, bonus rooms and home offices, great. Though you will need to find a way to move the bed and get a desk, chair and maybe even some bookshelves or a filing cabinet into that spare bedroom. If you don't have those extra rooms, you'll need to create the illusion of separate workspaces in your living room, your home office or your kitchen.
Communication can help. Sit down as a family and talk about each person's daily schedule. It's important that everyone respects each other's work time. You may also consider shifts, but you'll find that most of your family members want to get up and get their work finished early so they can move on with their day.
How Furniture Rental Can Help Make It Easier for Multiple People to Work or Do School Work at Home
More than likely, you won't be working from home forever, and your kids will most likely return to school within the next year. For this reason, you don't want to run out and buy new desks, office chairs, dividers, cabinets and shelves that you won't need by this time next year. And who wants to waste time — and back muscles — moving furniture from room to room and up and down stairs to attempt to create a dedicated workspace? Renting furniture allows you to:
- Save money. You pay a small monthly fee for each item you rent instead of spending thousands on new furniture that you don't need long term.
- Save time. All you have to do is visit CORT.com, choose the items you need, and we'll deliver them straight to your home. When you're finished with them, let us know, and we'll come back and pick them up.
- Turn your current office space for one into a place where multiple people can work. By renting extra desks, chairs and shelving, you can create a dedicated space for every person in your household. This way, everyone always has the supplies they need on hand without having to move everyone else's out of the way.
- Create a temporary workspace elsewhere in the house. If you do want to set up a dedicated work space in the corner of the living room, on your porch or in that spare bedroom, you can rent all of the furniture you need to make it happen.
- Choose high-quality items that match your decor seamlessly. Not only can you rent desks, chairs, shelving and cabinets, but you can add lamps, rugs, art and other items to help personalize your dedicated workspace and make it comfortable.
Learn more about furniture rental and get started on setting up your work or school space today with CORT Furniture Rental.
