How I Perfected My Work From Home Setup

March 28, 2020


Like most of you, I've been holed up at home for the past several weeks in an effort to limit the spread of coronavirus. As a social girl who actually enjoys going to work, socializing with coworkers, and of course going out to restaurants and bars with friends, this has been a period of adjustment.

However, with two weeks of work-from-home officially in the books, I've found ways to perfect my routine and my setup, including adding a few things to make my desk the ideal working space (before social distancing entered our lexicon, my desk was largely overflow storage for sunglasses, purses, lipsticks, and other assorted Fashion Barbie faves).

If you are still trying to get into the swing of things and finding your work-from-home groove, I figured it might be helpful to show my home office setup and some of my tips to make home life productive!

Here's what I did to perfect my home office setup:

Define your work from home space:

For me, leaving my apartment and driving to the office makes it pretty clear to my brain that it's time to get work done. When you work from home, you can simply wake up, grab your laptop, and begin your day without ever getting dressed. For me, this is a recipe for disaster (Netflix is just a click away), so instead I knew that I had to create a defined work space within my room. Just the act of sitting at a desk mentally gets me into that working mode, so I cleared off my desk (it's this one, to be precise) of all the lipsticks and purses and other miscellaneous items and created the setup you can see today in these pictures!

Find a cute desk chair:

Yeah, I didn't even have a chair to go with my desk, that's how little I used it for anything other than storage space. Luckily Amazon had this super chic chair (they came in a set of 2 so I gave the other one to my roommate) to complete my desk. I'll admit it's not as good for your posture as a fancy ergonomic office chair would be, but it's cute and it beats sitting slumped over in my bed all day. 

Set up a monitor display: 

When my company gave us the go-ahead to work from home, they let us take home our computers, both desktops and laptops. I typically work off of a laptop that is hooked up to a monitor display, so I brought the whole setup home—monitor, mouse, keyboard, laptop—so that I had a big screen to work off of. Working from my laptop on weekends occasionally is fine, but I knew when we went home that we were going to be home for a while, so having the large monitor screen is wonderful. I might even order one to keep at my apartment full time!

Stay organized with calendars:

With not much to do besides hang out inside, get work done, and binge watch TV shows (who else has been simultaneously fascinated with and disturbed by Tiger King?) I have found the days blending together. I'll often ask myself, "Um, what day is it again?" A desk or wall calendar helps alleviate some confusion! Lucky for me, my grandmother gifted me a cute kittens wall calendar for Christmas, so I hung that up beside my computer to keep track of dates. I also use a Ban.do planner to write down tasks and to-do lists.

Surround yourself with favorite scents:

I freakin' love candles. A good scent can change my whole mood, so just lighting a few fragrant candles can lift my spirits with all the general craziness happening all around us. I've been on a rose kick for a while, so I took advantage of Nordstrom's recent sale and bought a duo of Voluspa rose scented candles. I also keep a rose facial spray that I'll spritz on myself and around the room to freshen things up, and L'Occitane hand cream to keep my hands moisturized after washing my hands so often.

Add personal touches:

Work from home offers the freedom for you to design your work space however you see fit, so take advantage of it and add in little touches that bring you joy! I keep my markers in sight so whenever inspiration to draw strikes, I'm ready to go. I also have a photo album of polaroids to remind me of fun memories with friends (can't wait to see them again) and an Eiffel Tower sculpture and matryoshka doll that my mom gave me; just little things that remind me of friends, family, and world travels while I'm stuck inside. I also keep my favorite books in the desk shelves, as well as storage containers for sunglasses and jewelry.

Shop My Desk Essentials:








What tips do you have for the perfect work from home setup?