Over the last few years, there has been a drastic change in workplace dynamics. According to statistics, over a quarter of American employees are now working remotely. The percentage is expected to rise to 40% by 2025.
While the days of balancing the laptop on the kitchen counter as you settle on the kitchen stool are certainly over, many individuals working remotely still find it challenging to maximize the space that their workstation has to offer. Given space limitations in most modern homes, remote employees still struggle with efficiently setting up a remote workstation.
If you're a remote employee looking for ideas to maximize small desk space for your home office, this post is for you.
In what follows, we share seven ideas to help you maximize small desk space for your home-based work set up so you can work comfortably while boosting your productivity.
7 Ways to Maximize Small Desk Space for a Home-Based Work Setup
Declutter with a Monitor Arm
You may already know how investing in a monitor arm can enhance your productivity at work by improving your viewing angle and posture. But did you know that a monitor arm is a great tool for enhancing desk space, especially for employees struggling with a small desk space in a home-based setup?
Using a monitor arm allows you to maximize the space on your workstation by elevating your screen, which adds space to your small workstation while making it much easier for you to view the screen. You can find single and dual monitor mounts on the market and choose the best one for yourself, depending on the nature of your job.
Certain jobs require employees to work on multiple screens, which further occupies the space on an already small workstation. If your job requires you to work on more than one screen, you can also consider investing in a dual monitor arm, which allows you to conveniently mount both screens using the arm. Hence, you can save a lot more space on the desk while enjoying improved viewing angles and posture.
Capitalize on the Adjacent Wall
For remote employees who are looking for ways to maximize small desk space, making the most of the surrounding area makes a viable way to expand small desk space at home.
If you have a small desk space, you would know that every inch of space is precious. And given that there isn't much space on your desk, the fact shouldn't inhibit you from capitalizing on the utility of the surrounding areas, especially the wall adjoining your workstation.
Look around your desk and see if your desk is positioned against a wall. If yes, you have a lot of space to work around.
Invest in a pegboard, which allows you to save on your precious desk space. A pegboard makes a versatile workspace tool that can help you organize tools, accessories, gadgets, and other office essentials. If you already have a pegboard in your home-based work setup and you have never thought of utilizing it, now is the time to do so.
One of the other ways to maximize the utility of the adjacent wall is to go for storage shelves or cabinets that you can attach to the wall. A good shelving system provides adequate storage for your workplace essentials and helps keep a clutter-free space. Moreover, it will also add an aesthetic appeal to your home-based work setup. If you want enclosed storage for your workplace essentials, investing in a wall-mounted storage cabinet makes a viable choice as it allows you to save space while providing safe storage for your workplace essentials.
Maximize the Use of Under-Desk Space
Having a small desk often makes you lose sight of your actual workspace available. That's because you just have a small workstation in front of you. But what about the space under the desk?
Yes. That's a bonus space that most remote employees tend to disregard simply because it's out of sight. But you don't have to let it out of your mind.
Take a look under your desk and see how much space you have.
Provided the under-desk space your workstation offers, you can think of all the ways you can maximize the use of the under-desk space. Some viable solutions we recommend include investing in a keyboard tray, an under-desk drawer, and an under-desk storage cabinet.
If you're a remote employee, you cannot function without a computer or a laptop. And a keyboard makes one of the most critical pieces of hardware that's required for a functioning computer. Whether you're working on a conventional desktop or a laptop, you'll need a keyboard that will take up much of your precious desk space. Investing in a keyboard tray is a convenient solution for saving desk space while providing room for your keyboard. You can attach the keyboard tray under your desk and move it whenever you need to work on your keyboard. When not in use, you can slide the tray under your desk, and you are good to go.
One of the other space-saving solutions that you can try out to maximize your small desk space is an under-desk drawer. It makes a great space-saving storage solution for all your workplace essentials which are often not required at the desk at all times, such as a notebook and other stationery items.
Investing in an under-desk cabinet allows you to conveniently store the workplace essentials that you may need at different times during the workday. An under-desk cabinet that makes a viable choice for most small desks is the Under Desk Cabinet S02. The sleek under-desk cabinet can be directly installed at the bottom of the desk and features a customizable 3-digit combination lock that keeps your workplace essentials inside more secure.
Learn more about this amazing product here.
Go for Mounted Office Lighting
Home office lighting makes for a critical consideration for many remote employees. After all, you need good lighting to stay focused, prevent fatigue and eye strain, and other health and safety problems like mistakes at work or poor quality of output. Not to forget, inadequate lighting can lead to a negative impact on mood and general well-being.
Hence, it's critical for you as a remote employee to focus on arranging adequate lighting sources for your workstation. In addition to overhead lighting, it is critical to include task lighting over the desk. However, since adding a desk lamp can take up a lot of space on an already small desk, you can go for standing lamps. A standing lamp may serve as a task lighting and help you brighten up your workstation without taking up space on your small desk. Moreover, it can add to the overall appeal of your workstation and its surrounding areas.
The other lighting alternative that you can consider for your small desk space in a home-based work setup is to go for mounted office lighting. You can opt for a wall-mounted spotlight or choose a plug-in wall-mounted light that is often easy to install and does not require any rewiring.
Go Paperless
When you have a small desk space, there's little room for large notebooks. So why not maximize the small desk space at home by choosing to go paperless?
When you reduce the amount of paper that you use for your everyday tasks, it will decrease the clutter on your desk and will also contribute to reducing your storage needs. Aim for digitizing everything from making purchases to paying bills.
By going paperless, you'll not only save precious desk space but will also contribute positively to the planet.
Make Room for Stress-Busting Indoor Plants
Does your small desk space stress you out? Add some life and color to your dull and small desk space by adding indoor plants.
But where do you find the space to place indoor plants when you're already struggling with a small desk space?
Go for hanging planters.
Choosing hanging planters with indoor plants is a great stress-busting technique that helps alleviate work-related anxiety and promotes enhanced focus and clarity.
Practice Efficient Cable Management
Nothing hampers your productivity more than getting wrapped up in a tangle of wires and cords. While it's impossible to get rid of all the cords and wires because everything in the digital world has a cord, you can still maximize your small desk space by practicing efficient cable management.
Key Takeaways
By trying out the above-mentioned ways to maximize small desk space in your home-based setup, you can look forward to enhanced productivity as you work from the comfort of your home.
