Since I am my own boss now and working from home, I need to get some things in order. I don’t have an office, but I do have a corner desk in the family room. I think it takes a certain person with a specific work ethic to be able to work from home because there are a lot of distractions. My problem: How can I work from home without having a home office?

With work, I have a lot going on and my desk itself has a lot going on, so I turned to my friend Allison, owner of Curio Design Studio for some tips on how to make my work space more functional. I sent her a picture of my desk. She asked for a wider picture of the entire room, then she gave me these tips:

1. Start with a clean slate. There is a lot of stuff in this area that’s not relevant to your everyday work. Box up or move to another location anything that is not directly related to your daily business and office tasks. (ie. all those James Patterson books!) Yes, she is making me relocate my obsession, my James Patterson books!
2. Add functional accessories. Pen holders, paper, and file organizers, etc.
3. Use vertical wall space. Use the space directly behind the computer monitor as a chalk board , white board, or tack board to organize big ideas, current to do lists, and inspirational images. Creating a tack board out of fabric would be a nice way to add color and interest into your space.
4. Define the space as a separate work zone. It’s tough when your work space is just part of another room. Take measures to visually divide the space to help create a mental separation between work and play. By differentiating the two it will help you stay motivated and focused on relevant work tasks when you are in the space. In this area you could do it by adding a small hanging light fixture to anchor this area or even create a small scale room divider that is the same width as the desk to help divide it on the side near the fridge.

It took some time and the process was time consuming and messy. It made me feel like a bit of a hoarder!

This is what I’ve turned my new office into… and I love it! It is much more functional and more like an actual office now instead of a corner in the family room to work.

Now, I feel compelled to explain the excess of James Patterson books. Besides the fact his books are amazing and I can read them in one sitting, I hope someday to have a home library like the one the beast gave Belle – built in bookshelves with a sliding ladder and all. That’s why I buy all my JP books and keep them. But, as I look at them all and do the math in my head – it adds up to a lot of money when the public library is free. Now, most of my other books come from the public library, but I am still holding on to my sliding ladder dream.

Home office organization is key when it comes to writing, blogging, and doing everything else I do here! Want to learn more? Here are some project details on creating a his and her home office on a budget.

If you need home design tips, like Curio Design Studio on Facebook.