Workspace

Carol O’Callaghan says a home office can be stylish if you pay attention to detail when planning your layout

Resisting domestic distractions is essential to establishing a good working routine if you decide to abandon the office and set up one at home. The idea is very appealing to anyone who endures a commute through slow traffic or the unsavoury squeeze of bodies on public transport, but the green grass of home is fraught with weeds of temptation which can take over in the absence of discipline needed to make your working routine flourish.

It’s so easy to behave like you’re on a day off when you work from home and therefore free for coffee or golf. The same applies to the temptation of day-time television, or the virtuous distraction of cleaning up after breakfast and putting away the laundry that dried overnight. You might tell yourself it’s all work but tut-tut, it’s really just delaying tactics. By10.30am you’re sliding down the well greased slope of prevarication, which is why most of us need the discipline of going out to work.