Six months and counting for working at home

 It is almost six months now for working at home and a few things I have learned about having to work at home.

• A separate room that is dedicated to working at home is necessary.  If you have the space then do this.  I had to work in the living room several times this year due to electrical issues and it wasn't the most comfortable spot for extended work due to the chair I had to use and distractions.
• A great chair.  I was lucky in that I purchased a great chair as I do work in the evenings and weekends at least once a month.
• A decent desk for the laptop.  It doesn't have to be expensive, but, a keyboard tray big enough to hold a good keyboard and a mouse.
• Lighting!  I have a task lamp beside the work machine and personal machine.  Both are adjustable so I can move them to highlight what I am working on.  The bulb wattage and colour was important too.  I found that warmer colour and lower wattage bulbs are actually easier on my eyes rather than a white light with the maximum wattage the lamp can take.  I went through about four different bulbs before I found what is comfortable for me.
• Location of the laptop matters too.  I have both machines placed where the office window doesn't shine directly on them.  Glare is a problem and location is critical.  I also have blinds and curtains so I can adjust the light levels during sunny days (my office has a south facing window).
• A great monitor attached to the laptops.  If I have to work for hours I want a large & clear screen for work.  I tried for a couple of months using the screen with the laptop and while it is fine after a few hours each day my eyes felt tired.
• Don't skimp on the keyboard or mouse.  I have to use wired keyboards and mice for the work machine as they don't allow wireless devices connected. I took time at Staples with various models seeing how the mouse fits in the hand and the keyboards for how they felt before buying.
• Printer and scanners.
• I am probably outside of the normal with what I have.  I have a flatbed scanner for over-sized prints, negatives and slides and document scanner for bulk photo/document scanning.  I do a lot of work scanning documents and photos for my archive of family documents/photos (over 25k images so far and at least 5k more to scan).
• I prefer a separate scanner rather than an all-in-one device.  For an all-in-one if one part breaks (or runs out of ink) the whole device is broken.
• We also have a laser printer and inkjet.  The monochrome laser is cheaper per page for simple stuff and the inkjet is used only for pictures or documents that we need colour for.  One other feature is duplex printing.  A printer that can do that doesn't cost much more and you quickly save paper costs.
• If you do buy an inkjet look for one with jumbo tanks that can be refilled or separate colour cartridges.  Our previous printer was all-in-one colour and that was rather expensive when just one colour ran out and we had to replace the cartridge.  Also, check the price of the cartridges as some printers are very expensive.  Personal preference here is Brother as they work well, easy to connect and cartridges don't cost a lot.
• The work laptop I use only for work related tasks!  If I have to do personal tasks I go to the other side of the office and use my personal laptop.
• Telephones with a hands free and mute option.  I spend a lot of time on the phone and being able to go hands free is a matter of comfort as after fifteen minutes it gets tiring holding the telephone, especially if I have to work on the computer at the same time.  For conference calls being able to go to mute helps so the noise doesn't bother others on the call.  I have a wired phone and wireless.  Most of the time I use the wireless model, but, if the conference calls last more than an hour I use the wired phone.
• For my network I have a DLINK router and I set up three SSIDs.  One is for personal, one for guests and one for work.  I have it set so that NO ONE can see what is running outside of that SSID. I also used the QoS option to give priority to the work machine.
• A coffee maker is a must for me in the office.  I like being able to quickly make a cup of coffee or tea without having to travel downstairs to the coffee maker there.  I have a Tassimo so I make just a single cup.  It is also on top of an inexpensive mini fridge where I can store my lunch and snacks.
• Shelving unit dedicated to work.  I store all my office supplies and books there.  I can keep track of what I use for work and keep it separate from what I use personally.

I treat working at home as if I am actually commuting to work.  I wake up at the same time as before (05:30), have my breakfast, make lunches, shower & shave and I dress as if I am going to work.  I start at the same time at home as if I was working at the office.  The wife also knows that when I am in the office I am not to be disturbed, especially if the door is closed as that indicates that I am on a conference call.  

Once I finish work for the day I turn off the work machine most of the time so I get time away to unwind.  I don't do that all the time, but, that is usually when something is being updated in the system or there is special processing and I will have the machine running in case of an emergency.