Community Chatter: Share your workspace

In our first Community Chatter installment, we shared some of our work from home hacks, and this week we are taking the next step and sharing pictures of our workspaces.   

With so much going on, it's more important than ever to have a dedicated space that is relatively free from distractions and lets you focus on being productive.   It's even better if your space is comfortable and out of the way, but as this year has shown time and again, sometimes it's all about being adaptable and using what you have to create what you need.  

There is no "one true way" to set up your work from home space, after all, someone who lives in a studio apartment will not have the same issues as a mother of four living in a 3 bedroom house.  And as you'll see below, (and in our Intuit Accountants and TurboTax communities) our workspaces vary as much as we do.   

I'll start us off by sharing my kitchen table setup. 

"I’ve always been a bit of a magpie in terms of decorating my space, and my desk in the office had bright pictures and collages, little toys to play with, and all kinds of small trinkets that made it feel a little bit like home.  Oddly enough, now that I have been working from home for a while, I realized that I feel better with a more streamlined desk setup. 

I recently moved and while I’m planning on setting up a full office in the spare bedroom, in the meantime I’m working off what was the kitchen table.   And I’ve found that I like a simpler set up with just the things I need or use regularly.   Of course, it helps that when I want a change of scenery I just have to walk a few feet to the living room or out into the backyard.   I know it probably still looks cluttered to the minimalists out there, but for me, this is pretty bare bones.  ;)

I do have a few items that help make it feel more like me - the mousepad represents my favorite hockey team, and the pen/misc items holder is a memento from a trip to Dallas a friend and I took last fall.  The vitamins are here because this way I won't forget to take them, and the post-it notes often end up on the wall to the right of the picture in lieu of having a whiteboard.   It's not the most glamorous workspace, but it has everything I need for now. "

~  Lisa, Community Manager

Next up, Ami shares her space. 

"I am a bit of a home-office nomad and love working in different places throughout the day, especially if it’s close to coffee or an open window. But, when it’s time to get in the zone, this is my space.

Like many these days, my home office is a shared space for work, hobbies, AND school, but I’ve come to really enjoy the energy of being surrounded by things my family and I love. Music, our gaming setup, and (for me) funky fur rugs that don’t fit anywhere else in the house. It’s a comforting place for fun, creativity and productivity. All the things I want to bring to my work.

Now, when my husband wants to play guitar while I’m on a Zoom call...well, that's a different story. ;)"

~ Ami, Community Moderator

And here is Corey's home office: 

"I recently moved to a new apartment, which has given me the opportunity to create a real workspace. When the pandemic began, I bounced between an office with everything I needed, and working from my kitchen. But, after 5.5 months, of working from kitchen (WFK), it has become clear: without a real workspace, or any ergonomic thought, I was very very very uncomfortable. Over the last 2 weeks in my new home, I have focused on setting up my workspace. While I’m still waiting for my dry erase board, cork board, and other office supplies to arrive, the sit-stand desk has been the ultimate game changer.

Before the pandemic, I used a sit-stand desk at the office. If I found myself hunching over, I would stand up. When I hunched, I noticed I would also feel shoulder pain. Standing, stretching my legs, and working at the same time solved my shoulder pain when I was working out of the office, and it’s working today in my home office! It also has the added bonus of preventing the device on my wrist from reminding me to stand up.

Other crucial items in my workspace include chatchkes: Yoda stand for my digital home assistant, a coaster for my coffee mug, and other items I have yet to unpack. Tools I couldn’t do without include my cell phone stand, headphones, external monitor, and …..the coffee in my coffee mug (not pictured)."

~ Corey, Social and Community Senior Manager

Let us know what you think, and feel free to share a quick pic of your workspace for a chance to be featured here on the Community.   We want to see what you have done, and maybe steal a few ideas for our own spaces.  ;)