Working from home (at least some of the time) is the new normal. The idea was appealing at first, but when your home “office” isn’t really a home office, working from home can be a significant source of frustration. It's time to stop working in a jerry-rigged space.

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Having the right equipment, physical setup, and workspace ergonomics will significantly improve your comfort, your physical and emotional wellbeing, and boost your productivity.

Welcome to Gimbal’s Tip of the Week, where you get practical, actionable advice you can use right away to start building a more productive and profitable legal practice.

This Week's Tip: Make your home office work for you.

Assuming you'll be working from home for some time to come, whether full-time or in some as yet-to-be defined hybrid fashion, here are a few things you can to get the most out of your work day.

1.  Set Up a Separate Space

It's essential that you separate your personal life from your work life. A spare room would be ideal, but not everyone has one. Even an alcove or a small space that is somehow distinct from the rest of your home and which you can claim as your exclusive work zone, will work to create the psychologic and visual break between home and work.  Your goal is to have enough space to be both comfortable and organized.

2.  Work at Proper Height

Working with a laptop on your knees as you sit on a bed or the couch isn’t healthy or effective because the keyboard is rarely at the right height. While not everyone has the space for or can afford an adjustable standing desk, you should arrange your workstation at the right height. That means using a lap desk or an adjustable chair so that when you sit up straight, your forearms are parallel to the ground, and your wrists should be in a neutral position relative to your forearm (neither bent up nor down when you type, use your mouse or trackpad).

3.  Use a Good Chair

Don't underestimate the importance of a good chair. In addition to helping position you at the proper height relative to your keyboard, a good chair can be adjusted in other ways to support your back and your arms.

4.  Get the Fastest, Most Reliable Internet Service

Invest in the best internet connection you can afford. If you work for yourself, it may be a deductible office expense. If you work for a larger firm, then ask if the firm will subsidize or cover the cost entirely of any upgrade you need to support your IT needs.

5.  Invest in Good Hardware That Meets Your Needs

Be sure that you have hardware that supports your practice needs and the reality of the space you’re working in.

• Do you actually need a laptop or would a desktop, with its larger screen and keyboard, be more appropriate?
• Consider an ergonomic mouse that suits your body and hand position. All mice were definitely not created equal.
• Would you benefit from a split keyboard?
• And what about headphones? Are yours noise-cancelling? Are they comfortable? Do they support high quality, two-way audio?
• Do you need a printer/scanner, an external hard-drive, or a separate screen?

Although space may be a concern, there’s a lot of compact hardware available so you should do your homework. As for the cost…well, we’re talking about the tools of your trade. Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish! Having the right tools will improve the quality of your work and your productivity.

So this week’s tip is to make your home office work for you.

Your action item is to do a quick audit of what you’ve got based on the 5 suggestions above. Replace old hardware, upgrade your software, and get the furniture and equipment to suit your work needs.

Legal professionals who invest in their home office and equipment are better able to transition seamlessly between their workspace at the office and at home. They do better quality work  with less effort, and that adds value for themselves, their firm and, most importantly, for their clients.

They’re much more likely to be recognized as true value-driven legal professionals.

And that’s this week’s tip. If you want information like this once a week, sign up so you never miss a Tip of the Week.

Thanks a lot everybody! See you next week.