People’s working habits continue to evolve and more and more people are looking for flexible ways of working, which very often means working from home rather than from an office.

In today’s busy working world, the distance from home to work can often be a long and difficult commute which eats into your working day whilst also impacting on the environment – home working can reduce your carbon footprint with car emissions as well as saving travelling expenses at a time when the cost of petrol and diesel is going through the roof.

Today you do not necessarily need to physically go to work, you just work regardless of the location, and as long as you have the right environment in which to work, supported by the best technology and it works well for you as well as for the company you are employed by then this can be a viable alternative as long as it doesn’t impact on the Customer experience

If you are a small business then, working from home can also provide the advantage of not paying hefty business charges too.

So how do you make this transition from travelling to work to arriving straight to your ‘desk’ which can be a bit jarring first thing on a morning! - go straight to your ‘ to-do’  list and by starting first thing, this can be much more effective than starting with breakfast and allowing the morning sluggishness to set in  – have your breakfast mid-morning when you are ready for a break

Structure your day like you would  a working one (pretend you are actually going to work), working from home means you are your own personal manager, but try to segment what you do over the course of the day, and don’t feel guilty if you take a break!

Take advantage of morning hours to plough through meaty projects without any distractions, and leave calls and virtual meetings for the afternoon, having uninterrupted time can help with higher productivity, and modern technology means you can still attend meetings albeit in a virtual way .

Find out what music motivates you for different tracks, this can help if you have been used to having  noise from an office in the background.

If you work from home, but have other members of the family around then maybe they need reminding that just because you are working from home doesn’t mean you are ‘home’, as it is easy to get distracted by things going on around you.

Put a loose definitive ‘finishing time’ in each day – you would if you had a train to catch, and try not to let your work life bleed into your home life – a boundary for both areas is important

Choose a dedicated work space, this provides you with a place where you specifically ‘ work’, it might be a local coffee shop, table or chair, but you may want to create a room or area within your home that provides a place to work

• It could be the extra bedroom that you don’t use, bedrooms tend to have good natural light as well as overhead lighting, and usually there is some sort of wardrobe that can be used for storage
• If you don’t have space below, then maybe you have space above such as an attic, this can provide enough distance from the main relaxing area of the home , but can also provide an area of peace and quiet
• Always wanted a library at home, then this may make sense to turn this area into somewhere you would want to work too.

If you are looking for a home that provides you with the ideal working space, and that feel of actually ‘going to work’, then take a look at Catton House, 29, Breary Lane, Bramhope – the external space is over 40ft in length, is powered for electricity and also has plumbing.

With windows overlooking the beautiful garden this separate buiIding adjacent to the property provides you with the privacy and space to set up a designated large office (it could also be a gym, extra living area too).

If you are looking to move home, then any property with further outdoor living space/office can also add a price premium to your property too.

To take a look around the beautiful Catton House call now on 01134 676 400.

David Phillip Estate Agents, Leeds Road, Bramhope, Leeds, LS16 9AN w: davidphillip.co.uk

David Phillip Estate Agents – covering Bramhope, Adel, Pool-in-Wharfedale and Otley