An office space is a home away from home, where you spend the majority of your time creating, managing, and maintaining. In order to work at your greatest potential, you need an office which suits the needs of you and your business. It should inspire productivity and accurately represent you as a professional.

Designing an office that is both comfortable and efficient is a delicate balancing act, but with these eight tips, you’ll have a workspace that works for you.

1. Your Office Should be Well Organized

When designing an office, be sure to have several drawers, cabinets, and shelves to properly organize and store items. It’s said that a desk reflects the worker’s mind, and this also applies to the entirety of the office. If your workspace is cluttered and disorganized, it becomes difficult to complete your necessary tasks, and makes you feel burdened and frustrated. Additionally, should you receive visitors, the office will project a sense of unprofessionalism. Proper organization will improve your mood, your productivity, and your image.

2. Your Office Should be Properly Lit

Be sure that your office has ample lighting, as studies have proven that light has a profound effect on mood and productivity. If your office is dark or unevenly lit, it will inspire negative emotions making you feel tired, depressed, and generally unmotivated. This will not only cut into your output but the quality of your work. An office should inspire, so take advantage of all natural sunlight available. Should you not have access to windows, you can utilize artificial lighting that is soft and indirect, resembling natural light. This will create a welcoming workspace you’ll feel stimulated in.

3. Your Office Should Reflect Your Style of Business

When decorating your office, it’s vital to remember your workspace reflects you as a professional. When receiving clients, their first impression should be an accurate representation of your business and what you offer. For example, banks should inspire professionalism and efficiency, and are therefore painted with neutral colors and decorated conservatively. However, a photographer’s studio should exude creativity, and often is decorated with bright colors and unusual furniture. Be sure to decorate your office in a manner that echoes your business. In addition to clients, you will also receive the same sense of professionalism or creativity and feel empowered for work.

4. Your Office Should be Spacious

Keep in mind that your office should inspire positive moods while being efficient; creating a space which offers decent room to work inside of accomplishes both. If your office space is cramped and enclosed, you will feel pressured, and visiting clients will feel equally uncomfortable. If your office is physically small, or should you be sharing it with a co-worker, arrange your desk and other furniture so they offer as much room as possible, and include mirrors to add depth. With an adequate amount of space, your office will seem tidy and well-organized.

5. Your Office Should Have Personal Touches

An office should complement your mental outlook, making you feel capable and excited to work. Adding your own unique flare to a workspace will add a sense of ownership and belonging, which will inspire you to focus. This should be in moderation, so as not to overwhelm the professionalism of your office, but a few decorative pictures on the wall or a family photo on your desk is a quality balance. Additionally, clients will notice these small touches and feel more at ease.

6. Your Office Should Have Proper Seating

When furnishing your office, choosing appropriate seating is a minor but vital detail. Office work means you spend the majority of your time sitting, and should you have a chair which is uncomfortable or unsupportive of your spine, you can experience long-term effects on your health. A common complaint of office workers is chronic back pain that occasionally develops into permanent injury or discomfort. This will affect your ability to work, causing distraction or, worse, forcing you to take long breaks to relieve the pain and prevent work altogether. Choose proper chairs that support your spine and encourages good posture.

7. Your Office Should Have Appropriate and Reliable Tools

Efficiency and order are paramount when designing your office, so be sure to have tools which are necessary, updated, and reliable. This can include a well-functioning computer, a quality stapler, a capable phone, and other necessary tools. Ensuring your office is equipped with the most quality essentials is perhaps expensive and time-consuming, but will boost your production and exude professionalism. For example, having a high-quality computer will prevent time wasted combating slow processing speed or glitches. In addition, this will establish an image of capability and status to any visiting clients.

8. Your Office Should Suit Your Working Style

When creating an office space, you must ensure it’s properly arranged to suit your unique working requirements. For example, if you have difficulty concentrating and desire privacy, but share an office with a co-worker, angle your computer so you are the sole viewer. For long hours on a keyboard, try placing your desk in a way that allows the most comfortable slant for your wrists. This will create a sense of customization and comfort, increasing your productivity

When designing an office, it’s important that it is efficient, productive, and inspires positive creativity. With these tips in mind, you’ll have created a workspace which accomplishes all this at once.