A couple of decades ago, the kitchen table was the time honoured alternative to dedicated home office furniture. Since then, a computer has become essential kit for pretty much any enterprise, making the kitchen table an unsuitable ‘solution’, especially when the use of peripherals like a printer or scanner are regularly required. But how about using a laptop, and a wireless printer?

Well, laptops are of course designed to be portable, and can indeed be used in different locations around the home. Wi-Fi networks are widely available and affordable, and can allow you to keep devices like wireless printers tucked out the way in a corner while still within easy enough reach. While using a wireless printer can indeed be a good way to manage limited space when working at home, extended use of a laptop without taking proper precautions can be an easy way to develop neck and back pain.

This does not mean that you have to invest in a dedicated docking station. Simply raising the laptop by sticking a box underneath, so that the top of the screen is at eye level, and plugging in an inexpensive USB keyboard can go a long way to solving potential ergonomic problems.

For prolonged usage, a proper desk chair is other essential part of the mix. Provided that it is the right height, a normal table can fill the role of a dedicated office desk. There is plenty of freely available advice when it comes to setting up a workstation that promotes good posture and working position, and so there is no need to cover these instructions here. The bottom line is that musculoskeletal problems can take a while to surface, but are easy to develop over time, and can be very difficult to correct once established. With the investment of a few hundred pounds in home office furniture, these common but debilitating conditions can be avoided.

Beyond merely squeezing the furniture into the home, you should also consider issues like proximity to an opening window, to provide access to both natural light and fresh air. Situating your workspace near large radiators can also make things a bit uncomfortable, especially in winter. If you will be working with a lot of hard copies and other paperwork, make sure that you factor adequate storage into your home office plan. If space is limited, a simple stacked tray system can usually cope with the paperwork of the day, after which storage in a filing cabinet in another location is feasible.

And I hadn’t really appreciated quite how often it’s used at this time of year for cooking, drinks and… hot water bottles, a very recent discovery and revelation in this house. I have a hazy recollection of using a pink hot water bottle when I was a student living in rented rooms with no central heating, but I must have ditched it long ago.

We have central heating in this house but the bedrom is still cold and the bed freezing to get into. A couple of friends suggested an electric blanket, but somehow it didn’t appeal, too elderly a purchase somehow! Hot water bottles seemed an acceptable alternative, especially when I spied some covered in fake fur in Heals while in London last weekend. And they became positively desirable when I found some almost identical ones in Boots at less than a third of the price!

What a difference! We can’t quite believe how much heat such a retro item generates and how long it lasts. I haven’t had recourse to them yet while working, but never say never, I might yet be following the advice of other home workers on keeping warm.

And they work much better when filled from the kettle (no, not boiling, I’m following maufacturers’ instructions) than a saucepan – I’m just too impatient. A coffee break is much longer without the kettle too (although that could be an advantage for a keen procrastinator).

So I’ll be off as soon as I can to find a new one. I’ve got my eye on one of these red Bodum ones, but they may not be in stock…

The freedom of home working is something many people dream of, but the reality is that it is much more than a change of location. Away from the traditional “office” environment there is nobody to tell you what to do, when to do it, how, why and so forth. You are firmly in charge and the way to succeed is to develop a strong sense of self-awareness. Fortunately you can easily find some useful clues in the way you work now by asking yourself some pertinent questions, such as:

* Do you work alone or as part of a group?
* How much interaction is there between you and your colleagues?
* Do you organise your own work schedule?
* Set your own deadlines?
* Work in a quiet or noisy office?
* Can you work independently or do you rely on others for support or other skills?
* Do you like to bounce ideas off other people before committing yourself?
* How long does it take you to switch off after work?
* Are you happy with your own company?
* Do your family and friends have opinions on the best way for you to work?

These questions, and others you will no doubt think of relating to your own circumstances, will help you identify your strong points and the areas you need to think more carefully about. The answers will help you decide important things such as where in the house to set up your home office, how much time you want or need to spend working alone, what kind of support you’ll need and so on.

For instance, if you don’t think you can always work alone, find out where you can go for coworking locally. If you need IT support, get recommendations from people you trust and find someone suitable before you start working from home. Loathe parts of your essential admin work? A virtual PA will help to lighten the load.

So holding up a mirror to your personal likes, habits and needs and asking yourself some tough questions will give you the best possible start to home working, but at least you won’t need to buy a new outfit for the occasion!

Thank you, Ian, for allowing me to use your work and to www.workshifting.com, the site for people who work out of coffee shops, hotels, airports and their homes every bit as much as the office, where this post was first published.

For several years I have been a daily follower of The Sartorialist blog, in which Scott Schuman photographs stylish people on the street in New York and around the world. Quite often his pictures make me want to drop everything and get on a plane straightaway, especially as he also shoots things that catch his eye, like a shop window or a perfectly laid-out display cabinet.

So the new page is a very humble homage to The Sartorialist, although as my photographic skills are notoriously lacking, I hope you’ll help me out by sending pictures not only of your home working wardrobe, but also of the details that give you pleasure as you go about your day. A chance to stop, and maybe not smell the roses, but at least to admire them!

Because we’re putting the photos on a page, rather than the blog, the layout isn’t as good, but I have adopted the principle ‘Don’t get it perfect, get it out’ and maybe we’ll improve the appearance of the page in time. And speaking of time, the clock above is in The Little Red Cafe in Frome, our favourite haunt for good strong coffee and brainstorming sessions.

I started to wear my sheepskin boots in the office a week or so ago, and last night I got a pair of suede boots out of their box, although I plan to hold on as long as possible before wearing them. Yesterday it was colder in my room than outside and I ended up in a T shirt, jumper and fleece.

Checking on Twitter to find out other home workers’ tips for staying warm, I discovered that layers are universally popular. Clever @Sharon399 boosts their effect by closing the door of her small room and enjoying the heat from her computer and printer. @Domestic_jules adds a hot water bottle, as does @annaglasbrook, who also wears a hat. @FalenaTranslate swears by ‘looooads of tea’ and @WendyRees says I’m not getting a photo of her in ski socks and jumper!

Actually, I think it would be quite fun – stylish is good, but ingenious, environmentally-friendly and warm home workers definitely make the grade too. Oh, and by the way, I’ve already received the first photos for my new page and I’m just waiting for a few more to get me started. Don’t be shy!

Not only that, as he also works from home, he’s on hand to act in all kinds of other capacities, including chauffeur, gardener, chef, diplomat, musician, housekeeper, Reiki practitioner, comedian and supplier of all kinds of emotional and practical support.

This weekend we will have been together 18 years, although it hardly seems possible, and so I’d like to use this Thankful Thursday to acknowledge and appreciate his amazing help.

Lots of people contribute to making home working successful – spouses, partners, employees, friends, colleagues, mums, offspring…

Who is your working from home hero?

I quickly checked my tweets on Saturday morning before going out, which is always a bit of a risk as often when you ‘have a quick look’ at the computer on days off you find things you’d rather not see. But I was delighted to find these tweets from Kelly Ward who runs a cleaning business in Telford and has just read my book Work from Home:

‘Finished your brill book on hols,who knew I was an introverted, intuitive, auditory/kinaesthetic type with Crackberry habit!

‘Fab book, lots of tips in a well written and personable manner…enjoyed the read and will pass it onto others’

It made my day that Kelly had enjoyed the book and picked up some useful tips and especially that she had identified some of her personality traits and preferences – the ‘introverted, intuitive’ etc bit!

I firmly believe that you only get the best out of working from home if you understand yourself and so know how to tailor your home working life to your own personality and circumstances. Chapter 2 in the book covers these points, but I think it’s about time I mentioned them here too. Come back soon if you want to find out whether you are similar to Kelly or maybe sensing, perceiving or visual, and how this apparently trivial information can help you make more of working from home.

OK, enough preening from me. Who’s going to help me make it Thankful Thursday by celebrating a recent success?

I love coffee shops and I find that having one close by is a great advantage when you’re working from home.  It provides a venue for all sorts of occasions – somewhere to go just for a change of scene, for a treat when you’ve completed something difficult, for a different environment in which to get your creative juices flowing, and to meet people either to discuss work or have a good old chat.

My favourite here in Frome is Divas, which is in the same building at the bottom end of town as Black Swan Arts, a gallery and shop, and some artists’ workshops.  The counter display of colourful and healthy food makes you want to start at one side and work your way across to the other, ditto the cakes ranged across the top.  You can sit outside in the pretty courtyard if the weather’s good, and browse the local and national papers while slurping the excellent coffee.  Its only disadvantage is that it’s next to the library, where as you know I’m a regular visitor, so maybe we drop in more than we should – ‘Fancy a coffee?’  ‘Oh, go on then.’

I’d never given it any thought before, having been in the fortunate position of always enjoying the various houses we’ve lived in, but then last summer we sold up in Cornwall to return to Somerset.  We had just one day to find a house to rent and so took the best available on that day.  It was small, but being of minimalist disposition, we decided it would be good for the soul to have a thorough clearing out so we would fit in.

We were determined it would work – after all, another house move was the last thing we wanted – but it became increasingly obvious that it wasn’t working, not at all.  It was the first time I haven’t wanted to get up in the morning because I couldn’t face going downstairs to the dark, cramped ground floor.  Or deliberately tried to stay out as long as possible because I didn’t want to go ‘home’.

As the end of our six month contract drew closer, we realised there was no alternative but to look for another place, despite our dread of the upheaval and hard work of another move so soon.  We found a lovely, spacious, light house very quickly, and have felt much happier ever since we moved in.  Everything is so much easier when you are comfortable in your surroundings.

But this year I have discovered sheepskin boots.  As a fortysomething seriously challenged in the leg length department, I’d never considered myself a candidate for Uggs or their like.  But I noticed a friend of similar age wearing them and she was so enthusiastic that I splashed out a chunk of my Christmas money on a pair.  They are the best purchase I’ve made in years!

Even during the recent snowfalls, my feet have been toasty all day, whether I am sitting at the computer or standing on the ceramic tiles in the kitchen.  And warm feet for this homeworker mean warm body, warmer hands, and a much nicer disposition.  I still wouldn’t dream of wearing them out of the house, but as homeworking attire they are lifechanging.