How to Set Up a Home Office on a Budget

Pictures of home offices tend to show standing desks, ring lights and three monitors. Most people working remotely have a table, a laptop and a corner of a room. That is enough, provided you get a few things right.

Where to spend

• A chair that supports your back. You will sit in it for hours. A good second-hand office chair often costs less than a new cheap one.
• Your connection. A stable internet plan and, if possible, a cable to the router. See what internet speed you need.
• A headset or earphones with a microphone. Clear sound matters more in calls and interviews than video quality.

Where to save

Desks can be any stable table at the right height. Laptop stands can be a stack of books. Lighting can be a lamp you already own. Webcams built into recent laptops are fine for most calls. Software is often provided by the employer or project.

Ergonomics without equipment

1. Raise the screen so its top edge is roughly at eye level.
2. Use a separate keyboard and mouse if the screen is raised; they are inexpensive.
3. Keep forearms roughly level with the desk and feet flat on the floor or a box.
4. Get up every hour, even briefly.

Light and sound

Put your desk where light falls on your face, not behind you. In a noisy home, a soft-furnished room or even a closet full of clothes reduces echo for calls and recordings.

A fixed spot

Working from the same place each day — even one end of the kitchen table — helps you start and stop. Packing the laptop away at the end of the day is a surprisingly effective way to end work when your office is your home.

A starter setup, in order of priority

1. A supportive chair, new or second-hand.
2. A stable internet connection, ideally with a cable to the router.
3. Earphones or a headset with a microphone.
4. Something to raise the laptop to eye level, plus a separate keyboard and mouse.
5. A lamp or a desk position facing a window.
6. Later, if the work needs it: a second monitor.

Buy in this order and stop when the work feels comfortable. Many people find the first four are all they need for months.

Small spaces

In a studio or shared room, a folding table and a box for your equipment can work well. Packing everything away at the end of the day keeps the space feeling like home, and gives you a clear signal that work has finished.