Everybody needs a safe and comfortable place to work. Remember you’ll be spending a lot of time in it, especially if you work from home. It’s important to put some effort into creating your ‘infrastructure’ so it works for you.

Identify a space within your present accommodation that will be suitable. It should have, or can be modified to have, the following seven things:

1.      Telephone/internet connection

2.      Fax connection

3.      Power

4.      Good light is necessary if you’re not to succumb to eye strain.

5.      It must be suitable year round. Somewhere comfortable in summer and winter is necessary if you’re to settle into a good work routine.

6.      A suitable desk/work station

7.      An ergonomic chair, especially if you’re using a computer/word processor a lot, is a necessary part of your equipment.

You may need to invest an appreciable sum of money in these things, but you will recoup this many times over through reduction in bad working practises and the optimisation of your workspace environment. You’ll also need a good accounting software package, to keep track of your finances for taxation purposes.