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2020 has definitely proven to be a year of changes. Due to the ongoing Covid-19, many of us have been experiencing changes in the way we live and work. During this period, a lot of us have been working from home for months due to office closure and safe distancing measures. While some might be enjoying a comfortable working life at home, some might still be scrambling to set up the perfect permanent home office.

Here are some small home office upgrades ideas that may not only improve your overall efficiency but also bring benefits to help your body feel better.

1. Furniture upgrade for your home office

Image credit: Herman Miller, IKEA

Lack of a dedicated home office space? Don’t worry, you can still have a productive setup with the following furniture. Your body will definitely thank you for adding these essentials to your workstation.

• Ergonomic office chair: This will be a perfect addition to give your back some love. Walking around and stretching only provides temporary relief. A comfy ergonomic chair can minimise backaches and also help you focus better.
• A sit/stand desk: If you’re experiencing aches from sitting too long, you can always give standing desks a try. Some perks of standing desk include a lower risk of weight gain, reduced back pain and improved energy levels. You can also purchase a 2-in-1 stand/sit table from IKEA that comes with adjustable heights based on your preferences.

2. Tech upgrades that every home office needs

Now that you’ve the perfect chair and desk for your home office, you’d need some tech upgrades on top of a good stable Wi-Fi too. Having the right tech tools on hand can definitely help you to increase your productivity while working from home. With this in mind, here are some tech upgrades you can try.

• Ergonomic wireless mouse and keyboard: With these wireless tech gadgets, you’ll be able to move around your workstation comfortably and even work from anywhere around your home.
• Earbuds and headphones: Working from home can be distracting. By using noise-cancelling earbuds, it can help to drown out unwanted noises at home. This will also be useful for meeting sessions too.

3. Home interior upgrades for a refreshing new look

Now that you’ll be spending a large part of your life at home, why not make some small changes to your existing home environment to spice things up? By having a small home makeover, it’ll give your home a new lease of life at a fraction of the cost.

Here are some ideas to upgrade your home interior vibe:

• Changing your wall colours: By giving your wall a fresh new coat of paint, not only will it give your home a different feel, but it can also add a new layer of protection from moisture. You’ll also be able to have a nice clean wall as your conference calls background.
• Decluttering your home: Throw or donate items that you don’t need anymore. This will help to free up space in your home for you to move around and work too. Decluttering your home can also help reduce stress and anxiety.
• Renting a self-storage to store your items: A self-storage is like an extension of your living space where you can store and retrieve your business inventory, family items and even seasonal items anytime, any day, 24/7. With a mini storage unit in Hong Kong, you’ll be able to free up some space at home. It can also be a temporary storage solution for those who are planning to do some home renovation.

If you’d like to learn more about how self-storage can help you and your family, you can always contact Extra Space Asia Self-Storage at 3974 6000. Feel free to also visit our storage facilities to check out our storage services and the various storage unit sizes that we offer.

A clean home can definitely improve our wellbeing after a long day of work or school. Did you know there are plenty of benefits for maintaining a clean home such as having better health, lesser stress and also providing conducive environment for those who work or study at home? We know that it can take a lot of effort and time to keep our home clean. So, here are 3 simple tips you can try right now!

1. Having good personal hygiene

Personal hygiene is how we take care of our body, and it is definitely never too early to start teaching the basics of cleanliness. We can always start educating our children with good personal hygiene habits with a simple routine like washing our hands with soap, cleaning up after using something and also making our bed when we wake up. These routines can help start healthy habits, and they will naturally adopt them over time.

2. House Cleaning Schedule

Coming up with a house cleaning schedule should not take so much time away from your family or personal time. Streamline your house cleaning chores to be done on a daily or weekly basis. By introducing this batching routine, you will also have a clear idea of what needs to be done, and share the cleaning load with your family members if needed.

For daily chores, a simple checklist may look like this:

• Make our beds
• Clean up our dirty dishes
• Clean and wash the coffee maker
• Wipe our dining tables or kitchen counters after use
• Laundry when required

As for weekly household chores, consider including the following tasks:

• Vacuum and mop the floors
• Discard expired food
• Dust furniture
• Clean the microwave
• Change bedding when required

The list will differ according to our household needs. The perks of having a house cleaning schedule are that all cleaning chores can be evenly distributed among our family members. In this case, it would not take too much time and effort for one to tackle the chores, and this daily upkeep will also minimise the overall workload come spring cleaning season.

3. Decluttering Spaces at Home

Did you know that living in a clean and organised space improves overall productivity? That is because the clean environment can help to improve the indoor air quality, allowing you to sleep better, and reduce the chances of family members getting sick.

If you are intending to incorporate the idea of a home office to your existing home, decluttering can be a good start to make extra space for the new home office. We can all start by throwing, donating and selling. If you have items such as memorabilia, big bulky furniture and seasonal items that you do not need now, consider renting an affordable and reliable storage space.

By renting self-storage unit at Extra Space Asia, you can enjoy extra space, and also be able to retrieve your items any time when needed. Benefits of renting a storage unit also include the flexibility to change your storage unit size at any time. This means if you need to bring in more business inventory for your growing home business, you can upsize your storage unit. Don’t need that much space anymore? Simply downsize!

Should you have any storage questions, feel free to visit any of our Extra Space Asia storage facilities or call us!

Unsure how much space your business inventory require? Don’t fret, with our Warehouse Storage at Hung Hom, you will only be paying for the space you use. PM us today to find out more!

With the current outbreak of the Coronavirus disease, also known as COVID-19, many private enterprises, companies and civil servants have adopted the idea of “working from home” or splitting offices to reduce the number of employees in the workplace over a prolonged duration. This flexible workplace idea is largely also an emergency ‘social distancing’ measure that may significantly help to minimise the number of people being affected. However, most of us might not be used to this working arrangement. Worry not! Here are 3 tips to help you stay productive at home.

1. Establish Constant Communication

With everyone working from home, it can be challenging to communicate with your teammate immediately. In this case, companies and departments can explore the option of setting up video chats and phone calls with the relevant teammate on a regular basis during office hours. Another solution that organisations can try would be establishing teleconferencing and collaboration tools that can help teams to be more productive. These tools include the following free applications that are available on android, iOS, Mac and Windows:

1. Slack: A collaboration tool where you can send direct message and files to a group or user. You can also easily create a voice and video calls too.
2. Trello: An online corkboard where you can organize the “cards” into different lists so everyone on your team can be updated on your work progress.
3. G-Suite: Connect and access all files and documents instantly wherever you are. All your colleagues can also create documents on-the-go, and everyone will be able to see the updated docs on Google Drive too.

2. Find your Work-life balance

Trying to squeeze everything into just 24 hours is hard! In addition, most of us could be quite new to the idea of working from home and would find it hard to work for a straight 8 hours at home, like in our office environment. In this case, you need a clear plan.

With applications like G-suite’s calendar application, it allows all to see everyone’s schedule without calling or messaging. It can also clearly state all the meeting details and time that one has to take note. Considering all of these important timings, start planning your other workload around it with the idea of time-blocking and also including small breaks in between. This can help one to stay productive and not burnt out while working from home. You can also share the list with your team members to get their inputs if they need some projects to be cleared on that day.

With so much time spent at home during the outbreak of Coronavirus, we should all still strive to achieve a work-life balance and to also stay mentally and physically healthy.

3. Declutter Your Space

Living in a tidy and organised space allows you to be more productive while you work from home. By having a clean home, it would also look good and professional when you are having a video teleconference with your teammates or clients.

Did you know by organising and keeping your home orderly and decluttered, it provides you with a space to focus and be more productive too? Especially during this Covid-19 outbreak situation, having a clean space helps you improve the overall indoor air quality, sleep better and reduce the chances of getting sick. Here are more ways to keep your home clean.

During this period, if you need a storage space to store all those hardly used items or big bulky boxes of personal and family items, come store them all at Extra Space Asia Self-Storage! By storing your items in a self-storage unit, you will be able to enjoy extra space to work and rest. After all the decluttering, it would also be much easier for you to clean, vacuum and sanitize all surfaces at home when necessary.

On top of keeping our home clean and organised, it is also important that we practice social responsibility during this crucial period. This includes observing good personal hygiene, monitoring our own health conditions and staying at home to rest if unwell. Please see a doctor if you have fever, cough and difficulty in breathing. We should also practice and maintain social distancing of at least 1-2 metre between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing. Social distancing reduces transmission of the Covid-19 virus effectively and lessen the impact on the already stretched healthcare services. We should abide to social distancing especially at public spaces like our offices, hawker centers, supermarkets, shopping malls etc. where the flow of people tend to be higher.

Lastly, we hope that everyone will continue to stay safe and healthy. Please also be kind and support one another during this Covid-19 period.