Setting up a workspace at home: a practical guide

A comfortable home spot for remote work and online study: desk and chair, light, noise, reliable internet, power cuts and the line between work and home.

Remote work and online study are no longer just for programmers: an accountant in a regional town keeps clients’ books from home, and a student follows an online course from a hall of residence. They all face the same question: where and how should I work at home? Most people do not have a separate study, and home comes with children, guests, the television and noise from the kitchen. In this guide we look at how to set up a comfortable workspace even in a small flat or a busy family home: choosing a spot, the desk and screen, light and noise, reliable internet and preparing for power cuts, cables, the line between work and home life, digital order and security. At the end you will find three real-life examples, common mistakes, a practical exercise and a checklist.

Choosing a spot when there is no spare room

The ideal is a separate room with a door you can close, but many families simply do not have one. What matters is not the room itself but having a fixed spot set aside only for work. When you sit in the same place every day, your brain switches into “work mode” faster, and everything you need is always within reach.

When choosing a spot, answer these questions:

Is this where the fewest people pass by during the day? A corridor, the way into the kitchen or the middle of the living room are poor choices. A corner of a room, a place by the window or one side of a bedroom are better.
Is there a socket nearby? If an extension lead runs across the room, someone will trip over it.
Does the Wi-Fi signal reach it? More on this below.
What can be seen behind you? On video calls your background matters too. Our article on online meetings explains in detail how to prepare it.
Can the spot be cleared away after work? In a small home the workspace needs to turn back into an ordinary room in the evening.

Ideas for a small flat or a large family

A corner desk. A small desk in the corner of a room takes up little space, and with a wall behind you, nobody walks past your back.
A spot by the windowsill. Many homes have wide windowsills. Put a small desk next to one and you will have plenty of light.
Dividing with a wardrobe or shelving. An open shelving unit or a curtain visually separates part of the room. It does not block sound, but it creates a boundary that says “someone is working here”.
A folding desk. A wall-mounted or folding desk frees up the space once work is done.
A “work box”. If there is no fixed spot at all, keep your laptop, charger, headphones, notebook and pen together in one box or bag. You take the box out when you start and pack everything away in a minute when you finish.

Desk, chair and screen: ergonomics in brief

Ergonomics is a big subject in its own right, so here we cover only the essentials. The aim is simple: your neck, back and wrists should not ache even after several hours of sitting.

Desk and chair

Desk height. With your hands on the keyboard, your elbows should form roughly a right angle and your shoulders should not be raised.
Chair. Your feet should rest flat on the floor and your lower back should touch the backrest. If the chair is too high, put a small box or a thick book under your feet. If the backrest does not support your lower back, place a cushion or a rolled-up towel behind it.

Screen at eye level

The top of the screen should be at or slightly below eye level, roughly an arm’s length away. If your laptop sits flat on the desk, you are constantly looking down at it, which is where the end-of-day neck ache comes from.

The fix for a laptop has two parts:

A stand. Put the laptop on a proper stand, a few thick books or a sturdy box to raise the screen to eye level.
An external keyboard and mouse. Once the screen is raised, typing on the laptop keyboard becomes awkward. So connect a separate keyboard and mouse; they stay on the desk at a comfortable height for your hands.

Light and noise

Daylight and lamps

The best arrangement is with the window to one side. If the window is directly behind the screen, your eyes tire from the contrast between the bright background and the darker screen. If the window is behind you, sunlight reflects off the screen. In summer the midday sun in Tashkent or Termez can make a screen almost unreadable; a light curtain or blinds will soften it.

In the evening, do not work by the light of the screen alone: have both the main room light and a desk lamp on. Place the lamp on the side opposite your writing hand (on the left if you are right-handed) so the shadow of your hand does not fall on the paper. Point the light at the desk, not at the screen.

Noise and headphones

Home is never completely quiet: children, a neighbour’s renovation, the clatter of pots and pans. In these conditions:

Headphones are the simplest solution. Closed-back headphones reduce outside noise. Headphones with a microphone also make your voice clearer on calls.
Microphone noise suppression. Many video-call platforms, and the sound settings on some computers, have a noise suppression feature; switch it on.
Plan around noisy times. Schedule important calls for when the children are at school or asleep.

We covered dealing with noise and distractions, and setting up phone notifications, in detail in our article on staying focused.

Internet and preparing for power cuts

In remote work the internet is your main tool, so it is worth strengthening your connection and preparing a backup in advance.

Router placement and Wi-Fi signal

Keep the router near the centre of the home. In many homes the router stays by the front door, where the cable comes in. If you can, move it closer to the middle of the home and higher up.
Reduce obstacles. Thick brick or concrete walls, metal cupboards, fish tanks and microwave ovens weaken the signal. Do not put the router inside a cupboard or on the floor.
2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Many routers broadcast two networks. 5 GHz is faster but passes through walls less well; 2.4 GHz reaches further but may be slower. Try 5 GHz in the same room as the router and 2.4 GHz in a room further away.
A cable connection. If you work near the router, connect your laptop with a LAN cable. A cable is more stable than Wi-Fi.
Restarting. If the internet slows down, switch the router off and turn it back on after a minute. If the problem keeps coming back, contact your provider.

If the signal still does not reach a distant room, a Wi-Fi extender (repeater) will help.

Backup: internet through your phone

When the home internet goes down, you can use your phone as a modem:

Android: Settings → Network & internet → Hotspot & tethering → Wi-Fi hotspot (menu names vary slightly between manufacturers).
iPhone: Settings → Personal Hotspot → Allow Others to Join.

Set a password for the hotspot and check your mobile data allowance in advance: video calls use data quickly. If necessary, turn off your camera and join the call with audio only.

Preparing for power cuts

In some areas, especially in winter, the electricity can go off for a while. A router does not work without power, so at such moments only mobile internet is left.

Keep your laptop battery charged. Plug the laptop in at the end of the day. A desktop computer shuts down the moment the power goes, and any unsaved work is lost.
A power bank. A phone working as a hotspot drains its battery fast. A fully charged power bank can save several hours of work.
A small UPS. A small uninterruptible power supply for the router and modem keeps the internet running through short outages.
Save your work regularly. Keeping documents in the cloud or making Ctrl + S a habit helps you avoid losing work when the power goes.
Tell your manager or teacher in advance. An agreement such as “if the power goes, I will join from my phone or be back within 30 minutes” takes the panic out of it.

Equipment, cables and low-budget solutions

Tidy cables

A tangle of wires under the desk is not just untidy but dangerous: children can pull on them, and you can yank them out with your foot.

Plug all your devices into one good-quality extension lead and put it under the desk where feet will not knock it.
Fix the wires along the desk leg with tape, cable ties or ordinary clothes pegs.
Stick small labels on the chargers: “laptop”, “phone”, “router”.
Do not plug extension leads into one another in a chain; this increases the risk of overheating.

What you will need

You do not have to get everything at once. Start with what you already have, then replace whatever causes the most discomfort.

a laptop or computer and its charger;
a laptop stand, or books to do the same job;
an external keyboard and mouse;
headphones with a microphone;
a desk lamp;
an extension lead;
a power bank;
a notebook, a pen and a sheet for the day’s plan;
a water bottle with a lid.

Making use of what you already have

You do not need to buy new furniture for a comfortable workspace:

old books: a laptop stand;
a sofa cushion or a rolled-up towel: lower back support;
a shoebox: a footrest or a “work box”;
an old bag or basket: a place for cables and chargers;
a spare kitchen stool: a stand for a printer or router.

If you do need to buy something, start with what affects your body most: the chair and an external keyboard.

The line between work and home

The hidden risk of working from home is that work never ends: the laptop is always in sight, and in the evening you sit down again “just to answer one email”.

Working hours and “rituals”

Set clear working hours and share them with colleagues, clients and family.
A start-of-work ritual. Instead of the commute, a small habit: get dressed (not in loungewear), make a cup of tea, write down the day’s plan. This signals to your brain that “work has started”.
An end-of-work ritual. Write down three tasks for tomorrow, close the laptop and put the “work box” away. When the workspace is out of sight, thoughts about work fade faster too.
Breaks. Every hour or two, get up, walk around a little and rest your eyes by looking into the distance.

Agreeing with your family and an “I’m working” sign

It is natural for family members to think that someone at home is “free”. So:

tell them your working hours openly and agree when they can come to you without hesitation;
choose a visible sign: an “I’m working” card on the door, a red sheet of paper on the desk or your headphones on;
explain the sign to children as a game: “red means wait, green means you can come over”;
let people know about important calls in advance, so nobody switches on the hoover at that moment.

Digital order and security

Separating work and personal accounts

When work and personal life are mixed in one browser and one account, it is easy to send an email to the wrong person by mistake or lose a work file in a personal folder.

Browser profiles. In Chrome and Edge, create separate profiles: one for work and one for personal use. Each has its own bookmarks, passwords and signed-in accounts.
Separate email. Keep work correspondence apart from your personal email.
Messenger folders. In Telegram, use Settings → Folders (Chat Folders in the mobile app) to create “Work” and “Personal” folders.
Files. One main folder for work files, with clear names. If other family members also use the computer, create a separate user account in Windows.

Home network and device security

Wi-Fi password. Change the router’s default password and set a long Wi-Fi password. Neighbours and strangers should not be able to connect.
Screen lock. Lock the screen when you step away from the desk: Win + L on Windows, Ctrl + Cmd + Q on macOS. A child could accidentally send an email to a client or delete a file.

Read more about passwords, two-factor authentication and protecting yourself from scams in our online safety guide.

Three real-life examples

The examples are illustrative and the names are made up.

Shokhrukh: a freelancer in a rented one-room flat

Shokhrukh is a graphic designer who rents a one-room flat in Chilanzar and works remotely. He used to work on the sofa with the laptop on his knees, and by the evening his back hurt. He could not change the room, so he put a small desk by the window, raised the laptop on a pile of books and connected an external keyboard. The router had been by the front door, so he moved it to the top shelf of a bookcase on the room side. When work is over, the laptop is closed and a dastarkhan tablecloth is spread on the desk, and the room becomes home again. A power bank and mobile internet are always ready for power cuts.

Dilnoza: a mother of three working remotely

Dilnoza works from home as an accountant for a company and has three children. There is no separate room, so she put a desk in a corner of the bedroom and screened it off with open shelving. She moved her main work to the morning hours, when the children are at school and nursery, and schedules important calls for that time too. On the door she hung an “I’m working” card that she drew together with the children. She also created a separate user account for herself on the computer, so her work files are safe when the children play games.

Asilbek: a student in a hall of residence

Asilbek lives in a three-person room in a hall of residence and studies on an online course in the evenings. The desk is shared, so he keeps everything in one “work box”. The hall’s Wi-Fi slows down in the evening, so he downloads video lessons during the day and switches to mobile internet during live classes if needed. Headphones with a microphone protect both his roommates and himself from noise. The agreement with his roommates is simple: from 20:00 to 21:30 nobody talks out loud in the room.

Common mistakes, practical exercise and checklist

Common mistakes

Working in bed. Leaning on a pillow with the laptop on your knees feels comfortable, but your neck and back tire quickly. On top of that, your brain starts to link the bed with work, and your sleep suffers.
Always working at the kitchen table. Fine as a temporary measure, but clearing away the laptop and papers at every meal, spilt tea and family members passing by break your work into pieces.
Sitting with your back to the window. The screen is full of glare, and on video calls your face looks dark.
Internet with no backup. The connection always drops during the most important call.
Work that never ends. The laptop stays open until late, and emails get answered at midnight.
Everything in one account. Work and personal files, passwords and messages get mixed up.

Practical exercise

Reorganise your workspace over one day off:

Pick three possible spots at home and assess each against the five questions above.
Choose the best one and set up the desk and chair there.
Raise the top of the screen to eye level, using books and an external keyboard if needed.
Check the lighting in the daytime and in the evening: is there glare on the screen, does your hand cast a shadow?
Test the internet speed at your workspace and move the router if necessary.
Turn on the hotspot on your phone once and connect your laptop to it.
Gather and secure the cables.
Write down your start and end-of-work rituals and agree on an “I’m working” sign with your family.
Create a work profile in your browser and try the screen lock shortcut.

Checklist

There is a fixed spot for work (or a “work box”).
Feet on the floor, elbows at a right angle, screen at eye level.
The window is to the side, and a desk lamp is on in the evening.
Headphones with a microphone are ready.
The router is in the right place and the phone hotspot has been tested.
The laptop is charged and the power bank is full.
Cables are tidy and the extension lead is in a safe place.
Working hours and the “I’m working” sign are agreed with the family.
Work and personal accounts are separate, the Wi-Fi password has been changed and the screen locks.

A good workspace is not built in a day but through small changes. Fix one inconvenience each week, and within a month working from home will feel much easier.

If you would like to learn the digital skills needed for remote work systematically with a teacher, take a look at our association’s free training programmes. When you are ready, submit an application and our specialists will get in touch.