Welcome to Part Two of our series of articles on home office

essentials. The last article discussed ergonomics and office

furniture and your working environment. This next article will

take that a step further and also look at the computer aspect

of your home office. Decorate It

Some people design their home offices to be like a real world

office. They take it that step too far though and strip their

home office of all character and warmth. There's no need for

your home office to be sterile and boring. In fact it should

be just the opposite. Seriously consider adding plants. They're a healthy decoration

in so many ways. The colour green has a positive affect on

our thought patterns. This combined with the fact that plants

filter toxins from the air around us is another great reason

for having a "green" office. Hate those motivational posters you saw in work? Do you know

why? They never "spoke" to you as a person. They were just

corporate spindoctoring that meant nothing to you. Choose one

single motivational poster that speaks to you and put it

somewhere you can always see it. Even if it only makes you

smile once during a working day because it's cheesy that's a

positive influence on you. Last but not least consider having your mission statement

printed out, framed and on your desk in front of you. You

don't have a mission statement? Get one! Write it now!Your

mission statement is the reason you started your home business

- make sure you are reminded of this every single day. It will

push you forward when you need encouragement the most. Your Computer

Stop. This is the point where you need to be really, really

honest with yourself. Computers are expensive and tempting.

The question you need to ask yourself is "What do I need in my

computer?" and not "What kind of computer do I want?"Your home office does not *need* the latest superfast,

supercool computer, printer, scanner, digital camera and

external storage. You want this stuff. You don't necessarily

need it. Your business needs functionality. You business needs cost

effectiveness. Buy what you need for your business. Do not buy

what you want for yourself. Tips for buying your home office computer. * Mid-range processor power

Ignore the super poweful, super expensive next generation

processors. They won't help you type that document any faster. * 512MB of RAM

This is a minimum. If you can afford 1GB get it. If you can

afford more get it. More RAM is always better. * 40GB hard disk

What are you going to put on a 200GB hard disk? MP3s, movies

and games. In other words 200GB of distractions. 40GB - 80GB

is more than adequate for home office use. * 3D Graphic Accelerator

Next generation 3D chipsets are not essential business

equipment. Most modern computers will have a 3D chipset by

default. Simply don't go upgrading this because you're only

doing it to play the latest games. Don't buy a distraction. CDRW or DVDRW drive

If you value your business you'll value your data. A CD or DVD

writer/burner gives you the ability to safely and quickly

backup your data. Do not buy a PC without one. LCD/Flat screens

MTV Cribs has sold more flat screen tvs than any marketing

campaign could hope to. Will a 21" LCD screen make you work

faster or better? Nope. CRT monitors are cheaper and do the

same job. If its supplied as standard with the system then

that's fine. Don't go spending money on an LCD upgrade. Extended warranties

Sales people make large commissions from these. Do you really

need a 5 year warranty on your computer? Will you still own

the same computer in even 3 years? Never take these warranties

at face value. Generic Brand Computers

Just because it isn't Dell, IBM, HP or Compaq doesn't mean

it's cheap. Generic brands use the same components as and are

therefore equally as reliable as the big name brands like HP

and Dell. Buy smart. Refurbished systems

If the budget is tight and the spec is right then these are

well worth considering. Be certain of what your warranty cover

on such a system is though. Many refurbished systems only have

a 90-day warranty. Phone-A-Friend

Check with friends who have purchased computers recently. What

problems did they encounter when buying their PC? Who did they

buy from? What was the aftersales service like?Printer

Does your business really need a top-of-the-range color

laserjet that prints 7,000 pages per minute? Nope? Didn't

think so. Here's a brief list of questions you should ask yourself when

buying your printer:* Do you need color printing capabilities?* How many pages per minute do you actually need to print?* What is the cost per page for color and black printing?* How much does replacement ink/toner cost?* How many pages of black text can you get from each

cartridge?* How much desktop space will the printer require?* Are updated drivers and tech support for this model readily

available?Hopefully this set of articles has proven useful to you. Again

a few thousand words can't possibly encompass everything you

need to know about designing and operating a home office.

www. home-office-advisor. com is there for that purpose. This article was provided courtesy of Home Office Advisor. com which contains tons of information on home office design

Author:
Niall Roche