Guest Blogger: Designing your Home to Accomodate your Busy Executive Lifestyle

Guest Blogger #360, Entry #943, February 7, 2012

As an executive that works outside the home, you might not think that the design of your house has any effect on your efficiency at the office. And yet, there are many ways in which the layout in your personal space can drastically affect your schedule in terms of how well you manage the time that you’re not at work. So if you constantly feel like you’re rushing around like a chicken with its head cut off, here are just a few design tips for your home space that can actually help to give you the extra time you need and make your life less hectic in the process.

Design your home for your busy lifestyle

Image via: Thezhush

Home office

If you don’t have a home office, you should. You will likely have to work from home on occasion, which means you need a space dedicated to your professional pursuits. It doesn’t necessarily have to house every piece of equipment that your corporate space features, but you should have everything you need. And you should also strive to give the space a comfortable rather than clinical aesthetic. Gray walls may be your only choice at the office, but when you’re at home you should choose colors and décor that make you feel focused and energized in order to make your homework go by fast. And if you’re wondering why you even need a home office, just try falling asleep after doing your work in bed. It’s a good bet that your mind won’t be able to relax once you start to associate the stresses of work with your bedroom space.

Home gym

Don’t waste time going back and forth to an outside gym facility, lugging around a bag with toiletries and clothing. Remove the middle man, in essence, by setting up a home gym to save yourself the time of packing and unpacking a gym bag each day and traveling between the gym and the office or your home.

A central location for personal items

If you don’t have a dedicated space to stash your stuff when you get home, it probably ends up spread from one end of the house to the other, making it that much more difficult to get out the door in the morning. So install a hall tree that has hooks and cubbies for coats, shoes, keys, bags, and peripheral items (like umbrellas). You can grab everything and be out the door much more quickly this way.

Keep all your personal items in one space

Image via: The Decorista

Electronic tablet docks (and other chargers)

You probably have a plethora of mobile devices at your disposal, and while many can provide you with time-saving technology, they’re no good to you if they’re not charged or you don’t have them on hand. Think about placing docking stations or charging pads in several rooms where you frequently access your devices so that you can make the most of them. This way you can set your phone alarm to wake you in the morning, utilize the Stylebook app on your iPad to virtually select your outfit, and catch up on your news feeds while you sip your coffee.

Smart home technology

Incredibly, you can now use your smartphone to remote control various systems in your home, including the alarm, the thermostat, the lights, and even electronics, turning them on and off on the go as your schedule demands. And you thought it was amazing when internet schooling started allowing for bachelors in business or masters in social work online! If you haven’t yet jumped on the smart home trend, this could be a great way to make your home space mesh with your busy lifestyle.

For more home ideas on Stagetecture, click here.