4 Things to Know About Moving When You Work from Home

Moving your home is hard enough, but when you add in moving your entire home office as well, it can become suddenly overwhelming.

Transitioning your primary office space into a new home takes some special consideration to cut down on stress, and make sure you avoid any unplanned time away from work. Or, scenarios like calling into important meetings from your phone because your computer wires are lost, tangled or an unorganized mess.

Here are the four tips to keep in mind so your new home office set up will go smoothly:

1. Make sure to take essential office equipment with you

The biggest stressor when moving is the lack of control. You’re handing over your life and possessions to someone else, and trusting them to get them to your new home safely.

The two things you can best control in the process are:

• Picking a trustworthy moving company. Make sure to check reviews, the Better Business Bureau and ask for insurance information, among other vetting factors
• Being organized when packing, or utilizing professional packing services

When moving your home office, this starts with never packing away anything that you absolutely need to have with you in order to work. Your computer and any important files should travel with you and not in a moving truck. Make sure that on moving day, these items are put away in a dedicated room or closet with the rest of the items you’re taking with you, so movers don’t accidentally pack them.

Even once you’ve reached your new home, you may be spending some time without your items. They might be packed away in a box, or if you’ve moved long distance, you may be spending a week or so without your goods since these large moving trucks rarely follow you “door-to-door,” and instead have a route they need to follow with multiple deliveries alongside yours.

By making sure you keep all essential work items with you, you’ll avoid any unforeseen downtime.

2. Enlist help to avoid stress and time away from work

Sometimes, you have to bring in the reinforcements to help you keep your sanity when moving.

When you work from home, there is no escaping the moving tasks that can pile up, so it can be immensely helpful to employ a trustworthy moving company to come in to quickly and securely pack up items while you work.

Professional packing means that everything goes smoothly on moving day too, and there are no delays – the trained packers know exactly how everything should be put together and labeled so the crew can come in and execute the move without delay.

If you have electronic office equipment that you just can’t take with you for whatever reason, be sure to ask your moving company about their ability to help you pack up these items as well.

Suddath, for example, moves both homes and commercial office spaces, so our crews have experience packing and carefully labeling these items to keep things organized so your office set up is able to be easily replicated in your new home.

3. Thoroughly document your office setup

If you’ll be packing up your office space yourself, thorough documentation is the key when breaking down your home office.

Knowing the precise arrangement of different wires and components will make sure that you don’t end up in your new home office surrounded by wires and not sure where any of them go.

To start, take pictures of your set up exactly the way it is before breaking it down. If you can, put small tabs on cords and label which inputs they go to, or even color code them using nail polish, and assign each color a different input. You never realize how many similar looking cords and cables you have until you’re trying to put everything back together again – this is a tedious job, but you will be thankful you did it.

Effective cord and cable management isn’t something you can necessarily put on your resume, but it’s nonetheless a valuable skill when it comes to making sure you aren’t wasting time untangling cords instead of working.

4. Make your new office feel like home

When you’re prioritizing what needs to be set up and unpacked in the new home, make sure your office is at the top of your list.

Even if you’re moving with your family, make sure that this space is just as important as everyone else’s needs – it’s airplane air mask procedure. Basically, you’re no good to anyone else if you haven’t made sure you have what you need first.

Getting settled as quickly as you can is just that critical when it comes to being fully productive in your new workspace. If you’re able to be productive while working, that means you can optimize your work time, and have the physical and mental energy to devote to the rest of your home and family.

Just getting everything set up and working is only the beginning. The above steps are great for getting organized quickly, but you also need to feel excited about your new space. Paint an accent wall, hang up new art, or just buy some flowers to put in a vase.

Not only will it help you to have a Zoom background your coworkers will be envious of, but it will make your new office space a peaceful oasis from the inevitable moving upheaval.

Studies even show that changing your workspace can help invigorate your creativity and mood – when you work from home, there aren’t often a lot of big changes to your environment, so take full advantage of your move and see it as the adventure should be.

There are different types of packing services available if you’re looking for help. Feel free to contact us to talk about options for your next household move.