If you’re telecommuting, having a private, quiet place to get your work done is absolutely critical. You cannot take phone calls with your boss or attend phone-based meetings with kids yelling in the background. And you do need a space that stays consistent so you have room to store your papers, can keep an adjustable height-chair set to the right settings, etc.

But please note, I said a private, quiet place to work is critical. I did not say having a home office is critical.

If you’re lucky, you live in a part of the country (or world) where house prices are low and you can afford something big enough to have your own office, with a door that you can close and block out the rest of the household. If that’s you, you can ignore the rest of this post.

I however live in Silicon Valley, where the downpayment on an average house is the same as the entire price of a house twice the size in many other parts of the country! As such, having enough rooms in your house to have your own office is quite a luxury. That said, there are other ways to find the space you need.

If you have other people at home during the daytime (especially kids) you really need your desk in a room where you can close the door. But if you don’t have an office, you could put the desk in your bedroom, for instance. And if you don’t have kids or other family at home, you can put your desk in a corner of the living room. Or perhaps you can work at one end of the kitchen table - just make sure you can keep your ‘office’ chair in the kitchen, and have a place nearby to store your papers (otherwise you’ll end up with spaghetti sauce stains on them).

 Think creatively. I’ve even known someone who put her desk in a closet that had a window in it. Is there anywhere in your house where you can squeeze out a little extra room?   

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