I rarely discuss the actual physical space that I work within, here in my home office. I’m not sure why, because it is certainly relevant, but I think that after all this time, I tend to just take it for granted. However, after reading a few interesting blog posts over on Randy Duermyer’s HomeBusiness blog, I thought it would be fun to explore this topic a little more.

First, I recommend you take a look at some of Randy’s posts on the topic. Here are a few:

Make a List of What Needs to be Done to Prepare Your Home for Business
Home Office Design Ideas
A Great Home Office – From Dream to Reality

My Home Office Workspace Setup

So what does my home office look like? It’s a 10×10 room with a large U-shaped desk with hutch that takes up most of the space. My chair is my most important piece of furniture. I sat in chairs for a full day at Office Depot before deciding which one would be right for me. Trust me, a quick sit won’t work. You need to actually sit in a chair for at least 5 minutes (preferably longer) to get an idea of how it will really feel in long-term use. I think the Office Depot employees were a little annoyed with my long stay there, but in the end, they made a sale, and I got a chair that was right for me. Don’t underestimate the importance of the right chair.

Below is a fairly close representation of both my desk and chair.

I have both a desktop high-powered machine with a large 22″ monitor as well as a very small laptop (the precursor to netbooks) on my desk. My desktop machine is my main workstation, and it runs Linux Mint as its operating system. My little laptop mostly sits around, running Windows XP, in case I ever need to view something in Internet Explorer or have to run an occasional app that I can’t emulate in Linux. I have a multi-function printer/scanner/fax machine to round out the equipment I use.

My desk is pretty much covered with scraps of paper at all times – usually little notes that I’ve jotted down as I thought of them – to be dealt with later. Although I also keep electronic notes in a similar manner, I still jot things down on paper as well. Sometimes, it’s just easier.There’s not much else to say. The desk is large enough to handle all the files, folders, paperwork, books, and gadgets I can throw at it. I’ve got just enough space but not too much.What about you? Should I be considering some really cool home office thingy that you can’t live without?