Working from home can be tough."I'll just check Twitter,"you think,checking Twitter."I'll just make some toast,"you go,forgetting your gluten intolerance."I'll just sit on the sofa in my pants for a bit and watch Jeremy Kyle."You laugh,but come the Olympics,this will be 90 per cent of Britain's office workers.
However,good news time.According to Julie Morgan,an urban design and planning consultant,there are ways to set up and design your home office for optimum concentration levels.And,what's more,it'll look great,too.
"It depends on the type of home,whether it's detached or terraced,"says the expert."Obviously think about your working environment-working environments are more pleasant if there's more sunlight,for example.
"So a sunny room with enough space so that you're not feeling enclosed-these are all things in terms of how people relate to space and what comfortable environments mean to different people."
And key to that office environment is your view.It's not just there to ponder when your mind starts to wander-having a decent landscape to behold out of your window can do your concentration a power of good.
"It may be more relaxing to have a room with a view to the garden,or green open space-for example,if you're in an apartment overlooking a cemetery or a park,"says Julie."It's about how spaces make you feel.You'll be spending a lot of time there,so you want to be as comfortable and relaxed as possible."
If you're working in a constrained home office space-one without a pleasant view,for example,or one that doesn't have a great source of natural light-you can benefit from introducing LED lighting into your office area.
Well,not just the office area.Anything from LED bathroom lights to low-voltage external lights can be installed in your home to make illumination more cost-effective,and as the Guardian's environmental expert Adam Vaughan attests,the bulbs now offer a more complementary,natural-like lighting than before.
"Concerns over the weak or cold quality of LED light have abated,say energy experts,whose verdict is backed up by shoppers posting positive online reviews on Amazon and energy-saving forums,"he wrote this week.
