Before we go any further, let’s be clear: There’s no such thing as a productive home office. There are productive people who work from comfy, well-organized, visually appealing home offices, but there are no offices that inspire productivity all on their own.

These 5 ideas will help you create an environment that encourages you to jump in and get more work done and be more mindful in your work while enjoying a level of comfort that boosts your productivity.

Idea 1: Get lots of plants and scatter them around

Vibrant, green plants and colorful flowers are an instant boost to any indoor space, but it’s especially invigorating to add house plants to a home office. A few splashes of bright and deep greens throughout your work space are proven to improve mood and increase oxygen levels in the room.

Plus, if you get lonely while working, studies show that talking and singing to plants helps them grow. That's a win-win. 

Idea 2: Spend a day cleaning and organizing it all

It’s worth it to dedicate one of your precious weekend days organizing your home office. Start at the bottom and work your way up. When you’ve committed an entire day to the process, you’ll be pleasantly surprised when it only takes an hour or two. Don't have time to clean and organize the space? Consider working with a call answering service who can handle all your phone calls and take messages while you work on cleaning your office thoroughly. Do this monthly to ensure you never lose important documents or accumulate too much clutter. Keep your office clean to make it comfy!

Idea 3: Choose a color that looks peaceful

While the color blue is universally recognized as a peaceful hue that depicts calmness and tranquility, not everyone loves it. Choose a color that seems the most calming and peaceful to you, and make that your office’s bold, featured color. Pepper it everywhere you can, with storage cubes, walls, chairs, staplers, keyboard covers, etc. Each time you see the color, you'll feel a little more comfy in your space. 

Idea 4: Dim the lights to create a comfy vibe

Dim those lights a little to up the comfort factor of your home office. There's no need to adopt mole-like characteristics, though--invest in a light dimmer switch that allows you to turn up the lights when it's time to get things done and dim them a bit when you're in the zone and looking to get comfy.

Idea 5: Look for furniture you can basically melt into

Just because it’s an office doesn’t mean you have to sit at a rolling chair in front of a traditional desk. If you prefer something a little different than the traditional desk chair, try something new! An extra large, over-stuffed beanbag chair could be a comfortable choice that makes you feel like you’re having fun at work. You might try sitting on a fluffy pillow on the floor or switching to a wooden chair that is designed to encourage you to shift your weight or get up and move around every hour or so. And sitting on exercise balls has been shown to increase your core strength and improve focus.

There's no reason your home office should hold you prisoner with uncomfortable angles, bright lights, and abrasive colors. Design your office with these 5 ideas in mind to create a comfy space that encourages you to get more done.

Do you have any tips for creating a comfortable home office? Please share them with us in the comments! 

Debra Carpenter is the Senior Content Strategist at Conversational. She contributes to publications like Huffington Post, Tech.co, Business.com, and more. She’s always writing and learning more about small business, business psychology, and customer service. You can get in touch on Twitter @hello_itsdeb or via email at debra@conversational.com.