Four Women, Four Careers, Four Workspaces

A realistic approach to creating a healthy and productive workspace at home

Sashenka Paatz
8 min readMay 25, 2020

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Minimalist home workspace. (Sketch by Faith Pickran)

What do two photographers, a marketing strategist, and an interior decorating student all have in common? They are all women doing their best to create a successful workspace in their home.

Making a space to work from home that allows you to be both healthy and productive has become a necessity for many people. Whether you’ve been running your own business out of your home for years, have started working remotely for a company by choice, or have been forced to practice isolation from your workplace due to COVID-19, almost everyone has experienced the pros and cons of working from home.

One of the top three most important, and yet difficult, aspects of working from home is setting up a workspace. The government has done a great job of providing helpful suggestions for working remotely. However, their list of tips is anything but exhaustive.

These four women have banded together to help me give you a guide, albeit raw and realistic, for setting up and thriving in your unique home workspace.

The Room

Pick a room with the fewest potential for distractions. While working from a coffee shop, library, or even your own kitchen can be stimulating, those places are not sustainable and are full of distractions.

Lead Marketer and Social Strategist for Funstans Marketing, Hattie Dunstan, finds herself struggling with constant distractions even after working from home for over 15 years. Dunstan loves working from home, even with its setbacks. In order for her to be near her family while still being productive, she has picked a quiet and closed-off room. Though it sounds anti-social, this is the prime location for a home office.

“Distractions like my daughter and husband, also snacking all the time, are the most difficult parts of working from home. I’m glad my home office is further from the kitchen now.” — Hattie Dunstan

Take it from Eva Derrick, a Photographer and Communications Director at Vineyard Bride. Derrick has been working from her house, which is undergoing a full renovation, since COVID-19 sent her home.

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Sashenka Paatz

Canadian journalist, traveller and teacher with a passion for creativity, organization, teaching and advocating for others.