Believe it or not there are some people who think that all you need in the way of office furniture is a desk and a chair. Oh, that it were that simple. If all you had in your office was a desk and a chair, your desk would be so cramped and crowded that you would never get anything done! This is an article on how to boost your business productivity with the proper office furniture.

For office furniture, you will need (at minimum): a desk, a desk chair, at least one regular chair, a printer cart, a filing cabinet and a table and chairs (if you have the space) and a set of shelves.

The desk: This is the most important piece of office furniture you will ever buy. Obviously you need a large enough desk to work at a computer and to do paperwork. Some people accomplish this by investing in an “L” shaped desk—that way they can keep the computer on one portion and have the other “leg” to spread out their paper work. Trying to do your paper work or read reports or organize files on the same desk that your computer is on (if it isn't “L” shaped) can be a nightmare. What do you do with the computer keyboard? The more space you have on your desk, the better.

The Desk Chair: This is the second most important piece of office furniture you will ever buy. Should have arms and be comfortable. The new word is “ergonomic” meaning that your spine is supported correctly. You will, after all, be spending a lot of time at your desk. You need to sit correctly and be comfortable!

The Printer Cart: Holds the printer (obviously) so that you can have more space on your desk. The printer cart can also hold a fax machine in the event that you do not yet have an all-in-one printer. The printer cart should have room for reams of paper as well.

The Filing Cabinet: this might seem superfluous, especially if you are just starting your office, but before long you will have many files and you will need a large filing cabinet in which to store them. A large filing cabinet is also a good way to keep your files organized. Keeping them all in one drawer wastes time when you really need to find something.

The Table and Chairs: These are where you will hold meetings. They are also a good place to really spread out projects you might be working on, particularly if you are working with more than one person.

The Set of Shelves: Your shelves will hold all of your reference texts and any binders. Many offices do filing in binders and use binders as a way to keep project information separate.

Office furniture is a more complicated subject than most people think it is. Most people think that all an office needs is a desk and a chair, but to really be productive, an office needs so much more than that!