Creation of a relaxing office can be hugely beneficial to those that work there and also really
impact positively on your bottom line. So, how do you create one?
- Only Keep What You Need on Your Desk, Nothing Else
Although this might be a difficult one to follow, it’s essential when it comes to creating a relaxing work environment. When a desk if filled with unnecessary folders and/or projects that don’t require immediate attention, it becomes quite easy to lack focus and be distracted.
Keeping only what you’re currently working on around your desk will help you make the feng shui of your workspace attentionally. This means that your workspace will essentially be designed to focus only on the most important tasks.
Ideally, you should try to keep only the things you’re currently working on, and be ruthless when sorting out what your biggest priority is. This should help you keep the adult ADD in check.
- Clear any Clutter off Your Desk
While walking to your workspace, does it invite you in, or does it give you a feeling of dread? Don’t expect to have a relaxing workspace if it’s crowded with piles of paper, files, receipts, and other miscellaneous junk. If you only do one thing, get more organized.
Clear out the clutter and only leave the items that are absolutely necessary. This means doing the dreaded f-word, filing. You need to file anything that doesn’t need to be out at the moment, and keep everything else in cabinets or drawers.
Sort your paperwork by relevance and urgency using in/out trays. Create and action plan for each tray, with titles such as “to be filled” or “needs research”. Take into account how often you use each item and conveniently place the ones you need frequently on top.
In most cases, mornings in the office can be the rudder of the workday. And while it’s impossible to control everything, you can at least set the right tone by arriving as a clean, neat, organized space every day.
- Make the Workspace Comfortable
When it comes to office comfort, it seems ergonomics is one of the biggest buzzwords. That’s probably because so many companies have found themselves paying workers compensation suits for having workspaces that are not ergonomics friendly. These companies might not have known that they were doing something wrong, but there are a number of reasons why ergonomics are critical.
Here are a few tips about ergonomics:
- Always keep the proper posture
- Ensure that your feet are planted on the floor firmly
- Adjust the armrests of your chair such that they are in line with your keyboard level
- Your wrists should ideally be straight, floating about the keyboard
- Place your urgent or relevant documents close to the keyboard to prevent the need for repetitive neck movement
- Adjust the contrast and brightness of your monitor. Place is away from bright lights and windows to prevent glare
- Adjust the font size on your screen to ensure that it’s perfectly readable
- Make sure your hand is relaxed on the mouse to avoid cramping
- Do a few eye asanas whenever your eyes get tired
- Listen to Some Music
Identify the kind of music that makes you more productive. For instance, if you’re doing a lot of repetitive work like filing, and answering voice messages or emails, a mix of eclectic music might be perfect for you. When doing creative work that calls for high-level focus, strings may be ideal. When writing, a flute instrumental might keep you up to pace. A lot of people find that water sounds can help and are relaxing and this is why a lot of businesses are turning towards indoor water fountains to provide help. These fountains can really create relaxing soundscapes and are excellent if this is the route you wish to go down.
iTunes generally has a lot of music stations for productivity that you can choose, all you need is a bit of exploring. However, this is largely a personal choice, and you can browse different kinds of music on Spotify, iTunes, and other providers to find your perfect match. Find out the kind of music that works best for you depending on the task at hand.
- Personalize the Workspace
Personalizing your workspace will constantly remind you that other things outside of work are also important. Pictures of your friend, family members, and other loved ones can help you to stay motivated, and serve as a reminder of what you’re working for, rather than working for “work’s” sake.
The workspaces should ideally be visually appealing to you. After all, you will be spending a significant part of your day there, perhaps over the course of 40 years. This is a huge amount of time to be in a sea of grey.
Spend some time thinking about how your ideal workspace should look like. Figure out the things that would make it more inviting. Adding a few live plants, photos, candles, fresh fruit, and fresh flowers on your desk is a great start. The concept of adding live plants, fresh fruit and flowers, recent photos, etc. is that you will be inviting new energy into your work and life.
- Single-tasking
A common misconception is that you can be more efficient at getting things done by juggling a number of tasks simultaneously. Practically, multi-tasking is more of a sport – it’s reminiscent of a circus.
For certain tasks, such as trying to chew gum while walking, multitasking is not difficult at all. But if you actually want to finish up an important project, you’re much more likely to complete is successfully if you don’t face any distractions. So, stop trying to check your smartphone, answer emails, and clip your fingernails at the same time.
Plus, constantly switching gears means that your brain will require more time to move from one task to another. This makes you more prone to errors and stress, since you’re juggling too many things at once.
To avoid all this, first focus on completing the most important tasks of the day. If you can’t complete all the three most important tasks of the day, try to get at least one done. Dedicating your morning to these tasks will be almost a guarantee that the rest of the day will be smoother.
- Dedicate Uninterruptable Periods
Try dedicating a block of time every day to be utterly uninterruptible. This helps you to focus better on the most important tasks, and works best in the morning. Try disciplining yourself not to check your phone, PC, or other things that might seem urgent until you’ve completed at least one of your main tasks. In case you get the urge to check or reply to anything that comes up during the period, refocus yourself. Take one deep breath and get back to work.
If you are only able to dedicate 30 minute only to your most important tasks, it’s fine. Try to go for 45 minutes next time. Work to build your way up to an hour, one and a half hours, and eventually two or more hours. However, more than two hours of solid is an overstretch, and not recommendable �” unless you’re in the zone and stopping would be detrimental.