Is Your Office Workspace Sabotaging Your Productivity?
2014.01.15
If you're reading this while procrastinating at work, then it's time
to take a good look around your cubicle. Chances are that your
relationship with your workspace might actually be what's holding you
back from becoming more creative and achieving your productivity goals.
But instead of just setting the whole thing on fire and calling it quits, there are a couple of tweaks you can make in order to transform your workspace into a happier, more conducive working environment.
ACKNOWLEDGE HOW YOUR DESK AFFECTS YOUR MOOD
First, you need to acknowledge on how your desk is affecting your mood. Maybe you're not inspired to come up with new ideas because your cheap desk is wobbly, or the lights above are constantly flickering. Brian Kehrer, who works as game designer and creative technologist at Psyop in an open-concept, explains this as:
If you can't stand being stuck behind a desk all day, then it might be time to negotiate a more flexible working arrangement. Here's how Maria Mujica of Mondelez explains it:
While having flexibility is important for different stages of work, boundaries are also valuable. This is especially true if you work from home, as you'll be less motivated to actually get any work done.
As for the office bound, something as simple as defined whiteboard for brainstorming or a favored chair for thinking will help delineate creative tasks in their mind. Even Mujica, who’s committed to her itinerant work style, insists that she can't focus without certain items:
While this might seem frivolous, a lot of people agree that the details on their desk really does make a big difference with how they work. When it comes to personal artifacts, Bell Roche says that having little items from his personal life make his workspace seem less generic.
There's no point hiding away at your desk just to force your brain to think of a new idea. If you're currently stuck in one of these mental logjams, then it's probably best to step away from the desk for awhile. Exposing yourself to a different environment can help take off the pressure and potentially provide new inspiration to help cultivate that next big idea.
[Fast Company]
But instead of just setting the whole thing on fire and calling it quits, there are a couple of tweaks you can make in order to transform your workspace into a happier, more conducive working environment.
ACKNOWLEDGE HOW YOUR DESK AFFECTS YOUR MOOD
First, you need to acknowledge on how your desk is affecting your mood. Maybe you're not inspired to come up with new ideas because your cheap desk is wobbly, or the lights above are constantly flickering. Brian Kehrer, who works as game designer and creative technologist at Psyop in an open-concept, explains this as:
“Workspace and mode are actually the most important considerations because the changes in personality are difficult to analyze, and they affect decision making, which should be terrifying because you can not logically weigh the impact a cheap desk has on your evaluation of concepts, or risk assessments.”
DESIGN A FLEX ARRANGEMENTIf you can't stand being stuck behind a desk all day, then it might be time to negotiate a more flexible working arrangement. Here's how Maria Mujica of Mondelez explains it:
“I don’t have a desk anymore. I have moved to nomad desking. I can’t tolerate the idea of having a fixed go-to place. I feel it limits and un-inspires me,” she says. “Not having an office and a desk has helped me un-structure and I have gained an ability to feel comfortable and focused anywhere.”
CREATE BOUNDARIESWhile having flexibility is important for different stages of work, boundaries are also valuable. This is especially true if you work from home, as you'll be less motivated to actually get any work done.
As for the office bound, something as simple as defined whiteboard for brainstorming or a favored chair for thinking will help delineate creative tasks in their mind. Even Mujica, who’s committed to her itinerant work style, insists that she can't focus without certain items:
“As adaptable as I might sound, there are some non-negotiable conditions for a great workspace--good cappuccino, plugs, great Wi-Fi, and ideally good floors like wood or wool carpets. I’m not so flexible!”
FOCUS ON THE FLOURISHESWhile this might seem frivolous, a lot of people agree that the details on their desk really does make a big difference with how they work. When it comes to personal artifacts, Bell Roche says that having little items from his personal life make his workspace seem less generic.
"A little personalization goes a long way in making everything feel less temporary. You should feel weird sitting at my spot,” he says. “I love having a place to put all the stuff my wife would never let me put up in our apartment. My giant flag that says 'America--Love it or leave it' doesn’t really have a place at home, but here at an incredibly international agency, where I’m one of the most American guys, it just works. At the end of the day the most important thing about my workspace is my collection of family photos on the wall. That, and the picture of a mountain lion eating a deer carcass that somebody stuck on my wall because it reminded them of me.”
FOR BEST RESULTS, WALK AWAY FROM THE DESKThere's no point hiding away at your desk just to force your brain to think of a new idea. If you're currently stuck in one of these mental logjams, then it's probably best to step away from the desk for awhile. Exposing yourself to a different environment can help take off the pressure and potentially provide new inspiration to help cultivate that next big idea.
[Fast Company]
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