You have to work, there’s no getting around it. Sometimes work can be an exciting challenge and other times it will feel more like a challenge just to get through the day. There will always be certain stressors that you have to face, but learning to manage those stressors and the things that cause them is an important lesson. A great place to start is to arrange your work environment to best suit your needs and set you up for success in the future. These are a few changes you can make to your office to encourage a relaxed and productive environment.
Add Some Color to Your Space
If you work from home or have an individual office space, you may be able to use the walls to convey calm energy into your workspace. Painting one or all walls with calming blues or greens can encourage mindfulness and emotional wellbeing while you work. If you are unable to change the wall color, consider hanging artwork that showcases those colors.
For those that work from a small desk or cubicle, major color changes may not be an option. Find smaller ways to bring color into your area. Changing the computer wallpaper to a soothing color scheme or having small pieces of meaningful art are both great ways to introduce a little color.
Bring Plants Into the Office
Whether it is a tiny succulent or a larger rubber or ficus tree, having a potted plant in your office could boost your overall health and ability to stay focused throughout the day. Plants take in carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide from the air and replace it with breathable oxygen. Many large office buildings have large air units that pump stale, dry air all day.
A potted plant will refresh that air and add oxygen and humidity, creating a more pleasant work environment. Plants also bring a sense of life to an office. With their soothing colors and vibrant shapes, plants can bring a sense of the outdoors inside where workers need it most. With their ability to improve air quality, they will lower stress just by being around.
Have a Diffuser Ready
Using a soothing essential oil in your workspace may be just the trick to keep you going during the day. Having a vial of lavender, mint, or copaiba oil ready for your diffuser can assist in bringing you from a heightened stress level to a more manageable mindset.
Diffusers also have the added benefit of killing bacteria and fungi from the air, purifying it and bringing overall health to your space. If you work in a shared office space, be sure to be courteous to those around you in regards to powerful scents or possible allergies. With the right scent, you may be able to improve not only your environment but improve it for those around you as well.
Get Rid of the Clutter
It doesn’t matter if an office is in a massive corporate building or a spare bedroom, having your desk piled with work and clutter will increase stress and decrease productivity. Spending a few minutes organizing and eliminating the clutter will instantly take a workspace from unusable to productive. When your desk or office is orderly, it will be easier to focus on what needs to be done and have it in front of you.
This goes for the computer desktop as well. Having your digital files in folders and ready for use will pull back the overwhelming feelings that accompany a cluttered space. Computer cables can also be arranged and gathered for a visibly neater desk area. Even having this space clean will make the workplace feel less stressful.
However you choose to do your work, in an office or at home, having your space arranged for maximum potential output should be a priority. Taking steps to ensure your office or desk is a calming and low-stress place to work will not only encourage good work habits but overall health as well.
