The Importance of Office Environment: Design Tips for Creating a More Productive Workspace

Do you find yourself often getting distracted throughout the workday? You may be surprised to discover that your office design is partly to blame. The environment you work in (whether at home or in a large company environment) has an enormous impact on your ability to focus and your overall ability to be productive. And it is not just about Feng Shui – this is about creating results and getting things done.

The great news is, there are plenty of resources available to boost your productivity and make your office a place where you want to get your work done. Here are some tips and advice on how to accomplish that.

Room Colour

The colours around you can have an effect on your mood and brain function – it evokes both a physical and emotional response. This means choosing the right colours for your workplace can help improve your productivity. For example, the blue colour is known to illicit productivity. But remember that too much of anything can be overwhelming, including colour.

If your work from a company office, changing the wall colours may not be possible. In this case, you can bring items from home that are a certain colour that inspire you and keep you focused. Use postcards, magazine cutouts, pen holders, mousepads… even blocks of colour will do. If you work from home, you can decide the colour you want your wall to be. Consider repainting a wall, adding colour to the table your work at, or hanging pictures that are dominated by a specific colour.

Table

One of the new principles of productive office design corporations around the world are adopting is furnishing their offices with adjustable standing desks. Our bodies were not designed to sit all day, and doing so causes physical stress that can result in back pain, damaged nerves and chronic headaches. Physical discomfort can lead you to get distracted throughout the day, which inhibits productivity.

A height adjustable desk allows you to stand while working, which help get your blood flowing and in turn, enhances your brain activity. This can affect your focus and creativity, ultimately helping your feel better equipped to handle the challenges you face during your workday.

In the past, adjustable desk tops were viewed as veritable outcasts in the office furniture world. They were difficult to find, complicated to assemble and were seen as unconventional. Nowadays that perception has been reversed and now simple adjustable standing desks that require no assembly are easily available. As a result, more and more companies are equipping their workspaces with standing desks.

If you work in a company, ask for an adjustable desk. If you work from a home office consider investing in one. As innovations continue to occur in the standing desk market, you can now find a variety of adjustable desk solutions for about $2 a day over the course of the year. By helping build a non-sedentary work environment, this could also help diminish health care costs, decrease absenteeism and reduce staff turnover. This mean, not only price tags are becoming more palatable, but these desks may also help save money in many other areas of the company.

Available in a variety of sizes, height adjustable desks are equally suited for small home offices or large work environments. And because most of them have an open leg design, this allows you to easily fit a small filing cabinet or mobile pedestal beneath your desk. As you can see, a small space doesn’t have to restrict you, and you can truly make the most of your space with a height-adjustable desk.

Lighting

This is another important factor in staying focused and feeling inspired to create. According to experts, bad lighting can lead to fatigue, eyestrain,, headaches and overall irritability. Working in dark spaces can also contribute to depression. If you work in a company office you probably have no control over your general lighting. In this case, consider bringing in your own, if necessary. Natural light bulbs or a light therapy device are great options. If you work from a home office, open the windows and doors and let natural light in. Use lamps in different areas for cloudy days or when it’s dark.

Clutter

Some will say that clutter help the creative mind create, but in the office, clutter isn’t necessarily helpful for focus and productivity. If you work from a company office, you won’t be able to control the cleanliness of the space, but you can spend 10 to 15 minutes every morning or evening making sure things are put away, organized, filed and generally out of sight so you don’t get distracted by it later. If you work from home, there are many home office storage solutions that you can use to help you stay organized. Reserve a particular time of the day making sure your home office is organized and tidy.

Room Scents

Like the colour of the space you work in, your sense of smell can powerfully affect your mood, mindset and thus your productivity. So, consider adding scents to your workspace to jar your mind into focus when you begin to notice yourself drifting off.

The best way to infuse your workspace with scents is with essential oils. Essential oils natural compounds are known for their calming, relaxing properties, but can also come in handy when you need to stay alert and focused. Certain oils are actually able to stimulate the brain almost immediately, resulting in better focus and sometimes a little mood boost as well. Try using these essential oils natural solutions for concentration when you need to get things done:

• Citrus – to wake you up and lift your spirit
• Peppermint – to lift your mood and increase alertness
• Cinnamon – to improve focus
• Lavender – to help relax you during a stressful workday

If you work from a company office, your coworkers may not appreciate added scents to their work environment, so you’ll need to keep it subtle. Keep your essential oils in your bag or drawer, and when you need a concentration boost, put a few drops on a cotton ball next to you. If you work from a home office. If you work from a home office, you can add a few drops of your essential oil to a diffuser. Diffusing essential oils allow you to easily control the amount of oil you want to diffuse by adding more or less oil depending on how strong you would like it.

When choosing your essential oils, look for 100% natural oils to ensure they have no synthetic components or carrier oils in their composition. These essential oils are going to cost you a little more, but you will be getting a superior essential oil with the greatest healing properties.