How to organize your workplace is a topical question if you notice that your efficiency has decreased, brilliant ideas no longer come, and everything around you is annoying. Such calls from the subconscious mind signal that you are working in an area where you feel uncomfortable. Constant stay in such conditions threatens a decrease in personal effectiveness, laziness, and rapid fatigue.
Don’t forget that a properly organized workplace is not only a guarantee of physical health but also of psychological health. If you want to spend most of your life working and feeling good, let’s find out how to organize your workplace properly.
Get rid of the mess
Many creative people and scientists have cluttered desks. However, unnecessary things can have a negative impact on our ability to focus and process information. That’s what scientists at Princeton University found when they compared the performance of people in organized versus unorganized workspaces. The results showed that a cluttered workplace scatters our attention, and as a result, performance declines and stress increases.
It’s not an easy habit to break. Clutter often comes not from our laziness or disorganization. It literally pains us to let go of the things we have accumulated.
So how do we get rid of stress and clutter? Here are a few simple rules.
- Set limits. Set strict limits and stay within them. It’s the best way to stop hoarding. And whether it’s browser tabs, magazines, or Twitter followers.
- Reduce storage space. Parkinson’s law says work fills the time allotted to it. The same can be said of clutter. The less space, the less clutter.
- Do a monthly audit. Set aside time each month to clean and sort through your accumulated stuff.
- Make sure you tidy up every day. In the evenings, sort out everything that has accumulated on your desk during the day. This way, you can start the next day with a clean slate.
Find a place that inspires you
It is no accident that we feel inspired by a beautiful building or a window seat. Architecture can have a noticeable impact on our productivity. Fresh air and natural light at work also boost employees’ productivity.
Of course, we can’t always change our work environment, but there is still a way out. Just find a place with natural light, go outside if you feel like you’re stagnating, or just sit at a different desk. In a new place, you may get new ideas. Research has also confirmed that new habits are easier to pick up in new places.
Control the sounds around you
Apart from physical location and workplace associations, productivity is also affected by the surrounding sounds.
Researchers have found that snippets of other people’s conversations have an extremely negative impact on our ability to concentrate. They found that in mental activities (reading and working with texts and numbers) productivity is significantly more influenced by snippets of conversation than, for example, continuous speech or other sounds. Not good news for those who work in large offices. But there is a solution. If you can’t find a quiet place, noise-canceling headphones or music can help you drown out voices and concentrate.
Use different devices for different tasks
We know that different settings impact us in many ways, so why not turn this to our advantage? Our brains love habits, and if we associate specific actions with certain places, it will be easier for us to increase our productivity. This is called task-matching: the brain knows that we are doing a particular action in a particular place.
The same method is applicable to different devices. For example, try to develop the following habit: do all the basic work on your computer, do less serious tasks on your laptop, and use your tablet only for reading or scrolling reviews of grammar check services free grammar checkers for your work tasks. If you are able to allocate a separate workspace or device for each task, you will be able to direct your productivity in the right direction simply by being in one place or another.
The shape of the furniture
Paradoxically, people like furniture with rounded, oval edges more. New workplace design ideas can be tables, chairs, drawers, cupboards, and poufs without sharp corners to create a homely atmosphere and prevent injuries.
A bonus: objects without corners stimulate creativity and make people receptive to new information. Another benefit is that several people around a round table can reach a compromise more quickly and feel like a team.
Technical parameters of the furniture
Let’s find out how to organize your workstation on the computer. It is better to have an orthopedic chair that reduces the load on the spine and allows it to be in a straight position. It must be adjustable in order to choose a comfortable position.
Table. It has to be selected taking into account the person’s height, and arms should not be strained while working on the keyboard; it’s better to be at the level of the chest or lower by 5-10 cm. A well-organized workplace avoids the risk of pinched nerves, breathing problems, and headaches.
Local lighting
Psychologists have proven that when answering the question of how the workplace should be organized, the lamp plays a key role. Local lighting can help the employee to detach him- or herself from what is going on around them. The place becomes an island on which to concentrate. A concentrated flow of light makes the surroundings blurred and gives a sense of freedom and privacy.
Create an office workspace where creative ideas can be generated with the help of a simple downlight. A targeted stream of light helps to stimulate creativity.
Colors matter
How to properly organize your workspace at the computer if you need to improve your productivity – paint your island with colors that can work wonders.
- Dark blue. A quick stress reliever that puts the right side of the brain to work.
- Red. Significantly stimulates blood circulation, increases concentration, and ability to process information.
- Yellow. Harmonizes space boosts positivity, and increases stamina.
- Green. Creative types need to switch fast and think outside the box.
- Blue. Helps to better process the massive flow of information.
The presence of a plant
Plants in your space have the best effect on the well-being of your occupants, and this is something that has been proven in studies. Psychologists talk about the positive effect of green on a person’s mental state, and esotericists talk about the ability of plants to cleanse space from negative energy.
If you don’t want a big plant, place a small cactus next to your computer, known for its ability to absorb electromagnetic radiation emanating from the device.
To summarize
The workplace is an area where we spend most of our lives. If we don’t take the time to organize it properly and ignore the advice of a psychologist, we will turn our own work into a hateful chore. By the way, our potential, productivity, and desire to achieve our goals will diminish. The right solution is to spend a few hours creating a space where we want to create, develop and build a successful career.
AUTHOR’S BIO:
Jay Pharris is an amateur writer. He is a multifaceted personality studying business and technology . He works with companies such as TrustMyPaper which saves you time writing essays and BestWritersOnline which helps you choose a site with this service. He says everyone has a purpose in this world and his purpose is to write.