While making things look pretty is considered trivial – especially if you have deadlines looming – walking into a cluttered space could have you feeling demotivated before you even get started with work. This is why creating an inspiring workspace, whether it’s on or around your desk, could boost productivity.
Here are five ways to create an inspiring workspace:
Bring down barriers
More offices are opting for lower cubicle walls or no walls at all. Having no barriers means that people are more available to communicate with each other.. Yes, while the point is to limit distraction, sometimes people need to communicate and collaborate. This is much easier to do with an open space.
While physical borders might not be present, boundaries still need to be set. If you’re busy and need to meet a deadline, make sure you communicate this to your colleagues. Open spaces also run the risk of letting distraction creep in. Communication between colleagues can easily become a chatter. Make sure people are aware, by explaining clearly and tactfully, that you’re on a tight deadline and urgent work needs to be completed.
Improve your motivation with goals and vision boards
Whether it’s on your computer screen or a wall near your desk, create a goal and vision board. When you sit down, you’ll be able to see what you’re working towards. Your vision board could include anything from a promotion to learning a new skill. If it’s in your line of sight, it will be on your mind.
Perhaps, you could have the entire office included in this too. For example, a department needs to meet a certain key performance indicator (KPI) – have it written on a whiteboard for everyone to see. This means that the whole team will be working hard towards a common goal.
Make things personal
Who doesn’t love seeing their pup frolicking around? Having a cute picture of your dog could help brighten up your day. Or perhaps you’d prefer to see your smiling family while you work. Whatever it is, personal items can help lighten and inspire the workspace. Just note that the items should be tasteful and safe for work.
If you are more nature-inclined, consider adding a pot plant to your space. Most workplaces allow people to bring in some form of floral touch. Just ensure that your plants are small, unobtrusive, and won’t distract any of your deskmates.
Let there be light!
A dark and gloomy workspace is bound to emanate the gloomy feeling to the workspace. How do you fix this? By adding some light!
Without ruining any ‘office aesthetic’, you can help to brighten the space by making use of natural lighting (such as by opening all the blinds in the workplace) and, if needs be, bring in more lighting sets.
If it’s not against office regulation, you can even add a small lamp to your desk (brownie points if you can get the colour to match the company’s brand). The more light in the office, the more inspired and motivated you’ll be to work.
Maintain an organised desk
Some people thrive in chaos. Unfortunately, a disorderly workspace can leave you feeling tired and uninspired very quickly. Imagine walking into work and heading to your desk, only to find it’s cluttered with papers, post-it notes, and coffee stains from last week.
Neatly organising everything will start your day on the right (and clean) footing.
Now that you’ve spring cleaned your workspace, it’s time to spring clean your career. Ready for a boost? Browse our catalogue of online courses to take the next step in your professional life!
