How To Optimize Your Home Workspace for Productivity and Peacefulness
So you’re a creative professional who’s suddenly in full-time work-from-home mode. Now what?
If your desk is your dining table, your bed, or the couch...unfortunately, you’re not setting yourself up for success. (Although sometimes working from the couch with tv on in the background is just right...no judgment here.) You need a workspace that allows you to stay focused, stay happy, and make great work. Here are a few simple things to remember while you WFH during this strange and uncertain time.
Give yourself the space you need
If you’re an artist, you probably need space in which to create your work. Love drawing or making typography? You need a place to sketch. This is true for pretty much any field of creative work – ultimately, you need breathing room and desk space to spread out, and allow yourself to be productive. After working for years with the most narrow and oddly-shaped desk, straining my eyes at being too close to my computer, I finally realized that I would actually be more productive if I had a large, open, uncluttered desk space. Even a simple finished piece of wood with shelving or legs underneath will do the trick. The key is to keep it uncluttered. Don’t put anything on it that you don’t use regularly or doesn’t serve you often.
Keep it clean, and reset regularly
Now that your desk is as wide open and clear as you need it to be, try to keep it that way! Tidy it up a few times a week, or ideally, at the end of every work day. A great way to remind yourself is to schedule a daily recurring half-hour “Reset” appointment on your calendar. Put away any papers that need filing, give it a disinfecting spray down, get everything set back in its proper place. Everything should have a designated “home” where it lives. After resetting, you’ll be ready to start fresh every day, and you’ll look forward to using your work space.
Make sure your seat is serving you
Is your chair supporting you? Even if you don’t have the funds to invest in an ergonomic chair, you can zhuzh up the one you have. Make sure it’s the right height for your desk (add a pillow or two if needed), add a foot stool if your feet are dangling, sprinkle in some coziness (got an extra blanket you can drape over the back?), and level it out if it’s wobbly, too. If you’re a standing-desk person, make sure the space underneath your feet is comfortable, supportive, and free of obstacles.
Have comforting beverages on hand
Having water nearby is a necessity for productivity. Keep it in your reusable bottle to avoid potential spillage. I also recommend having an additional beverage on the side, particularly hot tea. I am 100% more motivated to work when I’ve got a warm, comforting mug of tea to sip from. Bonus: level up your beverage sitch by having a refill station available! Whether you’re a tea or coffee drinker, you can keep a big pot or carafe of the fully-steeped drink nearby, along with a small cup or pitcher of cream/oat milk/your choice, and/or sugar if you need it. Make it an adorable little tray situation with your cutest secondhand mugs and cups! Having a refill station at the ready will keep you from getting distracted with constant trips to the kitchen.
Surround yourself with motivation
Don’t forget to jazz up the walls around your space! Add some art that brings you joy, motivational phrases, and/or helpful schedules and goal lists to keep you going. (Maybe our Habit Calendar or Progress Tracker poster is just the ticket?) Try not to overwhelm with art, as you may find that as its own form of distracting clutter. Just enough to bring happiness to your work space, as you do with any other space in your home. Adding a plant or two can help as well! Bringing a little bit of the outside in always encourages peacefulness.
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