Photo credit: Kimball Office
Is your office hindering your performance or contributing to your productivity? If your office is neat and organized, it will boost your daily output. You will look forward to tackling projects – because you can find them and work easily – and you may actually have more energy. A pleasant and organized work environment creates a positive atmosphere that can channel your energies in the right direction.
If you have a home office or if your employer gives you the go-ahead, empty your office to give it a thorough cleaning. Vacuum up lost paperclips and dust bunnies and if necessary, shampoo the rug. Take down the window treatments. Clean the blinds or send the drapes out to be dry cleaned. Repair or replace all damaged cabinets, desks and filing cabinets before placing them back into the office. If the paint is drab, refresh the walls with a new coat of color. Consider choosing the right paint hue:
•Cool colors tend to have a calming effect. Blue, green and the neutrals white, gray and silver are examples of cool colors. If you’re usually high energy, a cool color can create a soothing environment for you to work.
•Warm colors rev us up and get us going. The warmth of red, yellow or orange can create excitement or even anger. Warm colors convey emotions from simple optimism to strong violence. The neutrals of black and brown also carry warm attributes. If you need a boost in the morning to get going, then opt for a warm color that will rev up your energy.
•Colors with attributes from both the warm and cool colors can calm and excite. These are colors derived from a mix of a cool and warm color such as blue and red or blue and yellow. Used together, these colors create a nice balance.
•The neutral colors of black, white, silver, gray and brown make good backgrounds, serve to unify diverse color palettes, and also often stand alone as the only or primary focus of a design.
If there is anything (files, folders, books, brochures, etc.) that you have not used in the last 12 months, get rid of it. Put any unused items in storage, sell them or toss them.
Designate a place for everything. The most used items must be the most accessible and nearby. The least used items can be stored higher up or further back.
You should sit in a position that makes you feel right in the office. Make sure that your screen doesn’t reflect the sunlight and you can view the door. This will give you more control of your working environment. Move your chair around the room until you find a place that feels just right.
Avoid the mess of wires emanating from your computer. Invest in one of those handy little contraptions that serve to keep your wires and leads together running neatly along the wall. Where possible, attach the wires to the back of your desk using wire clips.
Keep a couple of pictures of the special people in your life. This serves to remind you why you are working so hard in the first place and when it’s time to lock up and leave.
