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Office design tricks that will increase your produ...

Office design tricks that will increase your productivity

The environment that you set yourself up to work in has a massive impact on how well you work. It can affect your ability to stay focused, and play a role in ultimately how productive you are. Take working from home, for example. Many people feel that they can’t work from home because they may not be productive with the distractions of home around them (think, TV, laundry, etc). But when you apply a few factors in when you’re planning out your workspace, it can make a difference and mean that you can work from home just fine. The same goes for designing an office space; there are factors that will help you to be more productive and get more done.

There have even been studies that look into productivity in the workplace, and it has been found that when an office space, whether at work or at home, is designed with productivity in mind, it can improve your productivity level by 20%. So what business, freelancer, or entrepreneur doesn’t want to improve their productivity? Here are just some of the factors to think about, to help you to design the place that you work, to help you to be more productive.

Lighting

We all know when we’ve been working in an office that has bad lighting; our eyes get strained and we can get headaches. That makes looking at a computer screen or having to write anything down really tricky. But a well lit room can help us to be more focused, as well as helping you to be more creative or inspired. Lighting can be so overlooked, but it does have an impact. If the space isn’t well lit, it can make it harder to work, and can even lead to depression. So to combat it, let in as much natural light as possible. Open windows and blinds if you’re at home or in the office, and if needed, look to get things like skylights installed, as well as using lamps or a light therapy device.

Clutter

As much as we don’t want to admit it, having a cluttered space can really have an impact on how productive you are. If the room you’re in or the workspace that you are in is messy, then it can lead to a messy mind. You are likely to get distracted or look at the things that are cluttering the space. So this is especially important if you work from home, but still an important factor to consider when looking at your office space.

The Right Equipment

If a lack of equipment or resources hinders you doing your job, then it is going to have an impact on how much work you are able to get done. It can mean missed deadlines and a lack of motivation if you are unable to get done what you need to. So having the right equipment in place, as well as other office essentials, like printer ink and toner from somewhere like 123InkJets, paper and a printer. Consider an extra screen too, it can work wonders when you have either a larger or extra screen on your desk. Whether you work from home or in an office, make sure that you have supplies in to keep you getting your work done, as well as the right tools and equipment to allow you to do your work well.

Room Color

The color of the space that you work in, surprise, surprise, does have an impact on how well you’re able to work. So if you are designing an office space, whether at home or at work, you have to think about the colors that you plan to use, in order to help your productivity. They can have an impact without you even really thinking about it. Too much color can be overwhelming, but colors like blue are said to elicit productivity.

If you work in a space that you don’t have control over, such as a shared space, then it is a good idea to bring in some pictures or items that are going to help you in the color and productivity department. You have much more control over the color if you work from home, but just use that control wisely.

There are plenty of other things that have an impact, from the room temperature to the smell of the room (bring on the scented candles). But it is important to figure out what helps you to be more productive, and what helps those around you that you work with. Business can boom when you’re all working in a much more productive way and getting much more done.

*Photo by Bench Accounting

Christine Buske is a former academic who left science at the bench, and now considers herself a woman in tech. She is a frequently invited speaker, and enjoys talking about career transformation (particularly leaving academia for the business world), tech, issues around women in tech, product management, agile, and outreach. She is a proud Canadian resident, and qualifies as a "serial expat".

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