How to Equip and Style Your Office to Raise Productivity
If you find yourself constantly starving for inspiration and focus, and you’re doing your absolute best to finish the work that’s in front of you, then perhaps you’re missing the obvious productivity killers. They are most frequently found in your office design, the equipment you use for work, and the way you manage your desk space. Of course, there will always be those days when you just want to never look at another email again, but how you structure your office may help you push even through the toughest of work days ahead.
There is much you can do to transform your office from a typical dull little space into a fountain of productivity and success stories to tell. Take some time to glance at your office as it is now, find the weakest links in the look and feel of your workspace, and then envision the perfect office. Wrap it all up with the following essential guidelines to create balance and harmony in your work day, and you’ll start every day with a smile!
It’s time for spring cleaning
No, the pile of paper files, random paperclips, and left-over Chinese food containers are not your creative chaos that allows you the perfect environment for productivity. On the contrary, literal, physical chaos can only produce more of it when it’s time to actually do some business, find a crucial piece of paper, or conduct a meeting with a client. That is why before you even start redesigning your office, you need to get rid of all the items that don’t belong there – that is, to declutter.
You can either completely empty your office and start adding things from scratch by evaluating what you really need and use, or you can declutter one drawer at a time. Depending on what you do, you should set up a space that gives you access to the most needed items quickly (think: top drawer), and keep everything else stored in some sort of order. You’ll likely come across many personal belongings that somehow ended up in the office, so make sure to rid your space of anything that doesn’t help you work more efficiently.
Introduce some snazzy equipment
Cool tech cannot replace your motivation or enthusiasm about a particular project, but not a single person in the world of business can do their work properly without the right gadgets. If you’re constantly struggling with a crashing computer, there is no way you can focus on the task in front of you without getting constantly interrupted.
Stack your office full of reliable bits of equipment you know you’ll use every day. Start from a reliable computer for a seamless workflow, the Oki pro series equipment for all your printing needs, and a pair of noise-cancelling headphones that will help you mute everything else during an important meeting. For those who work remotely, a laptop is a must, but an external hard drive is another great addition to your collection to make sure you always have your most important information with you.
Ditch distractions
While some people thrive in an office that is much like a beehive, others need peace and quiet to complete their daily tasks without ending up with a headache. By now, you know what sort of an environment works best for you, so make sure to clear out any distractions that may pose a threat to your productivity. If there’s a TV or a radio playing in the background, move it outside of your work area. If there are too many phones for you to handle, get a dedicated work phone, and mute the rest for maximum efficiency.
If you find that your social media accounts and various email accounts also add to the messy vibe of your office, you can tune out the ones you shouldn’t use with the help of different apps and monitoring systems. Add to that a unified company platform for easy communication, and you’ll no longer have people bursting into your office for advice and guidance when they can text you via Slack or Basecamp, and wait their turn.
Think clean thoughts
The three elements of a healthy work environment that are crucial in enabling great productivity are clean air, plenty of natural light, and optimal room temperature. In addition to those high-quality air filters which are brilliant for a larger office space, you can add a few low-maintenance plants which will also improve the décor of your office, and act as natural air purifiers.
As for proper lighting, not every desk will enjoy the perks of natural light, so you should make sure you have plenty of the next best thing – LED lamps which are easy on your eyes, and provide plenty of light for those late evening work sessions at the office. On a final note, make sure that your office is neither too hot or too cold, as just sitting, let alone working in a room where you can barely breathe will definitely ruin your day.