Design A Better Workspace

Our workspace affects our productivity and wellness. Imagine being stuck in a monotonous work space, with the tiny space becoming your safe habitat. Work-spaces are meant to inspirational. It is essential for those working from home, and those who carry their work home. For certain professionals like fashion designers, architects, and professors (sorry if I missed any), a neat little work-space at home is very essential; flexible spaces that helps you focus. Working in a cramped space, or in a place sitting where you can hear the neighbors’ quarreling is not really optimal. So before we dive into this article, you should choose a spot in your home, that is convenient, calm and bright with natural light during the day and well-lit at night.

Furniture

Let’s start with furniture, because these tricky things can shape a space into somewhere you feel lazy at or somewhere you become really productive, depending on many factors. Choose comfortable heights for chair and table. Make sure your chair lets you sit in away that you elbow can comfortably rest on the table. You can choose from several styles like minimal, vintage charm, Scandinavian or modern. You can also choose tables that help you change its heights, which is especially preferable for those who work for long hours, to stand, stretch and work, at the same time. These are extremely beneficial for your health. These are personal choices, and you should go with what you like rather than following a trend, but it is to be noted that lighter shades in working space helps you focus better.

Walls

If your walls are bleak and monotonous, then you might not get the most out of the time you spent at the workspace. Make your walls stand out with a painted stripe of another color, random frames of your work or your favorites photos and sketches. If your space is small, then you might be tempted with shifting your storage to the walls, right above your able. This is not recommended unless you have ample light coming in. Small work-space can make you feel uncomfortable and the space will just look dingy to others. Try placing a blackboard or minimal metal wire mesh board to post notes on the wall. Be careful not to hang too many frames or other hangings on the wall. You could also try a different wallpaper, or patterns with wallpaper to really make the space pop. If your work-space is small, use lighter colors.

Floors

While it’s not usually done, you can try to add a little fun using different tiles, or a beautiful piece of carpet. If your workspace tend to get dirty, tiles might be better option, being easy to clean and maintain. In case your workspace is narrow, or small in area, avoid tiles that are too dark in color. You can try making it a bit more special and paint a few tiles on your own, patterns or shapes or just colors and arranging it in a pattern.

Plants

Nothing livens up your workspace like adding a bit of nature. Have few potted plants or small planter boxes near your work-space. Choose your favorite plants to place near your table, on your table, hanging from the ceiling. You could also try having few fragrant indoor plants that will add a soothing smell around your work-space.

Windows

Before you start setting-up your neat little workspace, make sure you are not placing your furniture in way that it faces right outside. Windows often tend to steal your focus, the otherwise not interesting sights slowly making you distracted. I had a cute workspace in my previous home, which faced a window with the sights of skyscrapers from 20th floor. Somehow, all that used to get too interesting every now and then, whenever I sit down to work. So, unless you are not the kind of person who gets distracted easily, I’d strongly suggest not having a layout facing a window. However, it is preferable to be next to a window, to let in the natural light. Studies have shown working in natural light improves focus and productivity as compared to artificial lights.

Dedicated Space

Have a dedicated space for your gadgets. Keep your smartphone, tablet and every other gadget you don’t need to work, away at their allocated space so that you don’t get tempted to check notifications or scroll through your feed, while keeping your desk clean and organized

Clean Space

You should also have a trash bin near your workspace. It is unlikely that anyone can work efficiently when they are sitting in a messy space. Not even the cool ‘messy’, where the imperfection somehow manages to make the space interesting. Crumbled paper and packaging wrappers lying across the table is no fun. Clear the trash off desk as you work, and end the day by keeping all your work-stuff in place so that when you sit down to work the next day, you won’t have to clean up and can start to focus on work right-away.

Storage

This is very crucial in a workspace. You don’t want your things lying around the area, especially if you live with another person or your family. Things can get lost very easily, especially stationery! Being organized is very easy nowadays with huge shelves to tiny cabinets. If you have a small space to work with, try not to build shelves that reach the ceiling to make room for your stuff. Instead, you could try making room for your items below the table and in vertical shelves that do not run along the entire space.

Layout

If you’re creating a workspace at home, you probably have a few options about where to set it up. The idea is to find the least noisy spot with great lighting from the window. Also, it is quite important to make sure there is enough space for you to move around and stretch a bit. If you’re a person who works a lot with laptops or desktop, then you probably need this more than others. Stretching and moving around while working is essential for good health. If possible have an elongated layout, so that you have more space to move around.

These are few things to help you to plan your workspace, at home or at office. These are just some ideas, and it is always best if you add your own touch to it, like adding your favorite photos of travel on the board, or using your preferred materials for the furniture. Your work-space should be a place that lets you be productive, creative and relaxed as you work.