Career, Health & Wellness, Home & Entertaining
Creating an Inspirational Work Space
Mar
Changing times have brought changing circumstances and work spaces to millions of workers over recent weeks. This is a great time to place some attention on your environment and consider whether it uplifts you or impedes your ability to focus on the tasks at hand. This can be true whether you find yourself working from a home office or just want to revamp a personal space—perhaps a craft nook, she-shed, or Zen den. (It can even be applied to your office away from home, once the opportunity arises again.) The following ideas offer tips for creating an inspirational work space.
Honor Your Space
The biggest suggestion I would like to offer is to start by honoring your space. Be grateful to have the opportunity and ability to engage in the activities you will perform in that space. Become excited about the projects in which you will engage. Feel appreciation for your creativity and vitality. When you start with positive intentions and energy, you will create a space filled with those qualities. These uplifted feelings will endure long after the actual items you add to the space have lost their luster. They will then influence the activities themselves.
Set Your Intention
The next step is to do a little soul-searching on what you really want for the space. Spend a little time meditating, brain-storming, or day-dreaming. Then make a list. List the activities you want and need to do in the space, then write the necessary objects you will need to perform them. For example, if you need to spend time on video chats and meetings, you definitely need the technology to support those activities. That is step one. But you also might need to consider privacy from other family members and the background that others will see. If you want to be able to engage in hobby projects, you might need certain paints, pencils, and other craft supplies. Be specific. If the list gets too large, separate immediate needs from longer-term wants and plan to implement these items in stages.
Organize!
At this phase, you need to also consider organization. Keeping our creative and work spaces clean and tidy is often a daunting task for many of us! But follow the advice of experts like Marie Kondo (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up) and realize that when you streamline your space, you allow the energies of creativity and productivity to flow. Many retailers are currently open to support those transitioning to work (or school) from home and are offering curbside pick-up and expedited shipping specials. Get those files in order, then designate a certain time each week that you will spend on keeping your space organized. I know that for me, I always dread this task and often procrastinate, but then I usually find that it takes MUCH less time than I was anticipating. And I always get a real and noticeable burst of energy from my newly de-cluttered office.
After you’ve followed these preparatory steps, you get to engage in the fun! What makes you feel the most uplifted and inspired? Perhaps it’s a certain color scheme. Maybe you love fragrances that come from candles or essential oils. Or you may want to incorporate a small speaker to play your favorites tunes as you work. This is the final element of the blessing of your space—incorporating things that you love. One of my favorite “feel good” tips in life is to take something that is an ordinary part of your everyday routine and make it special in some way. I’m not sure there is a better space to do this than your personal work area.
Spending more time working from home may seem over-whelming. But it can also provide an opportunity to become more intentional about the places within your home. Once you create your inspirational work space, I hope that you will feel more uplifted and less burdened by the circumstances and by the tasks at hand. Be well, dear friends (and work well too!).
- Tools to Accept Change in Your Life - September 14, 2021
- The Blessing of Change - May 12, 2021
- Rituals to Welcome Spring - March 30, 2021
Great suggestions. I love the idea of honoring your space and being grateful in your workspace. Now, more than ever.
Thank you so much, Stacey! We are happy you found the article helpful!