Office environments can have a significant impact on your health, wellness and productivity. Whether you’re working from your home office, flexible workspaces or your place of employment, creating a productive workspace is essential if you want to stay focused and improve your motivation. Your office layout and design can maximize your workspace, ensuring you’re productive and meeting those all-important business goals. So, how can you optimize your workspace for increased productivity and health? Let’s find out. 

How to Make Turn Your Office Into A Productive Workspace

Consider these top tips to make your workspace a place of increased motivation. 

  • Encourage Movement 

Having an open office that encourages you to move around helps to promote better productivity. This could involve using sit to standing desks, ergonomic chairs, placing a printer on the other side of the room or having a flexible schedule. Movement fuels the opportunity for rest which has been shown to increase productivity and motivation in the long run. 

  • Create A Comfortable Workspace

A comfortable workspace that is free from distractions will encourage productivity and collaboration. It’s important to have a workspace where there is lots of natural light and airy spaces. Keeping plants in the office is also effective as green spaces create cleaner air for improved wellness. Additionally, they are said to help in reducing stress and tension. 

  • Create Storage Space for Gadgets

Phones, tablets and electronic gadgets are distractions that affect your concentration. When you’re working, place all of your gadgets into a designated storage space so that you avoid any tempting notifications or messages. You can always check them during your break time. 

  • Declutter Your Workspace

A messy desk can be overwhelming so take 5 minutes every day to declutter your workspace. Place stationery items back in their correct place and neaten all of your work essentials. This reduces the number of distractions on your desk. It’s also a good idea to make a note of things that need doing the following day. Keeping a small notepad on your desk is ideal, especially if you work from home. You don’t need to worry about forgetting any important work information either. 

  • Allocate Designated Meeting Spaces

Team members should have designated meeting spaces within an open-plan office. This gives them somewhere to collaborate and stay focused. It also enables employees to get up and move around, fuelling creativity and concentration. 

  • Invest in Good Lighting

Good lighting helps you to stay focused. If you have little natural light in your office, it’s important to invest in good lighting, such as natural light bulbs and lamps. Bad lighting can cause headaches and eye strain so it’s particularly imperative to have good lighting around your desk. 

  • Select The Right Colors 

Room colors have a significant effect on our mood. Too many different or bright colors can be overwhelming while pastel hues are said to promote calm. Want to boost your productivity? Try using pops of blue around your workspace. This could be anything from a mood/vision board to plant pots. A sprinkle of blue shades will help to improve your productiveness without being overpowering. 

  • Choose An Optimal Room Temperature

A warm room can ignite productivity and motivation. It’s important to choose a warm room temperature that doesn’t make your office feel stuffy, especially during the warmer months. If you work in an office where the temperature is regulated out of your control, try bringing a sweater or portable heater to work so that you can add some warmth to your surroundings. 

  • Add A Complementary Room Scent

The aroma of a room has an impact on our overall mindset. Zingy citrus scents are said to evoke alertness, while cinnamon scents are great for boosting focus. If you want to improve your mood, try spritzing a peppermint scent around your workspace. If you work in a shared office, be mindful of using scents around others as they may not appreciate your efforts. Instead, use essential oils in a handy rollerball so that you can apply them to your wrist or temples. 

  •  Use The Best Background Noise

Background noise can have an impact on your productivity levels. Loud noises tend to be distracting. However, working in complete silence isn’t always the most effective scenario, particularly if you work best with some background noise. Depending on what works best for you, either invest in some noise-cancelling headphones (if you work in a noisy, shared office) or use a platform like Coffitivity to add gentle background noise to your workspace. 

  •  Nourish Your Body

Our brains require nutrients to work hard throughout the day. Keeping a couple of snacks at your desk can help you to power through a morning, afternoon or mid-day slump. Nuts, seeds, fruits and yoghurt are all healthy, nutritious snacks to munch on. If you work from home, heading to the kitchen can be distracting so try keeping some pre-prepared snacks close to your workspace. 

  •  Keep The Kids Entertained

When you’re working from home, children can send your productivity levels plummeting. If you have children, ensure you set up regular childcare to keep them entertained. This way, you don’t have to worry about your work getting interrupted and you can fully focus on the task at hand. If you can’t find childcare outside of your home, see if you can get a friend or family member to babysit while you work. 

  •  Place Your Items Into Storage 

Have you recently converted existing space into a productive workspace? Then, you might have an abundance of stuff you don’t know what to do with. Reach out to a local storage provider to see how much they charge to put your additional items into storage while you decide what you want to do with them in the long term. This will help keep your workspace uncluttered and fit for purpose from the get-go. It’s important you look for a secure storage facility with optimal temperature controls to keep your items well-protected.

About the author:
Patryk Panczuk runs a removals and storage company called Removals & Storage Experts based in London. He is passionate about helping people make a new house a home and to do away with the stress of moving.