On average, a person will spend a quarter of their life at work. That’s a lot of hours spent looking at the same boring gray walls of your office or cubicle. To make those forty hours a week go by a little faster, try personalizing your workspace.
When you personalize your workspace, you can make your office a more enjoyable place to be. It’s time to get out the craft supplies and a healthy dose of creativity. With these simple ways to personalize your workspace, you can easily turn your office into a home away from home.
Add Some Life to Your Surroundings
Adding plants to your office will not only improve the aesthetics but can improve your health as well. Dr. Chris Knight, a psychologist from Exeter University has even found that employees are 15 percent more productive when they work in an environment where plants are present.
In addition to giving you health benefits and a boost in productivity, when you personalize your workspace with plants it can bring a smile to your face when you need it the most. Try starting out with small potted succulents that are easy to care for and affordable. Then move up to bigger plants and small trees that can truly transform your workspace.
Surround Yourself With the Things You Love
Adding pictures of your family, friends, and pets can help you personalize your workspace. You can easily find discounted frames at thrift stores and print out family pictures or snapshots from your Instagram.
Try including pictures of past vacations, your favorite places, and the things you like to do the most. This way if you’re ever feeling stressed out or down at work, you can be comforted by the pictures of the things and people you love most.
Personalize Your Workspace with Lighting
Another great way to personalize your workspace is with lighting. We all know how awful office lighting can be, with headache-inducing fluorescent lights that just don’t set the right vibe for calmness and productivity.
An easy way to personalize your workspace with lighting is to hang up fairy lights or unused holiday lights. These will provide a soft glow and turn your office or cubicle into a magical wonderland.
Create Your Very Own Vision Board
Last but not least, a simple way you can personalize your workspace is by hanging up a vision board. A vision board is a simple whiteboard or corkboard that you fill with images and quotes representing your goals and motivations in life.
Vision boards work because when you visualize yourself achieving your goals, the same parts of your brain that are lit up when you actually achieve your goals are activated. Think of your vision board as your dream board.
Take some time to think about your short term and long term goals, and the big picture of your life. Then rummage through old magazines and Pinterest boards to find correlating images, inspiring quotes. and motivating advice that you can cut out and paste to your board.
If want to know more tips on improving your workspace, check out our blog “How to Know When You’re Office Furniture Isn’t Doing Its Job.”