For many people, their office is something like their second home – given the hours most people spend working every day, it is easy to see why.
And just like your home, which is decorated in a way that makes you feel comfortable and at ease, your office serves a purpose too – in this case, productivity; therefore, you should create a productive atmosphere.
Like at home, the right office atmosphere can also be created by the right decor and design.
A perfect office is an inviting place that makes everyone who enters feel comfortable and inspired. That way, a professional company image can be conveyed, and work becomes more productive.
Here are a few helpful tips on how to make your office an inviting workspace that brightens your mood and boosts productivity.
To turn your office into a comfortable place that you enjoy spending time in, use the power of colours to your advantage. A harmonic colour scheme can have a large impact on your comfort, mood, and productivity.
Pick one or two colours that make you feel comfortable and at ease and use them as a base for your office decorations.
If you own the place or work from home, you could go as far as painting your office walls or sections of them in a colour that makes you feel good and brightens your mood. Another idea is to hang up a poster or painting that fits your chosen colour scheme.
However, if you are only allowed to make small changes to your office, you can just use smaller items on your desks, such as a vase, photo frame, pencil case, or even just a water bottle in your preferred colours.
By the way, plants also have proven to have a positive impact on comfort and productivity; and the right flowerpot is a great way to perfect your colour scheme as well.
Picking the right colour depends a lot on your own preferences and the mood you would like to transmit. For example, subtle colours such as pale green, grey and nearly any pastel tone are easy on the eye and create a peaceful, tranquil atmosphere.
Bright colours such as yellow, orange, bright green or blue, on the other hand, are real mood-boosters and rather stimulating.
Once your colour scheme is picked and matches your furniture, the next step is to get all the necessary little helpers needed for your daily tasks.
Make a list with all the items you need on and around your desk, but we recommend keeping it short, so you avoid starting off with a cluttered desk. It is important to leave some open space for your thoughts and ideas.
Once everything you need is on the list, find a designated place for every item. That way you avoid having to look for it every time you need a stapler, folder or notebook – which might interrupt your workflow.
To keep your brain active and focused, make sure your office is bright and you have enough light around your desk. Here, daylight has the best effect and is known to increase productivity by up to 18%; thus, placing your desk near a window is a great idea.
If you don’t have that option, you might want to get a bright lamp with white rather than yellow light on or near your desk. In that case, a daylight lamp that imitates natural light is the best option.
Your office walls are another great way to make the most of your workspace. Your ideal wall design depends on your own style and should match your preferences.
If, for example, you love to work with to-do lists and notes, hanging a pin wall or whiteboard near your desk can be a helpful way to improve your workflow.
Others like it cosy and prefer decorating their walls with a framed photo, poster or painting. For some extra motivation during your workday, a picture of something you are saving for or working towards could be the right choice.
And then, there is always the option to keep it simple and minimalist by not hanging anything at all.
An untidy desk is a real productivity-killer. Papers, pens and notes that are wildly spread across the desk are visual noise that keeps your brain from focusing and should be avoided. So, make sure to keep your desk clean and tidy to better be able to focus on the important tasks.
Boxes are a great way to prevent little items from intruding on your productive atmosphere since they make an office look neat and tidy.
Place a small box on your desk for small objects such as sticky notes, a stapler, and other supplies, to keep them within reach, and a larger one near your desk that can be filled with paper, notebooks, a calendar and other useful items.
Another great way to prevent a messy desk without constantly having to tidy up is a small table or drawer chest beside your desk to store objects that are not currently used but need to be within reach for you.
This will help you avoid interruptions to your workflow while also preventing those items from cluttering up your productivity zone. After finishing a task, or at the end of your workday, clean up the small table and take everything back to its designated place.
We hope we were able to give you some useful tips on how to create a productive atmosphere in your office and make you feel inspired and comfortable.
When it comes to offices, it is always difficult to decide which decorations would enhance the workspace and which ones would only distract you and feel counterproductive. To get more insights into office design, check out WEMA Raumkonzepte, an office design company from Germany.
