As a working professional your livelihood likely depends on your ability to produce high quality work within a reasonable timeframe. Therefore, maintaining a high level of productivity is essential to both your professional and personal success.

Sitting in an ugly, cramped office or a room at home is just about the easiest way to send yourself running to your favorite websites hoping to make the workday pass faster. This lack of productivity allows your valuable creative juices to spill out and escape. Luckily, I have a solution for you! There are methods that you can use to adapt the design of your office in painless and inexpensive ways that are guaranteed to increase your productivity.

Consider these 5 tips to easily turn your office into a space that encourages a productive workflow.

1. Comfort is Essential

Your chances of churning out high quality work rise substantially if you’re comfortable in your own office. Ensure that your office space is well ventilated (especially during the hotter summer months.) A window is ideal! However, if your office lacks a window, try using plants to promote airflow. If possible, leave your office door open to prevent it from feeling like a stuffy cave.

When considering comfort, ergonomics, the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment, should be a high priority. Invest in an ergonomic office chair, keyboard, and mouse. Good lighting is also essential to avoid eye strain while sitting in front of a computer. Get both a desk lamp and an overhead light for a well-lit office.

2. Color Therapy

Choose a subdued, cool color for your office that promotes tranquility and focus. Colors such as light blue, fern green, or white tend to encourage effectiveness. Therefore, they’re ideal color selections for your office. If you don’t have the ability to paint your walls, finding wall art that incorporates these colors can do the trick!

My advice is to stay away from warm and dark colors. Avoiding colors such as orange, red, and magenta, which can be very distracting and heavy on the eyes, might help increase your focus and productivity.

Something else that can potentially have a negative effect on your eyes is excessive screen time. Staring at a monitor or laptop screen all day is bound to strain your eyes and leave you feeling exhausted. Especially for those of you who work late into the evenings. Blue light exposure from a screen has been proven to affect your sleep cycle. So, if you are looking for a helpful and stylish accessory, blue light glasses might be just what you need!

3. Aesthetics

The aesthetic appeal of your office space is an important factor in determining your level of efficiency and happiness while on the job. You want an office you’re proud to show off. You have the power to create a space that makes you feel like an executive, no matter what position you hold.

Wall colors, plants, the finish on your furniture, lighting and window treatments all play a vital role in the aesthetics of your office space. However, you’re the only person that can determine the right aesthetic direction for your personal workspace.

4. Efficiency

If while working you find yourself getting up from your seat often, you are at a greater risk interrupting your work focus and might return to your desk lost in thought or with a blank mind. To avoid losing focus during transitions, try placing items that you access regularly during the day as close to you as possible. Make it a point to keep the following items within arm’s reach:

• Printer
• Scanner
• Phone
• Files
• Other tools or documents you commonly use

The strategic placement of these items helps to maintain an uninterrupted focus that’ll save valuable time in your daily workflow or routine.

5. A Touch of Personality

Most working adults spend a great amount of time in their offices every week. Therefore, it’s important that you feel as if the space is “yours!” Personalize your office by hanging artwork that you find enchanting, place photos of your family on your desk, and bring along a snazzy throw pillow which accents your office’s overall color scheme.

These simple injections of personality will transform your office from a place of business to your home away from home. Make it an inviting work environment by incorporating your favorite colors, beautiful plants, and pictures of the people you love the most. After all, you’ll be spending at least 40 hours a week there!

Whether you’re self-employed or working for a boss, a comfortable office is an essential factor in your potential for success and advancement. Optimize the design of your workspace to promote effectiveness and reflect your best you. When you do, you’ll be surprised how quickly you begin to experience the success you deserve and gain a sense of control over your work life.

6. Ask for Help

It’s okay to ask for help, everyone needs it from time to time and I am here for you.

If you are in need of organizing or additional help with clutter free design to enhance productivity, please call me directly at 310.904.9720 or contact me.