Whether you live in an apartment, cabin, or mansion, ideally you should enjoy the space you work in. In today’s world of hybrid working, with many working from home at least some of the time, it’s becoming increasingly obvious to that the way your space is constructed has a huge impact on your mood and motivation. But not to fear, there are simple and inexpensive ways to create a huge impact and improve your home office.
Creating Balance With Geometry
Don’t worry, this isn’t as difficult as it sounds. You don’t need to understand angels or interior design to effectively Fengshui your space, no graphing calculator needed. There are just two things you need to know that are intuitive to human behavior that can help you achieve equilibrium in your space: the focal point and the center point.
The focal point of the room is where your eyes go first.
It’s usually something large and prominent, like a window or fireplace. The focal point creates aesthetic equilibrium, basically, it makes the room look good. If you have a large window, you can draw the eye towards this focal point by framing it with artwork or plants. If your room doesn’t have a natural focal point or has short walls, try hanging a large mirror on the wall. This creates the illusion of more space and draws the eye in a pleasing way.
The center point, on the other hand, creates physical equilibrium.
It anchors the space in something real and prompts the way people flow through the room. Even though it’s called the ‘center point’, it doesn’t actually have to be in the middle of the room. Think of the way a couch and coffee table are positioned in a living room - prominent but not dead center. Whatever you choose as your center point, make sure it’s a design style that you personally enjoy.
The idea of using geometry helps create moments in your space and prompts your mind and body towards a certain mood or activity. If you’re stuck, try rearranging your furniture in different ways until you find something that fits.
Achieving Work-Life Balance From Home
In business, we hear a lot about work-life balance: the psychology of creating boundaries between work life and home life in order to promote emotional equilibrium. But this becomes increasingly more difficult when work and home life take place in the exact same space.
If you’ve found yourself working from home in the past two years you’ve most likely encountered a “work from bed” sort of day. Maybe you noticed afterward that falling asleep or relaxing in your bedroom became a bit more difficult. This is because as humans we quickly create strong associations between spaces, activities, and emotions.
If you blend the spaces where you work and relax too much you might find that it becomes difficult to stay focused during work and conversely, harder to actually relax during your free time.
Not all of us have the luxury of a home with many rooms, but luckily there are easy ways to create boundaries even within a single room. This can be accomplished by changing the atmosphere in the room with light, sound, and even smell. Perhaps during work hours, you use a bright overhead light and during free time, you use ambient light through lamps. Studies also show that smell can be one of the most effective ways of creating an association. Many people find that lighting a candle or incense only during specific moments helps create an atmosphere of relaxation or motivation. It’s all about finding what works for you and sticking with it.
Get Creative With Contrast and Color
I think many people underestimate the importance of a little personal flair. While it may seem costly or complicated to decorate a room there are easy ways to spruce up a space to bring character. Besides style, decking your work space in contrasting colors and textures can help diminish a very real problem called eye fatigue.
Scientifically speaking, our eyes become tired when trying to tell the difference between things that have similar colors and textures. Our brains instinctively want to index different things in our visual field and will continually try even if we aren’t focused.
If you’re working space is monotone (especially if you’re working in front of a computer) bring some contrast in through artwork, rugs, and plants. Not only will it bring warmth to your home office but it will help your eyes stay perky. Plants are also proven to have a big impact on mood, one study showing that people who can see greenery from their houses are on average happier.
If you don’t feel like investing in expensive plants, you can easily get plants for very cheap or free. The next time you eat an avocado, try saving the pit and growing it. All you need is 3 toothpicks, a cup of water, and in a month or two you will have a baby avocado tree.
And that’s all the tips we have, for now. Hopefully, we’ve helped you bring a little oomph to your home office. If you’re looking for new smart accessories to help streamline your everyday life, check out our range of time-saving essentials and subscribe to our newsletter below for exclusive offers. Now, time to get back to work 💪.
