Your productivity and your surroundings at work are intricately linked. Your workspace and your habits have a major influence on your workday. The average North American spends 40% of their day at work – and it can easily feel like longer. When you increase your productivity, you can cut down on those late hours and just get more work done. Improving your work environment starts with your own personal desk.
Put Plants on Your Desk
Studies on workplace environments and productivity show that greenery has a positive impact on productivity workplace-wide. Invest in some small plants you can place on your desk. Plants improve air quality indoors and provide psychological engagement that workers don’t experience in the sterile types of offices that have become popular. Offices with plants have shown 15 percent higher engagement.
Get a Desk by a Window
Casually glancing out the window, or even staring long and hard at what’s going on outside can actually be a positive form of distraction. Glancing out the window can help you avoid eye strain, a common issue among office workers and anyone who spends considerable amounts of time in front of screens. There are also a number of benefits to enjoying more natural light while you work, such as a better mood and improved focus.
Work from a Desk You Enjoy
Whether you have your own office or work from home, there’s a lot to be said for working from a desk you actually enjoy. A desk has a personality. It can be light and airy, heavy and solid. It can be made from earthy wood or it can be sleek and ultra-modern. You can keep it cluttered to reflect the endless stream of ideas in your brain or you can keep it absolutely clear and peaceful so you can focus on the task at hand. From hutch desks to corner desks to writing desks, finding the right shape and fit for your home or your office will let you get straight down to the important stuff.
Use Anti-Distraction Apps at Your Desk
Last but not least, when you’re at your desk, you can minimize distractions by activating anti-distraction tools like Anti-Social and SelfControl. These are apps that target all the things on the internet that keep you distracted. Anti-Social blocks all of the main social media sites without interrupting your internet access, so you can still do all the necessary research. You can set Anti-Social to run for a set period of worktime from 15 minutes to 8 hours. An app like FocusWriter takes away much of the visual clutter when you’re trying to write – all you see is what you’re writing. These are great apps to turn on when you’re at your desk.
Your desk is an important part of your environment and your personality. You should feel comfortable and at your best every time you sit down to get to work.
