Whether we work in the office or from home, it is important for us to have a clean and well-organized space. The items within the space that surrounds us, hugely affect our work, therefore we want everything to be as spacious and comfortable as possible. Here are some tips on how to improve your workspace:

Correct lighting. Light regulates melatonin and serotonin in our brain, affecting wakefulness and mood. We respond to natural daylight much better than electric light, therefore try to fill your space with as much natural light as possible. If you use artificial lighting, make sure to have energy-saving bulbs.

Fix the temperature. The optimal temperature for your workspace is around 21.5 degrees Celsius. Be sure to change it, if it’s below or above the average.

Adjust your laptop’s height. Ideally, the screen should be at eye-level when you are looking directly forward. Some of our monitors have adjustable stands, making it easy for us to raise or lower them.

Add some colour. It is proved that colour has a huge impact on how we are feeling and whether we are motivated enough. Variety and balance are needed in the workspace and colours should be appropriate to the space. Try introducing some colourful pictures or even your own artwork into the workspace.

Surround yourself with plants. We feel more relaxed and peaceful in our workspace and less constrained, since we placed some of the outside environment inside, such as plants in pots. Try to surround yourself with more plants and you will notice the positive influence they will start to have on you.

Coffee relocation. Making a break every once in a while is essential for our motivation and physical activity. For example, our kettle is placed in an area, a bit further then our desks. So whenever we want to make a coffee break, we get up and go there, which counts as exercising as well.

Analyze environments that inspire you. Sometimes we feel more productive at a different spot, like in a café or a diner. If so, try next time to make a list of things that you like, like lighting, sounds, colours. Things like that are good to incorporate into your own workspace.

Decluttering. We try to get rid of any stuff that we don’t need since working in a messy environment is not very promising. All our accessories are in the correct for us places. But there is also something called virtual mess, on our desktops. Having too many files on your computer can cause it to be slow or even crash. So once in a while we take the time to declutter through unused files to make it easier for us to find certain work files.