Decorating Your Workspace

With as much time as we spend working at our jobs, it is important to make the space you occupy as invigorating and comfortable as possible. Make workspace is your home away from home with these simple tips.

• Rearrange. A new perspective offers a fresh look. Move your chair, switch cubicles with a friend, or have your computer switch sides of the desk. If your workspace is in your home, consider switching rooms. A desk can be placed facing the window, the door, or even in the middle of the room with extra seating facing the desk as a way to welcome clients and coworkers.
• Replace. Get rid of any outdated office equipment and replace with equipment more suited to your needs and taste. Chances are you will never fix that broken stapler or find the missing screw to the broken office chair. Increase your quality of life and time by going ahead and finding those replacements. Make the colors in your workspace coordinate by replacing containers which are mismatched.
• Rethink. Is your desk too small for a nice lamp but you still need the extra lighting? Use string lights. Is your desk running out of space to place your equipment? Consider adding in shelving for more storage. No room to place a picture frame of your family? Create a gallery wall with a mix of circular picture frames, oval picture frames, and vintage picture frames. Your heart will light up with joy every time you gaze upon it.
• Rehome. Take yourself shopping in your own home. Are there items which aren’t needed or are being underutilized in your house? Pack them up and take them to the office. Host a decorating swap with other co-workers. Have them bring in items they no longer use or need and see if they can find new pieces among their coworkers’ discards.
• Revitalize. Add in a small plant to breathe life and air into the office. Succulents are easy to maintain and don’t require much sunlight. Bring an electronic candle to add warmth and ambience to your space. If other coworkers aren’t a factor or don’t mind, bring in a water feature or small iPod dock to bring relaxing sounds to your office. Cheer up the drab gray dividers of a cubicle by applying wallpaper with Velcro or printing out poster sized prints of scenes which relax you.
• Remember. If you share an office, your workspace is not yours and yours alone. Look around the office to see how others have decorated their personal areas and follow in accordance. Your workspace is the place to post anything even mildly offensive or distracting. Make your workspace a place where you, your clients and your coworkers are happy.