Increase Your Productivity, Keep Your Soul
You’re zipping to a plush break room on your Razr scooter, where a gourmet cup of java and sleep pods await you, or, (if you’re very lucky) tapping the keys of your laptop while crashing waves lap at your toes...
Sounds nice, doesn’t it? However, for the majority of people, the concept of an office space is pretty standard (read: no frills, much less tropical breeze).
We may sit at a desk, or worse, occupy a single plot of a larger cube farm. Maybe if we’re lucky, we catch a glimpse of life outside. Our supervisors and bosses expect us to be our most productive selves and while they mean well, the status quo of today’s ambient workspace is hardly conducive to creativity. Not to mention harsh, circadian-maddening fluorescent light isn’t doing us any favors.
Our surroundings influence our mood, creativity, and performance. So what if we transformed aspects we could control within our work environment – how might that impact our processes, our efficiency?
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
During former Brave Q&A days on Instagram we’d receive questions ranging from the type of software we use to managing client expectations and everything in between. One exchange was with a follower named Matt. Matt was faced with a challenge many can empathize with – how to duplicate the creative flow he experiences on his remote days when he's in the office.
He wrote, “I've been finding that my creative work away from the office or after-hours is much more the quality of work I want to achieve. More blood in it so to speak. However, I need that office anchor for day-to-day necessities. How can I create the setting I need for high(er) quality work within the confines of my employer's space?”
I wondered what this would this look like for different people, and most importantly, what actionable steps someone could take to move the needle and find relief, however small.
What came to mind is experimenting and re-creating an atmosphere, or aspects of a particular atmosphere where you thrive. This requires becoming aware of your work style, habits, distractions and what helps promote focus. Observe what’s occurring within those segments of continuous creativity. What internal dialogue is taking place, what's present in your surroundings?
Include sources that promote creativity in your space, try to break the monotony of the day by engaging in a ritual you find especially grounding or inspiring. It could be something as simple as going for a walk and getting some sunshine, which increases circulation and blood flow to the brain to help you think more clearly. Start paying special attention to how you can translate these small but enjoyable habits. Where do you feel calm and at peace? What elements from that environment can you recreate in your workspace?
Also, look for less obvious traits about your space that may not be conducive to your flow. Aside from burning your proverbial cubicle into a pile of ashes, are there conditions that hinder productivity? Don’t underestimate the power of minor changes like maintaining a clean, clutter-free desk, or even playing with ambient lighting.
What do you notice about your workflow that would be beneficial to replicate in the office?
Related Resource
Inspired by the popular GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology, this personal productivity board is a task management system designed to help you capture, clarify, organize, and execute your ideas on a daily basis. For the serial entrepreneurs, manage tasks across multiple ventures all in one place.
