How to Make Your Workspace Work for You

Whether you work (or study) from home, or have an assigned desk at work, it’s important to make your workspace your own. Personalising your space can increase productivity, and help prompt ideas during brainstorming sessions – so really, there’s no excuse not to!

Here are a few quick tips to making your workspace work for you.

Make sure everything has its place

There’s nothing worse than sitting down to get work done, only to find your belongings in a mess, your workspace being used as storage, or that your favourite pen has gone missing.

It’s important that you know where everything is, and that it’s all organised according to how you use it. Grab an old cup for your pens, and invest in a few storage options for your papers and knick-knacks so you can get stuck into your work or study without needing to have a huge tidy first.

Get your fave pens

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to splurge on some stationery, this is your sign. You don’t have to go crazy, but making sure that your pens work, that you’ve got a highlighter when you need it, and you’ve actually got a pencil sharpener can be super helpful.

If you have the opposite issue and you have an extreme collection of pens and stationery you’ve collated over the last decade, then it’s time to do a clear out. Grab some paper, and go through each pen, pencil, marker, and highlighter and test that it works. Chuck the ones that don’t work anymore, and find a way to organise the remaining items so that your favourite ones are easy to get to.

Stock your desk with your fave snack

If you work in an office (or just weirdly far away from your kitchen at home), it’s not the worst idea to invest in a couple of desk snacks (nothing with a strong smell or a loud wrapper). Think museli bars for your 3 o’clock slump, or even some tea bags if the ones in the kitchen are a bit dismal. Whatever it is that will help you get through the day, then that’s what you go for.

Decorate

It may sound surprising, but you do actually live while at your workspace, so have some evidence of other areas of your life isn’t a bad idea. Think photos, cards, drawings, or notes that are (obviously) work appropriate, and that make you smile or give you inspiration.

The practicalities

The final thing to have at your desk to really make it your own, is some of the essentials like breath mints, or even hand cream, lip balm, or deodorant. These are the types of things you can find yourself needing at a moment’s notice, so have a small and tidy stock at your desk may prove a life saver.

Featured image courtesy of Unsplash