4 Tips for Creating an Inspiring Office

Written by / Mighty Girl

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    • libbywork1624x258.jpgI rent a little writing office, and I recently acquired an office mate. She was all set to move in when I realized I was embarrassed to have anyone see my workspace, let alone share it. At the time, it was a barren closet packed with boxes and junk I’d dragged in from the car.

    Together we’ve been revamping, and slowly the storage closet is turning into a jewel box. Here’s what I’ve learned about making an office into an inspiring space.

    1. Take good care of yourself.

    It’s tough for an office to be inspiring if it’s not physically comfortable, so start by taking care of your body. Get yourself:
    - a chair that doesn’t cause you pain,
    - some good light,
    - and maybe a pitcher of water to keep you hydrated.
    There. That’s better already.

    2. Make yourself welcome.

    Now that you’re physically comfortable, consider how you feel when you walk in to your workspace. If you want to feel happier, start by removing junk and introducing a mood lifter.
    Extra stuff makes it harder to find things, and sucks up your productive energy. So get rid of:
    - everything you don’t absolutely adore, and
    - anything you don’t use regularly.
    Once you’ve cleared some space, treat yourself to something that sends a welcoming message:
    - fresh flowers or a plant,
    - some art,
    - a seating space for visitors.

    Margaret Mason
    Margaret Mason
    Maggie Mason is the author of No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog, publisher of Mighty Mighty Media, and a Twitter power user (@Maggie). Her personal blog, Mighty Girl was recently nominated for a SxSW Lifetime Achievement Award, and she was named one of Silicon Valley's Top 50 Influencers by Now Public.

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    • http://profile.typepad.com/6p011572179d73970b Anonymous

      Great post for location independents and anyone else looking to transform their drab office digs into something more. =]

    • http://profile.typepad.com/6p0000000000000014 Sarah Berry

      I love the idea that “we’re all attracted to novelty” (so true and well said) and also the idea of creating a space where that novelty can live but not take over your life. I will pass on this message and it’s corresponding tip. Would love to see your own inspiration board.

    • http://profile.typepad.com/6p0000000000000014 Peter Quince

      God – we need to do better with our space. Thanks for this!

    • http://profile.typepad.com/6p0000000000000014 Margaret

      I clicked through to this post from Maggie’s blog. When I arrived at this page, the whole post was laid out in front of me, but after a second or two, half the post (which is only 395 words long) disappeared, the post having split itself into two pages. So, in order to read 395 words, I’ve had to click on two separate links, the first of which duplicates what I’ve already read.

      I really like reading what Maggie writes, but this kind of overzealous pagination is really frustrating (and doubly so when it’s apparent that all of the content is in the code of the first page, anyway, as evidenced by what I saw when the page loaded). The only reason for it is to increase ad views. While I understand that advertising is necessary to support online content, it really bothers me when content is made subordinate to the ads so blatantly.

      The real problem is that such things distract one from what one is reading. Having been so distracted, were you to ask me now to summarize what those 395 words said, I’d be hard pressed to tell you, even though reading them was why I came to this page in the first place.