Ways To Transform Your Workspace To Be More Efficient And Motivating

Whether you work from a home office or an external workspace, your space should be as charming and welcoming as possible. Similarly, it should be efficient and usable. All of these aspects are possible to achieve with the right tips. 

If you are looking for ways to transform your workspace into one that is more efficient and motivating, let’s dive into it.

Transform the pieces you already have

Transforming your workspace to be more efficient and charming doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. You can use the pieces you already have and tweak them to become more convenient and decorative. For instance, if you have bought pre-made tables and chairs for your design projects and meetings, you can upgrade them with your touches. 

Let’s say you work from an industrial setting or enjoy the industrial look and have recently bought tables for greater task efficiency; Tall Hairpin legs are great for adding an industrial feel to any table. Most shop-bought tables will have the option of unscrewing the legs. Therefore, you can transform an existing table. Alternatively, you could purchase an affordable tabletop and attach the legs. It can be cheap and easy to create an industrial-looking table to get on with your tasks and add character to your workspace. 

Go paper free

A minimal and uncluttered workspace is one where employees can feel and stay motivated. Being surrounded by too much stuff can be distracting. Therefore, an easy way to make the workspace more motivating and efficient is to go paper free. 

Most workplaces, whether you work in construction or finance, will have stacks of paper documents lying around the office. Thanks to technology, this no longer needs to be the case. 

Therefore, you should consider changing your document filing system to digital. Instead of dealing with physical paperwork, you can manage and access it online. This will make your life much easier as you will no longer need to trawl through stacks of paper to find one document. Plus, it will make more free space in your workspace. 

Add more light

The more light you have in your workspace, the better your workspace environment will be. Natural lighting and bright workspaces are motivating as employees will feel stimulated. Think of how you feel when the sun comes out after a long, dull day. You feel motivated, don’t you?

Employees can attain this same motivating feeling when their workspace is as bright and airy as possible. To achieve more light in your workspace, you can do two things:

• Face workstations towards natural light sources. If your employee desks or workstations are currently in dark spaces, you should consider moving them. Moving them toward natural light (the windows) will enable them to receive as much light as possible when working. 
• Add more mirrors. Mirrors are effective at enhancing the lightness and brightness in a room. They work to bounce light around. Therefore, the more mirrors you add to your workspace, the more light can bounce around. Mirrors might act as a distraction, so be smart about their placement. Place them high up or add mirrored decorative pieces around the workspace, as these will have the same effect.

Declutter

A free tip for making your workspace more efficient, spacious, and motivating is to declutter. This goes alongside the ‘go paper free’ tip. If you have less stuff in your workspace, there will be more room for thinking, meetings, and freedom. 

You should assess your workspace and determine which pieces you use and no longer need. You might notice that your filing cabinets are no longer in use due to going paper free.

Or, you might notice that you have spare tables for no reason. Either way, anything you will not find a use for should be removed from the workspace. You can make room for freedom or room for things that will add convenience and efficiency to your business. 

Make it as comfortable as possible

Feeling uncomfortable while performing any task is demotivating. Therefore, you should consider making your workspace more comfortable for employees so that they can continue their work and not worry about how uncomfortable they are. 

Investing in comfortable desk chairs or new uniforms will ensure all employees are as comfortable as possible while performing workplace tasks. The more comfortable employees are, the greater their efficiency will be as they can fully focus on the task ahead.

Add some more color

If your workspace lacks color, it will lack motivation. The more fun your workspace is, the more encouraging and inspiring it will be for your employees. 

You might not want to go crazy with the color. Adding too much color can be a distraction. However, adding colors (through decorative pieces or fun artwork) is a great way to inspire the workspace. 

Opt for white over dark colors

Speaking of color, it is sensible and intelligent to opt for white tones throughout the workspace over dark colors. If you paint an office white, it will attain brightness, which we all know works wonder for employees’ focus. 

You do not have to paint the entire workspace white or buy only white furniture. But, being smart about choosing lighter colors over dark colors will ensure the workspace can remain as bright and motivating as possible. 

Don’t skimp on the plants

An easy and effective way to add some extra color and life to the workspace is by adding plants. Plants can work in any workspace – an office or a warehouse. 

Plants add life and inspiration to a space, just like they do in a home. Plants are affordable decorative pieces that can also improve the space’s airflow. 

If you do not want to care for the plants due to other commitments, you could invest in artificial plants. These will have the same effect, but you will not have to attend to their needs. 

Relaxation areas

Employees need to take breaks. If they try to work through the entire day, or even a morning, without a break, they might experience burnout and fatigue. If an employee experiences either (or both) of these things, they will lack efficiency and focus. 

Therefore, giving employees a space to relax and take breaks will make your business more efficient. Your employees might head outside for breaks if you need a relaxation zone. This is great to allow them to get fresh air, but it might cause them to get distracted or return to work later than they would from an in-office area.

You could add a small corner with a water station, motivating artwork, a comfortable sofa, and snacks so that employees can rest and reset. 

Dedicated meeting areas

Should your business need to hold meetings regularly, you should try to dedicate a specific space for this (if you have the room).

A dedicated meeting area will ensure employees can switch off their tasks and focus on the meeting and conversation. It will also give employees a space to speak confidentially with others when they need to.

Personal desks

Should your workspace be office-based and have desks for employees to work from, it can be smart to give each employee their own desk. Although many companies might admit that hot desking works, where people move desks every so often, it won’t allow those employees who like leaving their belongings on the desk to do so. 

Therefore, it is a great move to ask employees what they want and if they agree they would like their own desk where they can leave their belongings, then do so. 

Allowing employees to have their own desks will ensure they can have everything they need in front of them when working. They can leave their glasses, notepad, and work phone there, come back to the desk each day and be ready for work without having to faff with moving. 

No phone rule (temporary or permanent)

Personal mobiles in the workspace can be handy and mature for employees to have. They might need to take a personal call, which is fine. However, if employees are found to be on their phones more than their work tasks, it will hinder their concentration and reduce the efficiency of your business. 

Therefore, you should take it upon yourself to establish a no-phone rule for certain hours of the day or all together. You could have a table where employees leave their phones; when they need them, they can fetch them and use them away from their desks. It will benefit your business and their mindset. 

These simple tips can soon transform your workspace into one that is efficient and motivating. Even moving the desks around so that employees can attain more natural light is effective for enhancing their focus, which will enhance the efficiency of your business.

If you can, try to nail all steps so maximize the efficiency of your business. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to transform your business and enhance its results. Small and simple measures can be highly effective.