How a Minimalist Workspace Can Improve Productivity.
This week, I have a guest post by Luke Smith, who writes about one of my favourite topics, minimalism.
Minimalism has been trending for a while now. However, it’s often brought up in the context of personal life. Things like decluttering an area or getting rid of certain possessions are always brought up in relation to your living spaces and personal items.
However, you can also apply the concept of minimalism to your workspace, too. It doesn’t matter if you operate out of a cubicle in an office, a desk in a bullpen, or a home office. You can utilise minimalism not just to create a clean, aesthetically pleasing workspace, but to boost your productivity, too.
What Is Minimalism?
Minimalism is often associated with shedding the need for material possessions — and make no mistake, that’s certainly part of the outward manifestation of the minimalist lifestyle. However, there’s much more to minimalism than simply getting rid of all your stuff.
Minimalism is focused on looking past material possessions and focusing on finding freedom from anxiety, fear, guilt, depression, stress, and many of the other emotional and mental battles that come with living in a consumer-centric era. It encourages you to slow down and think about the way you’re living your life. This applies to everything, from the way you choose to lay out each room of your home to the number of responsibilities that you take on or the activities that you intentionally sign up for.
In a word, minimalism is about making life manageable, and by extension, introducing a sense of peace and enjoyment, even into your everyday activities.
Minimalism Applied in the Workspace
Minimalism can be applied in a workspace in a variety of different ways. For instance, you can:
Declutter your workspace.
Organise your digital files and documents.
Set up a minimalistic productivity system to efficiently collect, organise, and execute work.
Create to-do lists and set up calendars and schedules.
Illuminate a clean, efficient office with proper lighting.
As you can see, minimalism isn’t just about getting rid of things. It also includes things like organisation, structure, and even lighting.
How Minimalism Boosts Professional Productivity
Alright. At this point, we’ve covered what minimalism is and how it can be applied in the workplace. The question that remains is how a minimalistic workspace can improve productivity. What is it about simplifying your professional life that can ultimately boost your output?
It turns out there are actually several different benefits to minimalism that either directly or indirectly make an impact on your productivity. Here are a few of the most common ones that come to mind:
Minimalism helps you focus: A decluttered, clean, and organised workspace is ideal for improving concentration. It enables you to focus on the task at hand without being distracted by a myriad of unnecessary additional factors.
Minimalism can boost your creativity: Innovation is often a key ingredient for productivity. When your spaces are purposeful, orderly, and clean it can naturally boost your creativity.
Minimalism gives you more time: When you have minimal possessions and they are all kept in specific locations, it can make it much easier to use them in an efficient manner. This goes for everything from online calendars to staplers and everything in between.
Minimalism can increase your positivity: It’s much easier to stay motivated and focused when you’re in a good mood. Minimalism can help with that. For instance, things like good lighting — a mainstay of minimalism — can be a huge part in increasing the good vibes in your office and, by extension, boosting your productivity as well.
Minimalism reduces illness: Minimalism can impact your health by reducing your exposure to bacteria via a clean workspace. It can also improve mental health by addressing things like stress and anxiety, once again decreasing the number of potential sick or personal days you might otherwise have needed throughout the year.
Minimalism has a plethora of different benefits. While these impact your life in a variety of different ways, when applied in the workplace, the minimalist lifestyle can have a particularly significant impact on your productivity. This may not be the exclusive goal of most minimalists, but it is certainly one of the best natural side effects of minimalism in the professional setting.
Embracing Minimalism in Your Workspace
We live in an era that is defined by things like work-life balance and work-from-home offices. This can make it easy to focus on the comfort of your workspace. However, it’s also wise to consider the efficiency and productivity of your workspace.
Is clutter slowing you down? Are you feeling constantly stressed out? Is it difficult to stay focused while you’re working?
If any of these are the case, there’s a good chance that minimalism can help get you out of a workflow rut. By implementing basic minimalist concepts like decluttering, organising your digital files, implementing schedules and to-do lists, and setting up mood lighting, you can cash in on the productive side effects of maintaining a minimalist workspace.
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