Build the Ideal Work or Study Environment in 4 Steps

Whether we’re working from our kitchen table, the couch, or a dedicated home office, the environment around us shapes our productivity, focus, and overall work satisfaction.
Yet most of us accept whatever space we’re given without realizing how much control we actually have over our performance.

Today we explore 4 directions to improve your daily work experience!

Most of these changes cost little to nothing and can be implemented immediately, no matter if you’re working from home or trying to optimize your work office setup.

Prepare the room

Open the window before working for better air quality: studies² have shown that a room with too much CO2 concentration can decrease our cognitive abilities by up to 50%.

Include as much natural light as possible in the room. Use soft lights, if needed, and adapt the light used depending on the time of the day. For example, during the evening, avoid bright LEDs that are rich in blue light and can alter the body clock, causing sleeping issues.

Control the room temperature as much as possible: the ideal temperature range³ is 21-24°C (70-75.2°F). For our productivity addicts out there, the optimal sweet spot for peak cognitive performance has been measured to be 22°C (71.6°F).

Clean your desk

In her notable book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” ¹, Marie Kondo discusses about the importance of working in a room with a desk that is clean and rid of unnecessary items that could affect our state of mind or obstruct the field of view between us and the computer (or paper).

In order to maintain a visual, calm environment, we recommend getting rid of unnecessary objects and investing in storage solutions to keep the essential items accessible.

A great icing on the cake is adding a few personal touches that inspire, without distracting. Plants, artwork, or meaningful objects can boost mood and creativity. It is linked to color psychology, as different hues affect productivity and well-being.

Adjust the setup to avoid discomfort

When working on a desk five days a week and not wanting to go to the chiropractor every week, it becomes of the utmost importance to adjust our equipment to the right settings.

Set the keyboard and mouse at the right height: you should not have to raise your shoulders to reach your mouse or type something on the keyboard.

Investing into a good quality chair will never be wasted money, as it prevents back injury in the long-term.

The screen should be straight at your eyes level to prevent cervical issues: you shouldn’t look down or too much up at the screen. Note that you can put your laptop on a stand, or your monitor on books or boxes to reach the desired height.

Do not disturb

After getting our room and desk clean, an important matter is to assure that no one will disturb us during the time when we are focusing on a task. These periods of time dedicated to focusing on work without interruptions are labeled by Cal Newport⁴ as ‘deep work’ sessions.

You may inform colleagues (or family) that you are not reachable during a recurrent period each day (it can be three days a week, just adapt to your situation) and that all questions will be answered once your deep work session is over.

Now that we have an environment suitable for work, discover how we can train ourselves to be in ideal mental and physical conditions to achieve everything that we want by checking our dedicated article: Set up your Body and Mind in Condition for Work.

References:

1. Marie Kondo (2011). “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”.
2. Joseph G Allen, Piers MacNaughton, Usha Satish, Suresh Santanam, Jose Vallarino, John D Spengler (2015). “Associations of Cognitive Function Scores with Carbon Dioxide, Ventilation, and Volatile Organic Compound Exposures in Office Workers: A Controlled Exposure Study of Green and Conventional Office Environments”.
3. O. Seppänen, W. J. Fisk and Q.H. Lei (2006). “Room Temperature and Productivity in Office Work”.
4. Cal Newport (2016). “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World”.