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How Important is Your Workspace to Creativity & Productivity?

A bicycle against the feature wall in the MadeByShape studio
Caution! This article is 7 years old, and our opinions may have changed.

Whether you’re plugging away at home, furiously typing in an office, or scribbling in a design studio, the space in which you work is crucial when it comes to being both creative and productive. To be at your best, your workspace should be all at once a sanctuary and a source of constant inspiration. It has to be a place you want to be.

If you let it become messy, you will start to associate your work with the surrounding chaos. And if it’s dull and boring, there’s no reason for you to be excited when you get there.

We’ve put a great deal of hard work, energy, and focus into creating a studio that promotes creativity and productivity, and truly reflects our values as a company. You can read about that here.

Below, we’re going to distil just what we learned, and why it’s so important that you have a space to work that makes you creative and prolific.

Keep It Bright, Keep It Clean

Make sure your office or studio has an abundance of natural light. This means plenty of windows; the bigger, the better.

The light brings energy into the room and, depending on your creative disciplines, it can also be incredibly useful for photography and video shoots.

And don’t let your workspace become too disorderly. You might not realise it, but you’re registering the mess on a subconscious level. All that extra, excessive stimuli being created by piles of papers or dirty coffee mugs will only throw up roadblocks to your creative process.

Keep your space free of clutter and make sure you have a place for everything, and everything in its place.

Map Your Flow

The layout of your workspace is very important, particularly when it comes to being more efficient. Think about your typical day. Are you up and down from your desk a lot? Are you spending time collaborating with colleagues? Do you pace the room when you’re on the phone?

Make sure you’re not bumping into things when you do. Clear obstacles and create a more effective workflow.

Watch Your Back

We spend far too much time sitting down. So, you have two choices:

  • Get a standing desk
  • Get a really comfortable chair

Either way, looking after your physical well-being is crucial to being the most creative and productive version of yourself. And your workspace has a big part to play in doing just that.

Likewise, the ergonomics of your setup should be taken into consideration. It’s pretty boring, but important all the same. Make sure your line of sight is in line with your monitor, and your wrists make a straight line to your elbows. You back and neck will thank us.

Give Yourself Space to Think

Just as you have a workspace (a space to work) you should also find a ‘thinkspace’.

It’s always a good idea to be able to step away from the screen and spend some time reading, or doodling, or listening to podcasts. Whatever gets your creative juices flowing. Whether it’s a corner of the office with a comfy chair, or a separate room entirely, a place to escape work - even just momentarily - is important.

The one thing we’ve learned with our own studio is that you’re never quite finished crafting the perfect workspace. So keep tweaking and changing the little things to find what works for you.

Do you have any office interior design tips? Or do you fancy sharing some photos of your own workspace? Let us know on Twitter.

Co-Founder of MadeByShape. Most of my blogs are about business related aspects, not just web design.

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