How To Design A Space For Perfect Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance: one of the most sought-after goals of the ambitious people of the 21st century. The ability to climb the career ladder, and achieve distinction in the workplace, whilst maintaining a social life, close connections with family and friends and your sanity all at the same time. So whether you want to change up your office space, or re-do certain segments of your home, these tips should help you out:
Noise Control
One of the most important things to take care of if you want to be productive whilst at work is minimizing the amount of surrounding noise. This is especially the case if you have an office at home because you are likely to be easily distracted by your family members, roommates or entertainment devices if you can hear them from your study. You may want to make sure your space intended for work is as far away from ‘common’ areas as possible. That means that when designing your home workspace, keep it as far from the living room as possible, or any place where a television might be on or music could be playing. In a work environment, offices should be set up as far as possible as discussion rooms where people are likely to be talking throughout the day. It is impossible to have a work-life balance unless you are actually getting enough done during your hours dedicated to work, so this is definitely something to take into account!
Tap Into Feng Shui Design
For an alternative approach, look into Feng Shui design to create a relaxed, calming vibe within your home. When trying to handle your heavy workload and also manage a decent lifestyle, you are bound to be busy and hectic. So this method might be the way to go to keep yourself in a state of serenity. Anthony Ashworth, a building designer, interior designer and Feng Shui consultant, has the following advice:
“All rooms should be specifically designed for the specific activities taking place in that room, for example, the Master bedroom should have a quiet restful intimate feel, the dining room should be upbeat and dynamic with more flare and richer hotter colours, a home office is stimulating with a view.”
Make Space For Play
Sometimes it can be hard to clearly segregate your day into what is “work” time and what is “play” or rather a relaxation time. So it is always good to have a stress-relieving alternative on hand in your work area, for those 15-minute breaks when your projects are getting to be a bit too much. You can get completely creative with how you choose to go about this. One good idea is to incorporate something that involves physical activity and can get your blood flowing. Especially in a home office, this can involve having a yoga mat on hand, a mini basketball hoop and many other options. Perhaps even have your office located right next to your garden, so you can get little bits of gardening done in between work – both stress-relieving and productive! Taking breaks in between spurts of work is the perfect way to make sure you aren’t getting overly stressed about your tasks (just make sure not to get too distracted by the new additions to your space!)
Divide And Conquer
Coach and Counsellor Shane Warren explains how keeping your spaces separate, and for specific purposes, is the key to achieving success across your various fields of interest:
“My simple tip with work-life balance in the house is to recognise for many of us work comes into the house – for loads of people we work from home – so it is highly important to create a separate space, no matter how small the home.
Make this space unique, different coloured flooring, a work desk just for work, if possible divide the space off from the rest of the house…. You need to have a zone where you go to work, then once you leave that zone you are in the harmony of your home.”
Include Reminders Of Your Goals
When designing your space, incorporate elements that are reminders of both your personal and professional goals. For example, if there is a particular target you hope to achieve in your career, have a particular number on the wall, or have a particular date marked out on the calendar. Similarly, if spending more time with your family, or children, is your latest resolution, maybe have photographs placed strategically on your desk or hung up on the walls so that you don’t lose sight of what is important. Visual cues are the best way to utilize your space to keep yourself on track to achieve your goals, both in your work life and in all other areas as well!
