Easy Zen Office Décor Tips to Transform Your Workday
Whether you work from home or in an office away from home, your environment matters. According to spiritual, personal, and professional life coach Lisa Woods, “Our physical environment has a tremendous effect on our energy, either increasing it or slowing it down. Most of us spend a lot of our days in office settings, so being attuned to what is around us is key to staying grounded and motivated.”
An inspiring, serene, and overall “Zen” space allows us to focus our energy and, as do our best work. Relaxed productivity may seem like an oxymoron, but it’s real and something all of us would like to achieve.
“‘Zen’ refers to peace, tranquillity and also focus or motivation. Our office spaces can be made to enhance each of these pieces to create an overall Zen feel. This helps with our productivity, moods, and levels of creativity,” Woods points out.
That certainly makes sense. Most of us feel better and can therefore do better work when we are relaxed and surrounded by positive energy. If you want to embrace the peacefulness of your workspace, read on for some Zen office décor ideas.
Zen Office Must #1: Comfortable Furniture
In general, your Zen office upgrade doesn’t have to come with a big price tag. The one possible exception is office furniture. Investing in quality, ergonomically correct furniture makes a big difference in how you feel and therefore, how you work.
Don’t scrimp on your office chair. Face it, you spend a lot of time in that seat so it better be comfy and supportive. Look for adjustable seat height to ensure you can align ergonomically with any work surface (a good rule of thumb is attaining a straight line from your elbow to your fingertips). Back support is also key to help avoid slouching and tension in your lower back. A chair with proper lumbar support will allow you to keep a slight curve in your lower back and to sit up straight.
Next, the desk. Workspace surface area is important but varies based on individual needs. If you require two monitors or a lot of space to spread out paper and write in your Zen office, be sure to find a desk with ample surface area. If space is a hot commodity, use creative space-saving solutions like a Murphy desk. Other features to consider are storage, adjustability, and quality. Nothing will reduce your Zen like a wobbly desk!
Thankfully, there is a range of desk options to meet any budget, from upcycling or repurposing other furniture like dining room tables or doors to going all out and buying that height-adjustable standing desk with a walking treadmill underneath it.
Zen Office Must #2: Organization and Storage
A desk piled high with papers and other items, stacks of miscellaneous books and files, the contents of your purse dumped across the floor. All distinctly un-Zen. Places to store things and keep your space organized are essential components of Zen office décor. To maintain your Zen workspace, identify the clutter hotspots in your office and find solutions to keep things tidy.
Cord management is life. Just the thought of a tangle of computer cords and cables makes me feel tense. Zenscape that cord sitch with creative storage and organizational solutions. Zip ties or Velcro ties are cheap and effective. A bit of duct tape on the underside of your desk also works. To get a bit fancier, mount an under desk cable tray to keep that unsightly snaggle of cords out of sight.
Onto all the paper. For as digital as we are in this day and age there is no getting around the eventual build-up of paper in our offices. Be it mail or files or meeting agendas, accumulating paper is something we can’t quite seem to duck.
To keep paper from stacking up and causing an eyesore, make sure it’s organized and out of sight. Shred and recycle what you don’t need on a regular basis to prevent pile creep. When you must keep things available for quick reference, use a slim desktop hanging file folder. If your job requires a lot of paperwork and you seem to be the keeper of paper copies dating back to the Jurassic Era, consider getting an off-site storage unit to house a few filing cabinets. That way, those files will be there when you need them without adding stress or detracting from your Zen office décor.
For all the other items we tend to store in our offices, pick up a few decorative baskets or boxes in a range of sizes. I use an oversized basket to keep my collection of work bags (I mean, you do need one for every season and for a range of outfits) and a series of smaller baskets for things like paper clips, post-it notes, and pens.
And remember, upcycling works here, too! Create your own Zen office décor by repurposing jars or cans. Patterned fabric, a glue gun, and 20 minutes can go a long way!
Zen Office Must #3: Lighting
We’ve all had at least one experience working in a dark space and feeling like we were some kind of medieval character begging for another candle. Ok, that might be a little extreme but there’s something so Dark Ages about bad lighting. Literally. A Zen office needs light!
While natural light is great, it’s not always an option. Luckily today’s lighting options mimic natural light and keep things bright, relaxing, and motivating. Halogen light bulbs produce a gentle white light considered most akin to natural lighting.
In addition to the right bulbs, diffuse light by using a lampshade or floor lamps that direct light up and off the ceiling. Task lighting is also helpful. Place a small desk lamp on your workspace and a floor lamp beside your reading chair. And if you do have natural light, be sure to include some mechanism to help control it like drapes or blinds. There’s nothing worse than squinting into the sun during that Zoom meeting!
Zen Office Must #3: Fidgets for Grown-Ups
Anyone who interacts with a kid between the ages of five and 15 knows “fidgets” are not only a thing, they are the thing! Fidgets are hand-held contraptions to keep fingers busy and are said to help maintain focus and a sense of calm by providing an outlet for nervous energy.
Nervous energy doesn’t go away when you start working a full-time gig as an adult. In fact, most of us would argue it only intensifies. Harness your energy by adding a few grown-up fidgets to your Zen office décor. Remember those tiny, desktop Zen gardens with a mini sand rake? Yeah, like that. Fidgets fit for adults include stress balls, therapy putty, and stacking magnets.
Zen Office Must #4: Personal Touches
Last, but certainly not least, adding personal touches to Zen office décor will ensure you feel at home and at peace in your workspace. I went back to Coach Lisa Woods to learn more about the importance of personal items.
“My biggest advice for a serene office setting is to find things that hold meaning for you. Things that make it ‘your’ space and remind you of who you are, your strengths, being, and identity. These gentle reminders can help keep the creativity and motivation going — while also grounding you when the energy levels from others’ (or your own) expectations get a little high. Basically, this is your space, make it your own, make it comfortable, make it most helpful to you.”
What holds meaning for you? What makes you smile or take a deep, cleansing breath? Family photographs, motivational sayings, or natural elements like flowers and plants are common personal touches. But give yourself permission to think outside the box. A former colleague kept a collection of stones lined across her desk. Each one came from a challenging hike or a specific adventure and reminded her she could do hard things.
We spend a lot of time at work and in our office space. All the more reason to take control of our environment and create a Zen office space suitable to our needs. Remember, relaxed productivity is possible! Put these ideas to work and enjoy a little more serenity in your workday.
