Workspace set up to 10X your productivity

In today’s issue we’re going to talk about how to set up your workspace for optimal productivity.

You likely spend 80% of your time working from a single space. Whether it’s at home, your office or a coffee shop.

Investing and creating an optimal workspace is something that you do once and reap the benefits over and over again.

Even if you only see a 10% boost in productivity from the changes that you make, a 10% boost over the course of years is massive.

Especially as someone with ADHD, I believe that changing my work environment gave me more than a 10% boost in productivity.

Unfortunately most people don’t pay importance to their working environment. They think they need to use sheer willpower and discipline to get more done.

They don’t believe that the time and effort that goes into their workspace is worth it.

But if you’re looking for the easiest way to boost your productivity, then keep reading. We’ll walk through how to create the optimal workspace step by step.

Step 1: Make working at your desk a treat

You want your workspace to make work enjoyable. Make it aesthetically pleasing and inviting for you to sit down and work. The more enjoyable your working environment is, the more time you’ll spend working.

Here are some simple things that can make your workspace more inviting:

• Add plants

• Add inspiring art work or personal photos

• Invest in a nice keyboard and mouse

• Chose a space with good natural lighting

I understand that some of this is out of your control based on where your office is and your budget. But work with what you got. You don’t have to make all these changes overnight. You can work towards this over time.

Step 2: Clear the Clutter

Believe it or not clutter negatively impacts your focus. Clutter predicts procrastination. It creates cognitive fatigue that increases the likelihood of making mistakes.

On the other hand, a clean environment reduces stress. So take the time to clean your desk.

A few things that have helped me with this:

• Going wireless: Like getting a wireless mouse and keyboard. Getting a wireless charger to avoid cables on my desk.

• Cable Management: The biggest clutter most people have on their desk are wires. Getting some cable management tools make it a lot easier to keep your desk clean and organized.

• Desk Organizer: You can get a small desk organizer from amazon for cheap. You use to store the little things like pens and other miscellaneous items.

Step 3: Eliminate Distractions

In my last newsletter, I talked about how to set up your environment to prevent procrastination. The same rules apply here.

Keep your phone in another room. Even if you have your phone faced down, it decreases your productivity. So keep it out of sight and out of mind.

If you work in a noisy environment or work in an office filled with interruptions you want to invest in solid noise cancelling headphones. Ideally over the ear headphones.

Not only does it help block out the noise but it lets people know that you’re focusing on work and they will be less likely to disrupt you.

Lastly, if you’re someone with ADHD, learn to work using a single screen or monitor. I’ve always found that using multiple monitors were more distracting than a single one.

Get a nice large monitor and when you do work put it in full screen so you don’t have other apps trying to steal your attention.

Step 4: Get your Ergonomics Right

You can make your workspace beautiful, clear the clutter and eliminate distractions but all of that is pointless if you feel back and neck pain 30 minutes after working.

Investing in a standing desk makes it a lot easier to switch to different positions whenever you feel uncomfortable. Spend time standing while working can also help reduce your back pain.

Keep you monitor at eye level. Most people either work directly from their laptop or on a monitor that’s too low. This leads to a hunched back and neck pain.

To keep you monitor at eye level you can place it on top of a stack of books. Or you can buy a monitor mount on Amazon that let’s you adjust your monitor to the perfect height.

Finally a good chair can help with back pain as well. Don’t get a gaming chair! Get a nice office chair that has adjustable height and armrests so you can tailor it your body shape.

This was a lot of info. You don’t need to do all this overnight but as you slowly work to build up your ideal workspace you’ll also see a boost in productivity and enjoyment from working.

I hope this helps. Thanks for taking the time to read.

I’ll see you next Saturday.