Clare Kumar

Powering Up Productivity & Pleasure

Performance

Defining Your Office Style

Given the amount of time spent in our offices, it makes sense to create spaces we truly enjoy being in. Since offices hold a large variety of items, selecting a style can help unify the space and reduce visual chaos. In this post we’ll consider furniture, soft furnishings and lighting.

Defining Your Office Style

Furniture

Natural wood is an age-old favourite for office furniture. Available in a wide range of finishes, it adds warmth to any space from traditional to contemporary.

Most factory finished surfaces are durable and ready to stand up to daily use. Laminated surfaces are scratch resistant, easy to clean and come in a variety of colours.

Metal and glass combinations offer clean lines and provide a more industrial look. Carefully consider the placement of glass pieces as they reflect light which could be distracting. Glass is susceptible to showing finger prints and streaks which could be aggravating and it also offers no place for electrical cords to hide. Cordless computer peripherals and cable management systems will help avoid a cluttered desk area especially if you select a transparent top.

A hot trend right now is the combination of light coloured wood and metal shelving, tables and desks. When kitting out your office, try and purchase all the pieces you think you will need for the space at one time to avoid being disappointed later if items are discontinued or colours change.

Soft Furnishings

In addition to making an office appearance more textured, comfortable, and inviting, soft furnishings such as carpet and draperies or blinds also dampen sound. In a noisy office environment this will help people avoid distractions and maintain focus on their work. Consider durable, easy-to-clean, natural fabrics.

If you will be rolling chairs or filing carts, keep carpet pile low so wheels roll freely. Make sure rug edges won’t get caught in the wheels.

Lighting

In every office space, you will want to consider natural, ambient, and task lighting.

Fluorescent lights provide light with no shadows however they can cause fatigue because they don’t display the full spectrum provided by sunlight. Light from the full spectrum helps set our circadian rhythm. Without this, we can feel like we’ve spent the whole day in the dark. Change old bulbs as soon as they flicker to avoid additional fatigue.

Incandescent lamps or ceiling fixtures provide warmer ambient light and can be placed on dimmers for control. Halogen up-lights also do a good job. LED lights are becoming more powerful but so far have not been as strong as other lights.

For task lights, consider a full-spectrum light on an adjustable neck so you can focus it where you’re working. Place the lamp on the same side as your non-dominant hand to avoid casting shadows on your writing.

What makes your office comfortable and inspiring? Mine includes two bright orange bookcases and a circular rug in orange and fuchsia. Hmmm, wonder where I got that colour scheme…

PRODUCTIVITY TRUTH: Given the amount of time spent in our offices, create a space you truly enjoy being in.

How to be Healthy, Happy and Productive at Work

How to be Healthy, Happy and Productive at Work

Investing time in getting organized may sound like the last thing you need to add to your “to do” list. However, just as you need to spend money to make money, you need to spend time to make time. And who doesn’t need more of that?

To better organize your office space and boost productivity, simply answer the following questions:

What exactly do you do?

Assess the activities you engage in and determine the office furniture and storage tools required to support them. Your processes may have changed since you first set up the space, or you may have inherited a space that worked for someone else. To be most productive, your office space should be designed so that you are comfortable while you work. If you spend a lot of time writing, make sure you have a space conducive to the task. If you hold in-person meetings, create a comfortable space for guests.

In my work, I often see binders piled in filing cabinets, or papers piled on bookcases. Look in your office for “mismatched” systems that are often difficult, if not impossible, to use. To avoid information pile-up, know how you like to retrieve information and ensure your office storage systems reflect that.

Think about

  • Furniture: desks, tables, chairs, stands for computer peripherals
  • Storage pieces: drawers, filing cabinets, bookshelves, desktop file folders, lateral sorters
  • Functional equipment: white boards, bulletin boards, coat racks, keyboard trays, footrests

What goes where?

Just as with regular real estate, office ‘real estate’ is all about location, location, location. Areas at arm’s length are considered prime space. Desk surfaces should be reserved for projects you are actively working on. Often-used office supplies should be close at hand, ideally in drawers that are part of or near your desk. Drawer organizers are effective at corralling smaller supplies, making them faster to retrieve.

Reference materials and seldom-used supplies can be stored farther away in filing cabinets, on bookshelves or in storage cupboards. Archived items are used least often and can therefore be stored in the most remote locations.

Peripherals such as fax machines, scanners, back-up hard drives, routers and cables should be stored and managed so as not to create a busy environment in your immediate working space. Cable management systems can help create visual order by reducing chaos and functional order by making it easy to identify each item.

What about comfort?

A comfortable space is a productive space. It pays to be aware of proper ergonomics when selecting furniture and storage pieces. Ensuring desk surfaces and keyboards are at an ideal height can improve comfort and avoid repetitive strain injuries. Carpal tunnel syndrome and rotator cuff tendinitis are just two examples of injuries which can result from poorly configured workstations. Not only will you suffer a loss in productivity, you could end up with permanent damage.

Chairs are not one-size-fits-all, so if you spend a lot of time sitting, it is worth understanding just how customizable they can be. Look for the ability to adjust chair seat height and back positions, a seat pan that fits your body and arm rests that can be moved to best support you.

To make telephone use more comfortable, consider speakerphones or headsets. Locating printers a few steps away will encourage more mobility in your workday.

Your lighting should also be examined. You will want a mixture of ambient lighting and task lighting for focused work. Natural lighting cannot be over-rated. For every hour of focused work, whether it be writing or on the computer, take five minutes to look out a window. Your eyes will thank you.

Invest some time in getting organized. It’s a worthwhile investment that will pay you back, every day.

PRODUCTIVITY TRUTH: Just as you need to spend money to make money, you need to spend time to make time.

Facing Fall – Seven strategies to boost your energy for the “Dark Half”

 

Clare Kumar walking along street

I know fall has technically just started, but I’m feeling it full force in the mornings. We are entering the dark half of the year, when light levels are lowest north of the equator.  Light levels affect our melatonin production. In darkness, we produce more, making us sluggish and sleepy.  It’s harder to get up, and once home at the end of the day, harder to go out.

When I worked in a corporate cubicle and travelled there by subway, I used to feel anxiety about the impending change of seasons as early as July 31st. Can you relate to what I’m talking about? I was never diagnosed, but I figured I had a solid case of SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder. In the mid-90’s, November in Toronto was in various shades of sombre gray – the depressing, not titillating kind.  I committed to leaving the city, which I did for nine years.

During that time I was able to shift to work from home in a light-filled space, and with more flexibility in schedule to get outside in natural light, I now have nowhere near the anxiety I used to fear. It hasn’t turned into a love of winter, but I’m now able to appreciate the sun bouncing off the snow and the afternoon glow that penetrates further into my office.

 

1. Get enough sleep

Most people need between 7 and 9 hours per night.  If you’re like me and suffer from “just one more thing” syndrome which prevents you from getting to bed early enough, consider setting an alarm for “bedtime”.  With enough sleep and a consistent routine, you will likely not need a wake-up alarm in the morning.  Here’s what the National Sleep Foundation has to say about how much sleep is ideal.

 

2. Spend time outside each day

If it’s not your natural urge to be outside in cold weather, you’ll want to find ways to boost your exposure to daylight. Walk part of the way to work, take part in an outdoor winter sport, park a little further from the mall entrance.   If that’s difficult, consider using a now-widely available light lamp to amp up (ooh, catch that?) the quality and number of rays you’re receiving.  If you’re considering purchasing one, you’ll want to read this list of things to consider.

 

3. Respect your energy levels

It takes more time and energy just getting around in cold winter, so it pays to be more selective in what you choose to invest your time and energy.  I will be cutting back on activities which take me out in the evening when I would rather be winding down the day.

 

4. Supplement your Vitamin D

Even with natural light and a healthy diet, you are likely not getting enough Vitamin D, a key ingredient for our bodies for fighting inflammation and for repair. In fact, since the precursor to Vitamin D is synthesized on your skin, which requires your skin to be exposed to the sun when it is higher than 31.5 degrees in the sky (according to Dr. Michael Hollick), you can’t make it yourself in a good chunk of the year. Here is a guide to recommended dosing from the Mayo Clinic.

 

5. Limit carbohydrates and sugar

Watch the ratio of carbs to other foods.  Carbs can make you sleepy and prone to talking yourself out of the exercise that will boost your endorphins and therefore your energy.

 

6. Dress warmly

It took moving to Montreal for me to concede that it was better to dress warmly than try to stay stylish in the cold.  Good thing that coincided with the advent of down coats becoming fashionable and affordable, though I confess to having started with head-to-toe sheepskin. I had to wait for a bus to work, and nothing blocked the wind like that coat.  If you are feeling cold, your body is under stress, you think less clearly and are ultimately less productive, never mind the fact feeling frozen is horribly uncomfortable.

 

7. Incorporate colour

Checking out stores for fall clothing and you’ll see the palette is decidedly more sombre, but who says your wardrobe has to be?  I’ve had persimmon orange and radiant orchid down coats and I swear they energize not only me, but the people I meet. It’s as if your clothes are smiling.  If you have a dark winter coat, add some pizzazz with a bright scarf and toque!

 

How do you keep your spirits up through fall and winter?  I’d love to hear what you do.

 

Note: The information on this site is offered as an information resource only.  It should not be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.

This post was originally published on www.streamlife.ca and has been updated.

 

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