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Architect-US
Photo by Darya Tryfanava

How to improve your workspace to increase flow in creativity

Have you given any thought to your workspace and what you can do to increase your productivity and creativity? Since most of us are now currently working mainly from home given the situation, it is important that you make the right adjustments to your new work environment.

According to Donald M. Rattner and his book My Creative Space: How to Design Your Home to Stimulate Ideas and Spark Innovation, everything from colors, smells, windows, arrangement, and many other things can make a significant impact on your train of thought, productivity, concentration, and your determination. This book aims to optimize the way your workstation is set up so that your reach your peak of creativity and make the best use of your surroundings. All of the tactics and improvements mentioned in this book are based on years of conducting and analyzing numerous cases studies and figuring out how the different aspects of your workstation impact your physiological behavior. As a result, the book mentions forty-eight well researched strategies that you could try and implement into the design and arrangement of your set up.

Here are 2 of the strategies mentioned in the book that you should consider:

  1. Manipulate your surroundings to exaggerate the apparent height.

From the results gathered from the case studies which were conducted, one significant aspect which influenced designer’s minds was their sense of spatial depth and the awareness of physical space. If you don’t have high ceilings in the environment, you are working in there are things that you can do to change that perception. The sense of space does not only come from vertical space, but also from that which is directly in front, back, or on our sides. So, if you open up the space where you are working in but removing some of the clutter and give yourself a little bit more room, your mind will also become free in the process. While it may seem to you that some of these suggestions will not change much in the flow of your work, they really do have an impact in how our mind works. This was further explored by doing fMRI brain scans to a few of the subjects studied under these experiments, and it was found through neurological correlations made by scientists that those which worked in environments with high ceilings were more focused and willing to work and apply creative thinking into further exploration.

  1. Light renovation

Have you ever heard of the cathedral effect? It basically means that there are studies which show a positive influence on creativity by ones increase in spatial effect, and how can you do this with lighting? Basically, you want the light to emphasize an upward direction. You want the walls to be lighter and the color of the floors in general. Another thing you can do which tricks the mind, is to have the same color walls and ceiling if you are using another color other than white. That way when your eye is traveling up it won’t notice the difference between wall and when it is reaching the ceiling, creating an illusion the wall is still going up. You can also do  increase the perception of the height of the ceiling by installing light fixtures which hang from the ceiling, basically drawing your attention upwards.

We recommend that you check the book out! There are plenty of other great strategies which are mentioned that will have a significant sway in your productivity and will help you get those creative juices flowing!

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