A productive work space Tutorial

Transform your work environment into a productivity-boosting haven with 'A Productive Work Space.' Discover the vital role of workspace design on effectiveness, ergonomic tips, and the benefits of changing your routine. Unlock your creative potential and enhance your efficiency today! Personal and professional effectiveness meets innovative ideas in this insightful exploration.

09:25
3 views

Selected for you
New

Available in SoftSkills

00:00:06

Some will say in bed,

00:00:07

and they're not wrong.

00:00:09

The second answer is behind a desk.

00:00:12

This started in school,

00:00:14

usually in poor ergonomic conditions,

00:00:17

and then most of us continue to sit behind desks one job after another.

00:00:22

I reckon that you want this place where you spend so much time

00:00:27

to be well arranged,

00:00:28

organized,

00:00:29

and comfortable

00:00:30

so that your well-being and efficiency are at their highest.

00:00:34

Companies decide the architecture of our work environment,

00:00:38

well aware of the impact the environment has on our productivity.

00:00:43

They invest when they can afford it in workplace design.

00:00:47

Open spaces,

00:00:49

individual offices,

00:00:50

meeting rooms on request,

00:00:52

plants and gardens,

00:00:53

water fountains,

00:00:55

places of exchange or isolation,

00:00:57

ergonomic seats,

00:00:59

blue for creativity,

00:01:00

red for concentration,

00:01:02

green for reading and learning.

00:01:04

The experts all contradict one another.

00:01:07

Some companies go as far as offering table football,

00:01:10

music rooms,

00:01:11

rooms to lie down and relax.

00:01:13

They thought about the layout of the workplace for us.

00:01:17

Some of these companies have invested in flexi work.

00:01:20

In flexi work,

00:01:22

workspaces are no longer appointed.

00:01:25

You don't have a specific office or even a personal workspace.

00:01:29

In the open space,

00:01:31

in some cases,

00:01:32

you'll just have a locker where you can leave your belongings.

00:01:36

Every day

00:01:36

you choose a spot or you can return to your last spot if you can.

00:01:41

I know some companies where the transition to flexi

00:01:44

work turned out to be hell for the employees,

00:01:47

40 seats on a space meant for 60 employees.

00:01:50

An anxiety inducing war of spots which pushes you

00:01:54

to arrive on the premises as early as 6 a.m.

00:01:57

Luckily this is not always the case,

00:02:00

but even if it goes well,

00:02:02

some people still bitterly missed the time when

00:02:05

they had their own office or even when

00:02:07

they had at least one appointed place close to their colleagues in their open space.

00:02:12

We don't yet know how companies will reorganize the workspace

00:02:16

given the surge in teleworking that will follow COVID.

00:02:20

More flexi work,

00:02:21

more room for those who will be at the office,

00:02:24

or a decrease in workspaces to save money.

00:02:28

We don't have much say in the structure of our workplace,

00:02:32

but at least we have some on the diversity of our workplace.

00:02:36

However,

00:02:37

we don't always take advantage of that.

00:02:40

Our mind would rather find itself in a familiar place,

00:02:44

one that is controlled,

00:02:46

mastered.

00:02:47

It is reluctant to any change,

00:02:49

any shift.

00:02:50

We all have our own habits,

00:02:52

our comfort zone,

00:02:54

our desk buddies,

00:02:55

unless the situation is really bad,

00:02:58

most of the time we do make the best of it.

00:03:01

Besides,

00:03:02

there's a certain physical attraction,

00:03:04

a sort of physical gravity that pulls us towards

00:03:07

our desk and keeps us coming back to it,

00:03:10

even if the company offers other spaces.

00:03:13

So my first tip

00:03:14

will be prompting you to switch seats as often as you can,

00:03:19

if you can.

00:03:20

Alternate and diversify your working space,

00:03:24

the desk of a colleague who's on vacation,

00:03:26

a vacant meeting room,

00:03:28

or telecommuting.

00:03:29

Some tasks necessitate isolation,

00:03:33

while other more creative tasks necessitate you

00:03:36

step out of your familiar environment.

00:03:38

Give yourself strategic moments of reflection

00:03:42

when you go out in the garden with nothing but a pencil and some paper.

00:03:47

Even if you work at home,

00:03:49

don't always work in the same place.

00:03:51

I especially recommend looking for spots with natural light.

00:03:55

The lack of light increases fatigue,

00:03:58

lack of focus and stress.

00:04:00

Another advantage of changing locations,

00:04:03

you will have to travel light

00:04:05

to learn to travel light.

00:04:07

Just a laptop,

00:04:08

a USB key,

00:04:09

and a folder instead of 3 ring binders access to your entire internal hard drive.

00:04:14

This is what everyone who works whilst traveling by plane or by train does.

00:04:20

Traveling light means making yourself sort out everything through and be very,

00:04:25

very organized.

00:04:26

Another advantage of regularly changing locations is giving

00:04:31

yourself an opportunity to take a break.

00:04:33

Lifting your head and breathing,

00:04:36

breathing,

00:04:37

letting off steam and thinking of something else,

00:04:40

that is how we sometimes get ideas and solutions just

00:04:43

in the elevator that was taking us to another floor,

00:04:46

or because you worked in the garden.

00:04:48

Dare to change your environment,

00:04:50

shake up your habits.

00:04:52

Neurons that are usually asleep in your usual

00:04:55

position behind your work desk will wake up.

00:04:58

To come and serve you,

00:04:59

and you will be amazed by your extra energy,

00:05:02

creativity and intelligence.

00:05:04

Walt Disney used to make his creatives regularly change locations

00:05:09

while he was developing the universe of his films.

00:05:12

Want to be more efficient?

00:05:13

Make your workspace attractive.

00:05:16

A motivating place is a good place to be.

00:05:19

A chair that supports.

00:05:21

Back or an ergonomic cushion,

00:05:23

a screen at the right height,

00:05:25

a foot wedge if necessary,

00:05:28

headphones to isolate yourself from noise if necessary,

00:05:32

a nice computer desktop,

00:05:34

a mug or a vacation photo

00:05:36

to take care of your five senses so that your office and your computer

00:05:42

can become a little home sweet home.

00:05:44

An organized place.

00:05:46

Some people can be very comfortable in their own mess or

00:05:49

even hate it when their office looks like a hospital lobby,

00:05:52

white,

00:05:52

neat,

00:05:53

nothing out of place.

00:05:55

If that's the case with you and your office suits you,

00:05:59

especially if you have a creative job,

00:06:00

then keep it that way.

00:06:02

If you're one of those people who get discouraged at the sight of

00:06:05

a pile of files on their desk as soon as they approach it,

00:06:09

then it's time to do something.

00:06:11

About it,

00:06:12

or if it usually takes you hours to look for

00:06:15

documents either in your cabinets or on your computer,

00:06:18

then you need a massive decluttering and cleaning of your workplace.

00:06:23

Sort out your computer,

00:06:25

delete unnecessary archives and duplicates.

00:06:28

Give your documents clear titles,

00:06:31

adding a date if there are multiple versions.

00:06:34

Group the files by theme or even by year.

00:06:38

For each project,

00:06:40

make a current easy access folder and put all versions

00:06:44

prior to its completion in a folder named Project archive.

00:06:48

Your computer screen must only display a few

00:06:52

ongoing files on the desktop and nothing more,

00:06:55

nothing more.

00:06:57

The rest is put away.

00:06:59

Book half a day in your calendar to reorganize the files on your computer

00:07:04

without interruptions.

00:07:06

It is said that our brain is much like our desk.

00:07:10

When we tidy our desk,

00:07:11

we're also tidying our brain,

00:07:13

goes to show how it can increase your efficiency.

00:07:17

You know it.

00:07:18

The solution is to tidy up,

00:07:20

clean up,

00:07:21

classify,

00:07:22

sort,

00:07:22

throw out,

00:07:23

create space to breathe better and think clearly.

00:07:27

Book a day on your calendar for this purpose.

00:07:31

A week in advance,

00:07:32

buy folders,

00:07:33

a pencil jar,

00:07:34

sorters,

00:07:36

drawer cabinets,

00:07:37

and rubbish bags.

00:07:39

On the big day,

00:07:40

get to your desk and cabinets in comfortable clothing,

00:07:44

scan

00:07:45

all your archives and save them on your computer and on an external hard drive.

00:07:51

Your shelves and drawers will empty up.

00:07:54

Bring a big waste basket and throw all.

00:07:57

Unused useless papers or scanned documents to get them recycled.

00:08:02

Use the previous week's purchases,

00:08:05

the pouches,

00:08:06

pencil jars,

00:08:06

the sorters,

00:08:07

the drawer cabinets to make it easier to collect what's left.

00:08:11

Group together in folders or binders,

00:08:14

the documents that are still there.

00:08:17

Continue sorting through it all.

00:08:19

Make yourself get rid of anything useless or secondary.

00:08:23

There should be nothing but today's files on your desk.

00:08:27

A neat,

00:08:28

tidy office promotes concentration.

00:08:31

Do this spring cleaning every year.

00:08:34

Set a day with all your colleagues so you

00:08:36

can mutually support each other in this process.

00:08:39

April the first is a good day to clean up.

00:08:42

If you have a colleague

00:08:43

who is very good at tidying and sorting,

00:08:46

a declutterer who's not afraid of throwing things away,

00:08:50

call them to spend an afternoon with you on the matter.

00:08:53

Make an exchange of skills.

00:08:55

Spend another.

00:08:56

Afternoon with them to help them on one of their projects.

00:09:00

Work on a plan,

00:09:01

your own strategy to finally take the necessary time to arrange your workspace.

00:09:07

It's a gift to yourself.

00:09:09

Feeling motivated,

00:09:11

I invite you to take your calendar immediately and book a date,

00:09:15

a morning to get started that you could call decluttering time,

00:09:20

and keep your afternoon open in case you feel like continuing on your streak.

Mandarine AI: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW