Love working from home with my top 10 Feng Shui tips to improve the space
Check out my Top 10 tips to improve your working environment at home. They can be applied to any room or work surface where you are required to work.
After you’ve read them try tackling an area that troubles you the most and spend 20 minutes blitzing and rearranging it. See if this improves matters. In any case you can always get in touch about it.
Our living and working environments affect us more than we realise. Because they affect how we feel, they affect what we do, how well we do it and how successful we are at it.
With so many of us working from home and finding that space too small, too noisy, too messy and having to share it with others, it’s important to make attending to it a priority if you are to remain productive and cheerful.
There’s a specific way to improve the vitality of a living environment and the quality of lifeforce energy (ch’i) flowing through it. The Chinese call it Feng Shui but every ancient culture has its tradition – and you will notice the benefits immediately of using it.
No 1 Trash
Let’s start with the least exciting but the most important of my 10 recommendations. At the end of each day, clear stagnant energy (chi) by emptying the bin, removing cups and disposing of food remains.
Attend to overflowing in-trays, bulging filing cabinets, redundant computer files, and old emails, for chi’s sake. Superfluous nick knacks lurking on your desk top are a distraction. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and demotivated even before you start working, any one of the former can aggravate you so eliminate the possibility.
Trash is trash and deprives your working environment of the healthy ch’i you need to be creative and productive working-from-home – so get rid of it.
No 2 Doors
To ensure the maximum amount of chi can enter the room, make sure the door(s) open(s) fully and is not obstructed by boxes, furniture or coats behind it. This is standard Feng Shui practice but particularly important in the room in which you are working. For your brain to function well and for you to remain alert, you need a steady flow of fresh ch’i entering and circulating the room.
Also something to watch out for. If the door is ajar, avoid its vertical edge pointing directly at you where you are sitting. This sends cutting ch’i (sometimes called ‘poisoned arrow’) directly at you and you’ll feel uncomfortable, particularly in a smaller room.
No 3 Boundaries
Avoid working in the same room in which you sleep to create a separation between rest, work and play. If this is not possible, conceal the laptop or PC at night.
The working-from-home area is often assumed to be a desk. Equally well it could be the dining table, breakfast bar or coffee table.
Using the same work space each day is ideal because the familiarity allows you to get going quicker. Constantly shifting your base, as in hot desking, is stressful and unproductive.
Your desk should be clear when you arrive, not strewn with the remains of previous users. It’s worth checking this the night before to not waste time in the morning.
If your desk area is a multi-purpose space, use boxes and in-trays to stash away your paperwork when your working day is over to retrieve easily the next morning.
Dress for the occasion (at least the top half of you appearing online). Wear the right clothes, fix your hair, put make-up on, wear a shirt, have a shave – all these habits will help to put you in the right frame of mind for work.
No 4 Location
The ideal location for your desk is in the furthermost corner of the room away from the door yet still facing it. This will give you a ‘commanding view’ of the space and help you stay on top of your game. But don’t box your desk right into the corner and facing inwards otherwise you will feel restricted and frustrated.
Avoid if you can:
~ Sitting too close to the door, either with your back to it or facing opposite, so you are not directly in the path of ch’i entering the room. If you can find a wall behind you and a chair with a good backrest, this will give you extra protection and support.
~ Your desk directly opposite the door and with a window behind you. This can be particularly unsettling since ch’i flows in through the main door to the room and gravitates towards the windows. If you’re sitting in it’s path it is disturbing. If this is the case place a screen between your desk and the door – or a bookcase with some plants or ornaments on top – to ‘screen’ you off.
Be conscious of the furniture and accessories around you and where you are in in relationship to them. This is particularly important where you work because you are spending a lot of time in this one place.
No 5 Surface
Ideally your desk should provide plenty of work surface to encourage productivity. But not so large that it becomes a dumping ground for all and sundry. This can be daunting when you arrive to work and your efficiency. The principle is there needs to be space for your creativity and ideas to flow and not too much so that you drown in it.
If your work surface is larger than you need, find a way to zone it. Otherwise you may feel ‘lost’ or inadequate to the task.
No 6 Shape
The ideal desk shape for money-making ventures is square or rectangular for foundation and structure. Avoid a desk with sharp edges (aka ‘poisoned arrows’) or you might feel the effect of these as you approach it and not want to be there.
Steer away from an “L” shaped desk. This is an un-balanced shape and can contribute to your work load feeling that way too.
A circular or oval-shaped desk is better suited for creativity and for people who are collaborating. No one person has power over the rest.
Consider also what your desk is made of. Too dense and solid a desk can cause your work to feel onerous and slow to achieve. A desk with spindly legs can cause you to wobble under a demanding workload. Aim for a shape and a material which suits you and the type of work you do.
No 7 Light
Your aim is to create good quality and consistent lighting in your work space throughout the year. A well-lit desk encourages a steady flow of ch’i and maintains your interest and motivation.
Open the curtains, roll up the blinds and keep the window sills free of clutter so the maximum amount of daylight can enter.
During the winter months in the northern hemisphere, you will need to boost partial and erratic daylight with good LED lighting otherwise your energy can droop. An effective desk lamp, poised over the work area, raises ch’i and can help to focus your attention. A freestanding floor lamp can be used to illuminate dark corners.
No 8 Mirrors
A mirror is an important placement in Feng Shui to increase and direct the flow of ch’i around the room and illuminate dark corners.
Be mindful of its placement. Avoid hanging it so your work surface is reflected in it otherwise you could find yourself working twice as hard as you need to.
When you can’t avoid your desk facing the wall or your back to the room, place a mirror in front of you so you can see who is approaching from behind to avoid surprises and to protect your privacy – but not to reflect back the content of your desk.
No 9 Artwork
An inspirational or uplifting picture on the wall in front of where you sit is a good addition to lift your spirits. Here’s where your vision board could go.
Avoid strong artwork or lots of smaller pictures on the wall behind you. These can be distracting and dissipate your energy. It is better to have a single image that conveys something solid and dependable like a mountain or as still and silent as a lake, to hold your attention. Alternatively leave this wall empty.
No 10 Plants
In a digital environment, the room will be saturated with emissions from electrical and electronic equipment. You are strongly advised to neutralise the electromagnetic stress these devices emit before they drain you and the environment of energy. Electromagnetic stress protection is recommended for your mobile, tablet, laptop and desktop – and you can wear a disc discretely around your neck too.
Plants can raise and harmonise ch’i by generating oxygen and negative ions to counter electromagnetic stress. Peace lilies and spider plants are particularly good for this.
Plants also represent growth, health, abundance and well-being if you look after them. The best for this are larger plants with round-shaped leaves (like coins), such as cheese plants and money plants. But avoid cactus, particularly in a small space. It’s those ‘poisoned arrows’ again.
Fresh flowers do a lovely job of lifting ch’i. Remember to change the water regularly so it doesn’t become stagnant. Plastic and dried flowers should not be used. Silk flowers are okay until dust gets the better of them or their colour fades.
I hope you find your working-from-home experience is more productive and pleasurable after employing these tips. May the ch’i be with you.
(C) MaryNondé
Mary Nondé
Mary is an Intuitive Feng Shui practitioner, committed to created living and working environments consciously. She has trained in the Western School of Feng Shui and with Denise Linn, USA and has been working in homes and offices since 1995.
Get in touch with a question.
For more information visit – www.marynonde.com/feng-shui
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