The Surprising Benefits of a Dedicated Workspace

I get it, you’re like me - crazy, eccentric, and awesome. You work when inspiration hits you, whenever that might be.
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In this post, I aim to give you a practical approach to getting your muse on. Any time you want it. And yes, this will work when you’re tired or unproductive. Let’s get to it!

Framing your way to success

​Being creative and productive is something that I’m sure you’d like more of. Who doesn’t?

The problem is getting there. Yes, self-reflection, mindfulness, and training your focus are something that everyone should do, but there are other things that can help, too. Other things that are much more practical and quite less time-consuming.

One such thing is framing. Framing simply means that your actions are affected by your environment. You have a tendency towards different things in different environments. Sitting on the couch might get you to turn on the TV, riding the tube might get you to check your phone, and you might play Clash of Clans when you’re taking a sh…ower (water resistant phones - the future is now!).

Of course, the same concept applies to work as well. If you have an office, you know it. You enter the office and it feels like work. But what if you’re not at the office? Or if you don’t like working at an office?

You still should dedicate a place to work. A place that feels like work. You’ll thank me for it in a minute.

Even your muse has habits

At this point, you’re thinking “I have a good desk, a great chair, and a sweet setup” and asking yourself "Why should I bother dedicating a space only for work?" And the answer is simple - habits.

We, humans, are driven by habits. A monumental part of what you do, say, and even think is a habit. From driving a car to being an optimist - it’s all habits. That tells us two things:

1. If you don’t like something about yourself - you can change it. So much of what you do is a habit in one form or another, that gives you freedom. Changing your genes might not be safe yet, but you can change your habits and become anything* you want! (*almost, while stocks last)
2. You can exploit habits that you already have to make your life better. I have a friend that goes around the country by train to catch up with his reading - he exploits the fact that he reads better on a train.

So, what habits and creativity or productivity have in common?

Yes, you can leverage your habits to get more done and be more creative. 

Have you noticed extreme bursts of creativity when in the shower (while not playing Clash of Clans)? 

I bet you did! Showering gives your mind a space to wander and your mind automagically puts its’ creative hat on. If you’ve showered a couple of times in your life, you’ve crafted that as a habit. You can’t do one without the other.

Now, imagine having something that triggers a habit that gets you to be productive. Or creative. Even when you’re tired and don’t feel like it.

Yes, that something will be your work location.

Building a boon of productivity

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First, you’ll need to establish a location and a pre-work ritual. At first, you’ll have to do those then try to be productive, but after the pattern establishes in your head, it’ll happen automatically.

Here are some tips on picking the location:

• If you’re working on a laptop, pick any physical location to sit your butt on and don’t change it for a while. Feel free to build a few of those and alternate between them, but at first, dedicate at least a month of using every single one by itself. Coworking spaces and coffee shops are a preferred location for many.
• If you play games or browse unproductive websites (no judging, I do it too) on your computer, you might want to consider a work-only machine.
• If you want to have just one computer in your house, make a separate user to work on. Maybe even get a different keyboard and mouse. Make switching them a part of the ritual.

Now, this might be enough for many, but there are cases in which the location by itself doesn’t cut it. In those cases, you can amplify the effect with a simple pre-work ritual that’ll help your brain set in the right frame of mind. Here’s how to approach that:

1. Pick a set of simple actions to perform every time before you work. Yes simple, you’re triggering a habit and potentially repeating those a few times every day so there’s no need to craft an elaborate dancing routine.
2. Perform those actions in a specific order every single time before you work.
3. Example actions might be: adjusting your seat or glasses, setting your chair to a specific height and tilt, putting on your headphones (guilty), or turning off the sound of your phone (you’ll thank me later).

So, build your ritual, pick your destination and get to work. The more you do the first part, the more you’ll associate it with being productive and creative. In no time you’ll automagically get super-productive and ultra-creative by just sitting on your couch and putting your headphones on.

Finally, you can leave the work location to the experts and visit the awesome Treehouse Society coworking space. The coffee is better than at home!

Stay Awesome,
Jordan

Author Bio: Jordan Georgiev is a programmer at day and productivity expert at night. Jordan can’t stay still. Every minute of every day must be filled in with something – coding, design, a Rubik’s cube or a pack of cards. He insists that time should never be spent doing nothing. Jordan is the person behind of neverproductive - the promised land for a productivity junky.