Happy Monday! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. If you follow my Instagram Stories you would have seen that we got hit with the most random snow storm and woke up to a complete winter wonderland on Friday morning! Happy to have sunnies skies back today and I guess the one good thing about the snow this weekend was it forced me to take some time to clean out my home office and do a little spring cleaning. It feels so good to sit down to a clean and tidy desk come Monday morning with nothing but a clean slate to start the week. Read on to learn what 5 things have helped me boost productivity when working from home:
Throughout the year I like to switch things up a bit, I like to keep things neat, tidy and organized but also like to pull in seasonal elements so the space is never dull or boring. Swapping out items like new throw pillows, a soft cozy knit blanket for cold days and updated artwork are all great ways to change up your space. My office space is small (1 of our 2 bedroom condo) and nothing about it is fancy or expensive or complicated. It’s painted a fresh, bright white (with palm leaf decals on the one feature wall, by urban walls) with a big desk, simple shelving and lots of storage solutions to organize everything from notebooks, jewelry, sunglasses & cosmetics. Tips below:
Over time I’ve come to realize that there are 5 staples I keep in my office at all times that have helped me boost productivity when I’m working away trying to make dreams realities. Here they are:
- Vision board: ..in my case I’ve created a whole vision wall in my office. I’ve been using vision boards since I can remember so naturally they just keep getting bigger, along with my dreams. You can start small though, I think the best way still is to pick up a few of your favourite magazines and rip out the pages that inspire you. Paste to your board (or wall..) and keep it somewhere where you will see it daily & watch the magic happen. I treat my vision wall as visual goals that I can use to get re-inspired daily but also to remind myself of the grander vision that I have for myself and for my blog.
- Saje Marble Diffuser: using my marble diffuser from Saje has become a daily ritual. I’ve really been enjoying their ‘Peaceful’ Diffuser blend collection (my faves are ‘gratitude’ & ‘yoga’) but I also love ‘rain forest’, ‘spa spirit’ & ‘refresh‘. They’re so great to enhance the quality of air in your space while refreshing with these relaxing blends. We recently just got another one to put on our nightstand in our bedroom – it’s heaven to fall asleep to. We have the Marble Diffuser (which is limited edition) but I’ve linked the white version here.
- Inspiration & Artwork: I got a magazine rack from Ikea that I hung on the wall to keep all the current issues of VOGUE, Women’s Health, Style at Home, Porter and Harpers Bazzar +more. At the beginning of each month I go through all my magazines for fresh inspiration, or to add any cutouts that might be a good addition to my vision wall. Hanging new artwork every so often on my office walls inspires me so much. Right now I’m in-love with my John Rawlings 1957 Cadillac work and also the iconic photograph of Marilyn Monroe from her penthouse in New York (both from Lumas), I also have a gorgeous acrylic painting by my talented friend Dana Mooney.
- Refreshment: I can never sit down at my desk without some sort of drink concoction. In the mornings, if it’s not coffee its ice cold lemon water. In the afternoons it’s either a Tazo Chai tea or a club soda, lime + a splash of cranberry juice if i’m in the mood for something fresh. I think it’s absolutely necessary to be comfortable when I’m working and these are my current favourites to keep hydrated, satisfied and focused throughout the day. Of course, I also always have my huge water bottle filled at all times so I can grab fresh, cold water right out of the fridge as needed.
- Fresh flowers: nothing feels better than a clean house filled with fresh, new flowers. If I can budget for it, I try to get some new flowers for the house each week. This personally just makes me so happy and I’d much rather spend my money on fresh flowers than a couple trips to starbucks anyway! Flowers have always inspired my work and having them sitting in water in a beautiful vase on my desk make me excited to get working on fresh, new content!
Do you have any tricks you use to produce your best work?
No Comments