Have you ever begun a project only to get sidetracked by a dirty house or a closet that needed organizing? If yes, you may have a habit of “productive procrastination,” where you are distracted by your surroundings. You choose to deal with a mess instead of focusing on your main priority. One way to avoid productive procrastination is to change your living space before you have any work to accomplish. Here are 4 ways to create a perfect environment for getting some work done.
1. Purge
In many cases, the state of a home reflects your state of mind. If you have a cluttered house, then you likely have a cluttered mind. Random objects on tables, clothing on the floor, and dishes in the sink are all examples of messes that can distract you. This can be easily avoided with a weekly purge. In other words, take one day out of the week to ‘reset’ your home to its resting state.
This Sunday, do a deep clean of your home. Start by decluttering every room, and end by sanitizing your kitchen! When every surface is cleared and shining, your mental state will follow suit.
2. Organization
Occasionally, we like to think we have a great system for organizing when in reality it causes us more stress than productivity. There are plenty of great organization systems already out there, like HGTV’s guide for completely reorganizing your house. Instead of focusing on having a perfect home, focus on creating a usable home. Every room should have a purpose and an organization system that fits. Expert Liz Wittz, suggests sorting your stuff into “keep”,”trash,” and “sell” piles. Then organize with well-labeled organization units that go into designated ‘zones’ of your house.
3. Natural light
It is important to turn your attention to how conducive the ambiance of your home is to productivity. One major factor is the amount of natural light that you allow into your house. Experts at the Interdepartmental Neuroscience program at Northwestern University in Chicago reported that workers without windows in their office spaces received 173% less light. These workers also felt that their life quality was lower than subjects with windows. This is due to the human circadian rhythm, which is disrupted by harsh fluorescent lights. This can lead to sleep disorders that can lead to depression, bipolar disorder, and other health complications.
The easiest way to improve your vitality is to work in the natural daylight coming through your window.
4. Surrounded by inspiration
In addition to organizing and changing your home, you can also make some fun additions that will aid in your goals. For example, try creating an inspiration board in your workspace. Hang a large cork-board on the wall of your office space where you can see it as you work. Gather some magazines or start a Pinterest board. Depending on the work that you do, go through your medium of choice and pick out images that speak to you.
For example, if you are writing a book, you’d find images and words related to the theme and characters of your stories and what you would like your book to represent. Next, you’d arrange them on your cork board, grouping similar colors and textures close together. Make sure to find some phrases and words to motivate you. There are plenty of websites that have thousands of inspirational quotes that you can put into a word document, increase the font size, and print off to pin to your physical board.
Once you have positioned all the images and words in a satisfactory way, you’re finished, or you can continually add on as you complete your work. An inspiration board is a fantastic way to keep your focus on the work at hand, instead of the clutter of your everyday life.
You’ll notice it’ll be easier to be productive after doing these four things. It’s important to do these on a regular basis when you actually have the time to do so because if not you’ll find yourself procrastinating again! Remember that your living space is a reflection of your mental space.
Featured image via Unsplash
