Interior décor and office appearance have a huge impact on employee productivity. With more and more people starting businesses, the number of home offices and startups looking for working space on a budget is on the rise. Knowing how to make do with the little you have will improve your efficiency without pushing your budget off the roof.
Establish Physical Boundaries
The first step to improving your efficiency is by defining the physical boundaries of your workspace. You will be surprised how much drywall contractors can help you accomplish. Boundaries are very important, especially if you’re converting a portion of your home into an office or if you’re portioning up a huge hall into a complete office space.
Physical boundaries keep the distractions and keep similar minded people together. This will have a profound impact on how your team collaborates and works on different projects.
Clear the Mess and Declutter
Old documents, unnecessary stationery, and unwanted files eat up a lot of space, making your already small workspace feel cramped. Anything that you don’t need on your desk or visible workspace has to be thrown in the trash. This will open up your workspace, giving you the illusion that you have more space than you do.
A good rule of the thumb when organizing is only to stash away the rest. This means you will have to invest in some decent filing cabinets to keep everything organized and easy to access.
Let the Light in
If possible, go for office space with wide windows that let in as much natural light as possible. While artificial light can still turn a basement into a bright space, it won’t be as good as daylight. With reports showing that daylight makes people more productive, you have every reason to choose brighter rooms with bigger windows.
Workspaces in Place of Cubicles
Cubicles have always been a great way to give each person their dedicated workspace. However, small businesses that cannot afford huge offices end up crowding their employees if they choose to do cubicles.
The alternative would be open workspaces that let the line flow and don’t force you to stare into a wall every time you look up. Open office work spaces let the light and air circulate better. It also encourages collaboration and consultation since people working on a similar project don’t have to walk from their cubicle to another to talk to their colleagues. However, make sure that your open office design also allows people some privacy, such as thinking areas and reading corners.
Startups that make you work for hours in the office need increasingly attractive workspaces to improve productivity and efficiency. Playing around with your space is a great way to accomplish this goal. You, however, will have to change how you think of the office space and come up with innovative design ideas that will turn your workspace into a fun and productive place. Using the help of a designer or designing software is a great way to visualize your space long before you start the remodeling.
