During, August, I felt my productivity levels dropping, and I lacked the motivation to tackle my important tasks and goals. Sadly, I even noticed that my morning routine, which I loved and treasured was going out the window.
I’m a morning person, and most days I could be out of bed by 5:45 am, sipping coffee, doing yoga, reading, writing or tackling a project. However, during August my wake up schedule went a little off track, and at times I would be waking up as late as 8:30 am. As I write this, I can see puzzled looks on all the night owls faces, as to why this is a problem, but for someone who is most productive in the morning, it was an issue.
I’m not exactly sure why this was happening, it could have been the mental exhaustion of the current lockdowns in Melbourne or the fact that it was the final month of winter, and I was desperately craving the warm sunny days of summer. I don’t know, all I knew is the morning routine that I cherished so much was gone, and I needed and wanted it back.
Then the unexpected happened.
One Friday evening, in late August, I was watching a movie, and I noticed that my neck started to hurt. I analysed what might have been the cause of the pain, and I came up with one conclusion, my neck pain was due to me having to twist my neck on a diagonal to view my computer monitor to watch the movie, not a good set up. After my self-diagnosis, I concluded that to stop the neck pain; I needed to have my monitor placed directly opposite the couch rather then it being positioned diagonally opposite. I needed to reorganise the layout of my living area in my apartment.
The below diagram outlines the current layout of the living space.
Note that I live in a small apartment, and my living space takes on many roles, from the dining room, lounge room, home gym, and office. So, any changes I make must ensure that I can still do all the things I need to do.
So that Friday night after the movie I got my tape measure out to see how I could position the couch directly opposite my desk, but still enable the living space to continue to serve its other purposes.
The good news it could be done.
And on the following Sunday, I made the changes, as per the below diagram.
Best of all!
I instantly relished the changes. It was like my whole apartment was refreshed and had new energy to it. I love that I can now watch movies more comfortably, I love sitting on my couch and getting a much better view of the skyline, and I love that my desk is near the window, giving me something to look at when I’m deep in concentration or just daydreaming.
And it gets better!
The following morning I was up at my usual time of 5:45 am with a new boost of energy and motivation to tackle my day. I got my morning routine back by merely changing the layout of my apartment.
How did this happen and what we can all learn from this experience.
I’m no Feng Shui expert, but I do believe that how we organise our homes and offices can impact our energy and our mood. As a Professional Organiser, I see the stress and overwhelm that clutter and disorganisation can have on people’s health, wellbeing and productivity. Once I start working with clients, and we start to get things in order, I quickly see a change in their energy and mood. I believe these improvements are due to my clients being able to gain control over their space and time, use their space as intended and love where they live and work.
While my apartment was clutter-free and organised, the layout of the living space was no longer working for me, and it needed to be changed. By reorganising the furniture in my apartment, I was able to fall in love with my space again. As a result, I was able to get a new sense of energy and motivation that I am still experiencing right now as I write this blog in mid-September.
The organisation of your home and office does play a role in shaping your mood and productivity. If you are finding that you are not as productive as you would like to be or you’re feeling a little flat, it could be that you don’t love your space and it’s not set up for optimal performance. Take a look around your living spaces, look at what is working and identify what is not. Explore what changes you can make to improve your home or office. Maybe changing the layout of your office may help to improve your workday. Or, clearing the clutter from your bedroom may help to reduce stress and improve the quality of your sleep.
If you do identify that something is not working in your space, don’t be afraid to explore new organising and layout options. As the old saying goes, a change is as good as a holiday and given the current status of holidays right now, making some changes in your space might be what you need now to rejuvenate, it worked for me.
And the best part!
It doesn’t have to cost money. I moved some furniture around, and the results have been fantastic. Although I do have to confess since changing my apartment layout; it has sparked a restyling project, more of that in another blog.
By changing the layout of my apartment, I was able to get my cherished morning routine back. If you are feeling low on energy, lacking motivation or not feeling as productive as you would like, assess your environment and determine if your space is the problem and consider making some changes. And if you do please let me what changes you made and how you felt afterwards.
Oh, finally, I should mention that I have not experienced any neck pain while watching movies since changing my layout, another win.
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