Feng shui concepts can be applied to even the tiniest of areas. Adding feng shui to a tiny space can be done in a number of ways, including:
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- A mirror on your desk will allow you to see the entrance if you have your back to the door or entrance of your cubicle.
How do I feng shui my desk at work?
Feng shui relies heavily on the placement of your workstation. In this case, the commanding position principle is critical. A good rule of thumb is that you should be able to see the door even if you aren't directly in front of it. For the most part, it's located right next to the door.
It's not always possible to get this set-up to work. The commanding position can be corrected using a mirror if your desk cannot be placed in this position. Place a convex mirror on your desk so that you can see the reflection of the door in the mirror while seated at your desk.
Hang a feng shui crystal ball midway between you and the door if you're facing the door straight.
Where should I put my desk feng shui?
Even if your bedroom has to serve as your home office because of limited space, you still have a number of options for where to place your desk.
For best results, place your workstation in the room's “power position,” which is diagonally opposite your door. This provides you a dominating vision of the room, allowing you to see your area and think clearly about what is going on around you.
Avoid sitting in a position where your back is to the door or against a large window, as these positions are considered distracting (believed to drain strength).
The most common advice from feng shui gurus is to avoid a workstation facing a solid wall, even if it's a space-saving option.
Putting a desk too close to the bed may be an issue. Consider purchasing a foldable screen to hide your sleeping area from view. While you're in bed, you won't be bombarded by reminders of what's going on in your life. Avoid working from bed at all costs!
How do I fix my feng shui?
Lisa Dutton's story was featured on NPR last week. Only low-ball bids had been pouring in for the past 30 months, so she decided to put her house on the market. Dissatisfied: Chino Hills, CA, resident “I thought, ‘Wow, my house looks wonderful.'” she recalled saying. What's the matter? “Who's heading out the door without saying anything?” There was a lack of qi, a Chinese term for energy, which was the cause, she discovered. It wasn't long before Dutton had an offer about $100,000 more than she had received during the pre-feng shui-ed selling period.
For centuries, the ancient Chinese theory of Feng Shui has been used to improve people's quality of life by bringing them into harmony with their surroundings. As a matter of fact, some people think of feng shui as soft science, but it's actually a codification of those intuitive and intangible factors that make a space feel good or bad. Correcting qi problems can make all the difference in making a small space a sanctuary or a rattrap when there is no room for bad mojo.
To give an experienced advice on how to incorporate the principles of feng shui into your own home, we won't go into too much detail about how to do so (there are many consultants if your home has a serious qi deficiency). Feng shui, on the other hand, is based on a variety of factors, including the house's location in relation to the sun and the equator. We can, however, provide a few simple, easy-to-implement ideas for improving the flow and feel of your small areaor any place, really.
- Make a welcoming first impression. For both your body and qi, the entranceway is the point of entry into a home. Your front door should be free of clutter and welcoming. If your door is in need of a fresh coat of paint, put some flowers and a clean door mat in front of it. Create an acceptable entranceway for the location you intend to enter. A same principle holds true for the entranceway's interior, which is where chi returns. Don't smother it with a mountain of clothes or gnomes.
- Removing “Furniture that is “hazardous”. Erica Sofrina, a feng shui specialist, says: “Anything that could cause a head injury, toe injury, or shin injury is dangerous. Home is not a safe place to be, according to the reptilian brain's message. Remove anything that even remotely resembles a weapon, such as furniture with sharp edges that should be replaced with rounded ones.
- Clean up the mess. Feng shui, on the other hand, might argue that a cluttered desk (or table, dresser, or countertop) is not a sign of genius. Our homes can become stagnant and burdensome if they include items that are unnecessary or indicate issues that have not been addressed according to the principles of feng shui. To keep things running smoothly, get rid of old junk as soon as possible.
- The ingredients must be in harmony. Fire, metal, earth, wood, and water make up the five basic elements in Chinese thought. As an example, red represents passion; blue represents relaxation; brown represents grounding; and so on. To maintain equilibrium in your life, avoid relying too heavily on a single hue and instead work to achieve a sense of harmony among the various elements in your home. Even in the realm of decor, it's important to strike a balance between active and passive spaces.
- Mirrors may be a powerful tool. Mirrors positioned in the right place can aid in the transmission of energy. Make meals more enjoyable by placing them in eating spaces and near locations that are dimly lit. Even if you should avoid placing mirrors in areas where you don't want to enhance something's quality (e.g. a bathroom), it's still a good idea.
- Bring the outdoors in. Humans have evolved to be accustomed to life outside of nature. Make sure your home has the right amount of foliage around it.
How do you keep positive energy in an office?
We're all human, and we'll have ideas about ourselves that aren't all that flattering from time to time. We can rewire our brains to distinguish between what is true and what is false. The following is a verifiable fact: I recently had an argument with a coworker. That was the thought, wasn't it? Now, my coworker has a different opinion of me. Keeping an eye on the facts will help you keep things in perspective and keep negative thoughts at bay.
How should a desk be placed in an office?
Place your desk as close as possible to a window or other source of natural light. Desks can be placed perpendicular to windows for those who find them distracting. Window curtains can be used to reduce glare if the most productive position has the window behind you, so long as the light doesn't shine directly on your computer.
With video conferencing, workstation arrangement becomes much more complicated. It's a good idea if you plan on doing a lot of video calls to make sure that there aren't any distractions in the background, such people moving around or items that you don't want everyone to see.
Is it good to put a desk in front of a window?
Make sure your workstation is facing the wall but with the window on one side of it if you are concerned about more distractions. Most individuals find that having a workstation in front of or near a window is the ideal middle ground.
Is it bad to have a window behind your desk?
However, facing the window can be inconvenient for both productivity and comfort, therefore I don't recommend it for your home office desk.
Why a home office desk facing out a window decreases your productivity:
- Even on a cloudy day, the sunlight outside is brighter than your computer screen, making it more difficult to view the screen and resulting in tired eyes and headaches.
- A lack of concentration or daydreaming might be caused by being distracted by the view outside your window.
- Your back is likely to be turned toward the entrance. An lively household with family members “visiting” you while you're working will activate your hard-wired vigilance response, which makes it more difficult to focus and be successful because of this subconscious hyper-vigilance..
Solution: Place your desk at right-angles to the window, facing into the room and door
- Relaxing scenery is only a few steps away from your workstation, providing you with both mental and visual breaks from your tasks.
- If you work in a busy workplace, keeping an eye on the door will keep you from being distracted from your vigilance response.
Full Disclosure
I was apprehensive about filming this live video of my home office set-up. Seeing and hearing one's own voice on a video replay can be unsettling. To my embarrassment, I learned that I spoke a lot slower than I thought I did. Make sure you're not falling asleep between syllables by clicking on the gear icon in the lower right corner of the screen. Change the playback speed from “normal” to “1.25” by clicking on the gear icon and selecting “playback speed.”
If you're going at this pace, you'll find the home office setup portion between 13:08 and 24:30. In this time of high stress, there are a number of ways you may make your home life a little easier. This is something I think you'll find enjoyable.
Check out Chapter 1 of my book, The Smarter Home Office; 8 Steps To Increase Your Income, Inspiration, And Comfort, if you want to learn more about how to place and set up your workstation.
Should my office desk face the door?
While working from home, having a glimpse of the outside world can make you feel more at ease. Some prefer to have their desks facing the outdoor window, which may be on the other side of the doorway, rather than facing the front door. A pleasant view out the window makes it much easier to take a mental break from your work. Sunlight has a favorable effect on your mood and on the quality of your workplace.