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The word “leverage” gets thrown around a lot in business – and for good reason. Entrepreneurs who can take advantage of it often wind up being hyper-successful. By using resources in the environment, they can multiply their success beyond imagination.
Only a small percentage of people, though, ever make this breakthrough. The majority are happily exchanging their time for money instead of using the wider environment to reach their financial goals.
What’s more, only a small subset of those people ever consider how to leverage their office for success. They think about abstract concepts, not their actual working environment.
If that sounds like you, then this post is here to help. We take a look at how to leverage your office to multiply your results and get to where you want to go faster.
Remember, your office is more than just a place where you work. It’s also a place where you can showcase your personality, your achievements, and your goals. It can actually influence how you feel daily, and how others perceive you.
So what does leveraging your office for success look like in practice?
Choosing A Suitable Location
Imagine if you had to travel five hours to visit each client. It would make your working life nearly impossible. Now imagine what would happen if your colleagues couldn’t easily get to work. Again, you’d struggle to attract the talent you need to grow.
Strangely, though, that’s how many businesses choose to locate their offices. They place them in the strangest of places because of worries about rental prices, instead of locating them where people need them most. Therefore, choose a location that’s accessible to your colleagues, clients, and visitors. Be confident and assertive about your business and prospects for the future.
Decorate With Your Objectives In Mind
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Avoid the temptation to fill your office with random items or clutter. Instead, choose items that reflect your professional identity, your values, and your aspirations. Having these elements close by will subconsciously program your mind, helping you get to where you want to be faster.
Some office managers like to display awards, certificates, diplomas, or publications that highlight their achievements. These accolades serve as a reminder of what employees can do if they focus and remain consistent.
Other office managers like to place artwork on the walls. These can help people feel more relaxed, content, and joyful about their work. They are much more likely to get things done in a positive environment.
Organize The Space
Many top brands now go to extreme lengths to organize their spaces for maximum efficiency. There’s a whole science around it.
Remember, a messy or chaotic office can create a negative impression and affect your employees’ mood and performance. They can feel dragged down by all of the clutter in their environment, preventing them from focusing on the task at hand.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can organize the space, including:-
- Using bins to sort and store miscellaneous items, like HP 963XL ink, calculators, ring binders, and so on
- Adding a calendar to the wall for people to create entries as necessary
- Organizing files, documents, and papers into drawers
- Keeping a bulletin board visible to keep track of various deadlines
How you organize your space is essentially your choice. Be creative and use it to drive efficiency so you can get more done to a higher standard.
Work On Your Lighting
Another way to leverage your office for success is to improve your lighting. Illumination in your office can have a significant impact on your energy level, your mood, and your productivity.
Most office managers shoot for as much natural light in their offices as possible. That’s because it can boost your mood and creativity. In some cases, it may actually be worth investing in your buildings’ structure and layout to allow more light into the room.
If natural light isn’t available, you can use other options, including lamps, candles, or fairy lights to create a warm and cozy atmosphere. You might also want to adjust the color throughout the day to suit you and your workers’ body clock. For instance, bluer light tends to be better in the morning, and yellower light in the afternoon. Philips makes bulbs that can change color gradually or quickly, depending on your requirements.
Make It Feel Cozy, But Not Like Home
You can also leverage your office by making it feel cozy (but not like home).
Doing this is actually incredibly easy. While you want to keep your office professional and appropriate for your work environment, you don’t have to sacrifice your personal style or flair. For instance, you might want to add different colors and textures that make it feel more welcoming. You could also add various mats, pillows, and rugs to the space to give it a more inviting atmosphere.
What you don’t want is a workspace that makes you feel stressed and miserable. That’s not going to help you perform at your best and get things done. You need a workspace that supports your mood and well-being.
Furniture That Will Benefit and Not Hinder You
Selecting ergonomic office furniture is another key element to creating an office environment that supports both well-being and productivity. An ergonomic chair and desk can do wonders for your posture and decrease the risk of developing musculoskeletal conditions.
Adjustable standing desks have also become popular as they allow users to quickly switch between sitting and standing positions promoting better circulation while decreasing fatigue levels. Consider purchasing a monitor stand to keep the screen at eye level, preventing neck strain.
Office desking should also provide enough legroom. Remember, office furniture should meet your needs and enhance performance rather than cause discomfort or distraction. Selecting suitable pieces can not only alleviate stress but also increase productivity in the long run. Therefore, every office should strive for furniture that supports its staff in reaching their goals quicker.
Formal Aspects Of Your Office Design
A great way to leverage your office is through a visual representation of professionalism. Although there are many benefits to gain by creating a warm, welcoming, and cozy environment in your office space, you should also consider how to include formal aspects in your design. This is an incredibly important consideration to think about, especially if you have an office space that is either customer-facing or hosts meetings and visits from potential clients.
As many people find out through life, first impressions mean a lot, and it is no different in the world of business. Whatever industry you have chosen to operate in, your first impressions with a new customer or client will be a large contribution towards either the success or failure of that potential partnership.
There are many ways in which you can incorporate professionalism into your office space while keeping a warm and welcoming vibe. A few examples to consider implementing could be the following.
The use of brand colors
If you use your brand colors and themes throughout your office it will show that you are focused, driven, have pride, and believe in your business.
Showcase your awards and staff
By displaying any awards you may have been awarded, and showing off your dedicated team through Staff Photo Boards you will be allowing visitors to visually see how strong and competent your business and its employees are.
Just remember, not everything needs to be loud and in your face when it comes to designing formal aspects of your office.
Create An Office That Drives Your Creativity
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Last, but certainly not least, you can leverage your office by creating a space that drives your creativity. Adopting this approach helps you extract your best ideas, which ultimately are what drive your success.
But how do you do this? Well, adding plants is a great start. Greenery has a unique ability to foster relaxation, which is a critical prerequisite to original and creative thinking.
Another option is to create space for brainstorming ideas and free thinking. Putting up chalkboards around your workspace could help you find inspiration for your next move.
You might also want to think about how you can mix up your office setting regularly. For instance, colleagues might perform better if they can work in different environments from time to time. A combination of hotdesking and themed zones could facilitate a setup like this.
By following these tips, you should be able to leverage your office for success. Let us know how you got on.
