Few things affect our productivity as much as what we surround ourselves with.
Yet most of us rarely take the time to step back and really analyze our working environment.
Instead, we take a set it and forget it approach to where we work.
This post originally appeared on theCrew blog.
Which is great, right?
Find a good working environment and youll be forced into a state of flow.
And this happens even when people have no conscious memory of having seen the briefcase afterwards.
Thats exactly whatneuroscientists at Princeton University foundwhen they looked at peoples task performance in an organized versus disorganized environment.
However, its not as easy as just getting rid of the excess things in your life.
So what do we do to reduce the stress of clutter?
Less room means less room for clutter.
Apart from a heavy dose of Vitamin D, architecture can have a huge impact on our productivity.
I returned to my laboratory in Pittsburgh to validate my concepts and found that they were correct.
Jonas example is just one of many.
And natural light and fresh air are known to stimulate productivity in the workplace as well.
A new environment can quite literally lead to new ideas.
And whats even more exciting is that studies have shownits actually easier to build new habits in new places.
The laptop is for more shallow work like emails or informal posts.
And lastly, the tablet is for reading only.
But its not entirely our fault.
Stanford professor and psychologist BJ Fogg calls this designing for laziness.
Im certainly not the first person to use this technique.
Even Hemingway used to stop writing mid-sentence so that he always knew where to pick up the next day.
The sounds around you and the music you listen to can have a huge impact on your productivity.
Bad news for those of us in shared spaces or offices.
There are options though.
When it comes to nature versus nurture in how we work, nurture almost always come out on top.
Creativity is the lifeblood of your business.
Top image byAnna de la Cruz(Shutterstock).
