Read the article at https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200929-how-biophilic-design-can-create-a-better-workspace
and present ypur comments on it. How do you improve your work space at home?
Owls are nocturnal creatures. They’re wide awake at night and they sleep during the day. If this sounds like bliss to you, then, like about 20 percent of the population who find themselves most active at around 9 pm, you may fall into the same category as our feathered friend. Night owls often have difficulty waking up in the morning, and like to be up late at night. Studies of animal behaviour indicate that being a night owl may actually be built into some people’s genes. This would explain why those late-to-bed, late-to-rise people find it so difficult to change their behaviour. The trouble for night owls is that they just have to be at places such as work and school far too early. This is when the alarm clock becomes the night owl’s most important survival tool. Experts say that one way for a night owl to beat their dependence on their alarm clocks is to sleep with the curtains open. The Theory is that if they do so, the morning sunlight will awaken them gently and natura...
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Another thing that came to my mind was that I moved my desk to spot with more sunlight. More lighting helps me stay awake.
I have been reading similar articles while looking for a solution to my productivity problems while recent semester. It helped with my diploma progress. So as an someone experienced I can recommend biophilic design philosophy as sth what may work.
Having cleaned work place with daylight inside and natural colours around affects my mood and productivity. I think it is quite logic that if we came from natural environment, it affects people favourably.
And btw taking care about plants is also a nice occupation during the day, very calm and relaxing.
A few years ago I also decided to paint my walls grey (as it was supposed to match my cactuses (RIP)). In the article there was written that colours might be an array of positive psychological and physiological effects as long as they represent healthy nature and I totally agree with it. For example, my boyfriend’s room was angry green and spending time there, for me, consisted of thinking how ugly and overwhelming it was. Two weeks ago he painted his room grey and right now it is the most calming space ever…
To sum up, if you can take care of plants, definitely buy some and surround yourself with them – you will not regret it. But if you are as handicap in horticulture as I am, then having clean and stacked space for work with natural light and calm colours is really profitable. Additionally, always make yourself green tea before work – at least this is what I do!
Since the first lockdown in March I've been struggling hard to stay sane. I'm currently battling depression and I'm trying to reinvent my daily routine, finding some new ways of organising my room and my creative space. What I’ve always liked to do is to hand my artworks around, on the walls, on some strings attached to the ceiling, so I can be surrounded by my own creativity. I still do that, but recently I’ve also discovered bullet journaling and keeping up a planner, in which I can put notes about my daily tasks, but also monitor my mood from day to day. I’m also writing down the positive things about each month, and what monthly goals I want to achieve. The pandemic made us all live in a more day-by-day style, not thinking about distant future, just trying to keep it simple, one little step at a time. I think it’s really important, especially for people like me, who are struggling with a depression and need a reliable way of keeping themselves calm, yet organised.
So I think it’s really a nice idea to find your own “controlled, calm space”, and whether it’s plants in your home office, or just favourite plushies or posters all over it, it’s good to surround yourself with the things that make you happy and peaceful. In my opinion, it’s a kind of a wall, like a defensive barrier, that’s keeping you safe and healthy inside, while the castle is being sieged.
Over the years I have found that for me to work effectively and efficiently my surroundings must consist of light-colored, well lit space, without any kind of vibrant colors at eye level. It’s also beneficial for me to sit next to a window with at least a bit of plants or trees to look at, while I’m taking a short break from work.
I have also become obsessed with buying new plants to put everywhere I can. It gives me some kind of an escape from reality, creates a safe place that makes me feel calm. However, it is important to remember that too many plants or plants arranged incorrectly can be bad for our health, as I have read, they may consume too much oxygen during the night.
I believe that putting plants in my room improves my productivity, makes me feel better, and is simply necessary. Because of the pandemic, I rarely go out, so I think it is important to change my workstation so that it is simply pleasant for us and does not bother us.
After 2 months of working remotely, the color of my room started to bother me, it was dark and unpleasant, after painting in other colors, I can safely say that I feel better in it and thus I work much better.
*plant in glass - here is an example ->
https://zamknietyogrod.pl/produkt/las-w-sloiku-xxl-karmona-drobnolistna/?gclid=CjwKCAjwlbr8BRA0EiwAnt4MTsSFAUkXETfAtVVQktkb1AhQ-X17OyWRWnX9yxJLlht4zJzlZKI-pBoCIQcQAvD_BwE
Speaking about productivity I want to mention Michał Kotlicki's idea to use sunlight for being more awake. That's also doing wonders for me.
However for me the biggest productivity boost is to get rid of all distractions (social media etc.) and start working as soon as possible during a day. This way I can spend many hours being fully immersed in the thing I do without constantly thinking about taking a break.
Personally I feel good in my room when there's a lot of light in it and when it's cleaned. That's why I am trying to keep my room tidy and comfortable. I think my cactuses also give my room some positive vibe - I have 7 of them.
In my opinion any room can be comfortable if we use proper approach. In our private chambers I think it's the best to experiment to figure out what the best possibility looks and feels like. Plants have significant impact on our well-being and intellectual potential but I think discussion about plants and comfy rooms are just a part of much bigger discussion about ways to decorate rooms. Even ancient Chinese were aware of this fact, so they developed Feng Shui rules of designing cities, villages, building and rooms.
My hometown is the city near the sea. Thus in my childhood, I have always gathered a lot of seashells or interesting stones and then made some crafts and decorations from it.
Now, in Warsaw, I also try to improve my workspace. The main thing for me that allows me to work productively is cleanliness. It is difficult for me to concentrate on tasks if there is chaos in my room. So I try to clean up a little every morning. Good lighting and a cup of tea also play a significant role.
However, I have to say that we shouldn't look at it as an alternative to spending time in the fresh air. Spending time outside for quite some time has been integrated into my daily routine, and it caused a significant change in my mood. I hope it is not your case to substitute outside activity with plants in a jar.
When it comes to improving my workspace, I have to confess that I don't do much. I focus more on having my screens directed properly and now I am on my way to changing my desk to the one that has adjustable height. I like to have my desk clean, but usually, it is not, due to another thing I like: having everything close at hand. Regarding greener things, I have 2 plants in my room and some on the balcony and I think it is enough responsibility for me. Now I started to buy some flowers which I put in a pot. I also have an air purifier with the functionality of aromatherapy and it is quite a cool gadget, but useful only in winter, when the humidity gets much smaller.
During the quarantine I decided to improve my workspace. I think that workspace should minimize the negative impact of sitting work on health. So I sold my small laptop and bought a new stationary computer and big monitor equipped with a blue light filter to protect my eyes. Also I invested in a really big desk and comfortable office chair, that keeps my spine straight, so I forgot about pain in my neck and shoulders.
It’s hard for me to work productively in a place where I sleep and relax. So I try to make my room look more like an office during the day and transform it back into a bedroom in the evening. Every morning I convert my bed into a sofa, hide sheets, pull back curtains, clean up scattered clothes and dirty cups, make some coffee and prepare my desk for a new working day. It makes me feel more organized and helps me get into routine.
I change my living place every year in Warsaw. But when I finally settle down, I am going to decorate my workplace with plants as well.
Personally, I believe that the key to staying sane and good psycho-physical shape is to keep your environment neat and not to abandon small daily rituals like dressing nice for work. Cleaning you room/flat/house is most basic chore to do, without it chaos creeps into all aspects of life. About sustaining routines, I think that dressing, shaving and fixing your hair is important even if you work remotely and no one can see you. Abandonig those kind of activities are slippery slope to decay of looks and mind.
I try to keep it clean so no garbage can deconcentrate me during work or study. However i don't plant anything even though I would love to. First because I lack memory to take care of flora and I simply lack time to do so. During work day there are so many subjects to focus on and on vacation I tend to leave a house for a week or more, so no one would be able to water them. Maybe one day when I buy some semi-inteligent watering device I will convert my room into a park, but not in close future.
When it comes to my workspace, for a long time, I was having in mind to improve it. Some time ago I have finally bought a cooler pad with height adjustment, so now I can set up my laptop at eye level. I have also changed my chair. What I have been doing correctly from the beginning is keeping my desk clean. Everything has its own place and is situated within arm's reach.
It also may be a difficulty if you are allergic to any type of mold, because it may grow around plants. I had to get rid of plants in my room, because of that reason.
On the other hand, I truly enjoy any type of floral design. Colorful, flowery patterns are often present on my clothes and accesoriess. I think that using patterns works for me much better than taking care of living plants. Maybe because I know that they will die if I take care of them.
For a long time I wished to bring nature to my own room, but I have never truly gave any serious thoughts on why would I want that. I was gifted a small palm tree some time ago in a flower pot and, while it occupies very little space, just being able to glance at it during work from home simply makes it easier to me to get things done.
I completely agree with pretty much everything said in the article. There are valid reasons why would we want to invite nature to our rooms or even whole homes, but you can't go too far - I really like the fact that the article also touches that point. Everything can be beneficial, but to an extent.
However, I feel like it's not enough for me. I have not confirmed whether I simply need a more changes or I am just not well suited to work from home, but I do have high hopes that applying methods mention in the article to a slightly greater extent will enable me to boost my productivity and overall feeling of comfort while working from home.
Everything said also applies to studying, which is an additional benefit.
My major change for home office was separating place where i work from place where i have fun and can relax. It wasn't easy, because in both cases im using computer, but switching to the other side of a desk is enough in this case. All i have to do is turn my monitors the other way and im back from my office to my home.
When it comes to plants - I have cacti in my room, but for no special reason, they are just plants that don't need to be cared for (I'm a bit lazy about that and I don't know much about plants).
As for the approach suggested by the author of the article, I think it all depends on the person. I am not a person who needs unnecessary accessories (plants, colors, sculptures) to work better. In my space, I care about cleanliness and order so that nothing irritates me or distracts me. I like minimalism and space (maybe my ego needs it), so you won't find anything on my desk except a computer mouse and keyboard.
After reading this article the idea of a clean workspace with lots of plants started to be more appealing for me. Once I watched a Youtube video about tricking our brain into “work mood”. The trick was all about creating a steady workspace where we will only focus on work and nothing else. For example our desk, but this means that we cannot do any fun or chill stuff If we want this to work.
For sure getting more houseplants makes you feel better and closer with the nature in your apartments but in my opinion real walks on the outside are still necessary and unreplaceable. Even after a hard day in my work I always take a long walk in the evening. I love this feeling of fresh air and even more now in the autumn when it’s a little bit colder outside.
Now I’m 100% sure that I’m going to buy lots of new houseplants in the next trip to Ikea. In my opinion now it's really important to taking care of our physical and psychological health as well. Especially when you are working and studying online and spending 90% of a day sitting next to the screen.
My case can be a great example of the reason why we need daily activity (and a good chair) when you are working as a programmer. I’m still waiting for the result of my magnetic resonance but probably because of my bad habits and spending about 10 hours per day only next to the laptop in the last half of a year caused something called “sciatica” (in a shortcut - “big pain related with nerves in back lumbar”).
I can prove one thing – sitting all day on chair never be enough healthy even with thousands of houseplants. Covid 19 isn’t the only one danger in pandemic. In my opinion people really should doing some daily activities like walks and sports.
My workspace is well organized place for now. I have a width desk with few screens ( for programming, gaming, listening to music, etc.). I also like looking through the spacious windows that i've got behind my desk and feeling the nature from outside. Of course, I clean my stuff every Saturday or at least i try. Mostly, I think biophilic is a individual thing. Someone needs it, someone needs that but the one fact is right, pandemic changed our lifes and we have to try to connect our workspace with a place where we live so biophilic could be one of that thing.
When lockdown started, I did not care much about my separate workspace, I worked wherever I found it comfortable at the moment. However, as time flew by I realized I need a permanent place to work and to chill organized, so that would help me organize my workflow better. The most important criteria of my workspace is an order: it is not about what I place there, it is more about how I do that. I want minimum things on my desk like a laptop, maybe another monitor, a glass of water or coffee if needed, and all those things have to match the way it is comfortable for me. I put a chair at a certain height, too. Therefore, it’s more about the sense of ownership which makes me feel more secure and in control. Preferably, I would work in a daylight, in front of the window, opening it sometimes to get some fresh air and hear noise of the streets, just to refocus on something. I like to have something personal on the desk, like a photo or a present from those I love and care about. I might think of placing a plant nearby, but as of now I prefer clean and free space more.
While having a break or lunch that is when I can enjoy the view of our home plants. When my eyes are tired, I just like to relax on the sofa, better in another room, and stare at the plants for a while. It is a great practice to take care of those plants, in addition, it helps to get your mind of the work routine and just enjoy the moment. The same feeling I get while playing with my hamster, that is when your sense of touch is actively involved. A good experience may be doing the house chores, if you consider it not just another routine, but as smth that helps to get your mind of work.
Moreover, if the purpose of the plants is to help you relax or make you more creative, I’d recommend a more regular change of activities rather than just organizing your space a certain way. As per Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, people tend to find best solutions in an unfocused state of mind more often (not focusing on the task itself, but while relaxing and doing another activity after intensive work), but that’s another topic to cover.
First of all I keep my room clean and organised. I found it very important to feel comfortable in a space where I do not only work but also sleep and rest, which means I spend there most of my time. When I am starting to feel a little bit overwhelmed by work or simply by loneliness I usually light a candle or burn some incense. The aroma helps me to relax and makes my room feel more cozy.
As covid-19 came, I had to start working remotely. At first, it was extremely hard to focus, because all the time there is something to do, something to clean, etc. Even if I locked myself in room only with business laptop, I caught myself thinking about the coffee and so, I went to do one. Another waste of time, which never happened at the office. To be honest, till today I haven't managed to keep my focus all day at work, when I working remotely, but I bougth myself a huge painting with waves. I hung it in front of my desk, just over my laptop screen, so when I feel I'm about to lose focus and patient, I start looking at it for about a minute and it helps a lot. It's still a little, unnecessary, waste of time, but today I feel way more better then at the beginning of the pandemic.
It seems, one had considered public spaces more appealing as a photo background than private spaces. However, the growing popularity of distributing personal photos on the web changed that. It became obvious, that market offers a wide range of furniture and décor, so it is quite easy and enjoyable to create a beautiful place at home.
Plants play a special role in the development of the “cult” of designing a photogenic place in your own room. The truth is plants look calming in the frame. They are a nice tool for both background and foreground.
After the increase of sharing photos on social media platforms, people actually realised that it is not necessary to design interiors only for likes on Instagram or Facebook, you can also just live in them.
The reason a plant is a unique décor element is because it needs to be taken care of. Certainly, the feeling of being connected with nature indoors could be very pleasing for a human being, but I do not think it works that way for everyone. The magic of biophilic design is based on surrounding yourself with objects, that need care, attention, and affection. A wish to express those feelings are basic for a normal person.
Coming back to the question about my workspace, I must say that I do not improve it. I only have energy to remove all the dirty mugs from it. For me, a nice workspace is where my work has already been done.
Proximity of nature-related objects is a huge factor. I have discovered that, many of my observations are very similiar to findings presented in the article. While working at my friends place (that introduces biophilic design principles), I have discovered that being surrounded by plants increases my attetion span and simply makes me feel good.
I think that the trend of "biophilic" design is brilliant. I am looking forward to introduce it into my workspace. I feel like it is a great way to remind us about our deeply-rooted bond with nature. I hope that developing such trends and sharing awarness of this connection, can have a positive impact on our global environment.
Workspace with minimalistic interiors can create to increased productivity, which then explains the sudden shift towards this interior design style.
However, one needs a strategic approach and clear vision to craft a minimalistic space as it can easily end up looking cold and uninviting. It is important to create a space that is devoid of unnecessary elements, yet, exhibiting character and warmth.
According to the article the good entry point for making our workspace a better place can be house plants. They have so much advantages as author mentioned and they are also not so expensive. In my opinion "biophilic" design is a pretty good idea. Plants have such a positive affect and can make our workspaces a better places.
How do you improve your work space at home?
Mostly I try to keep my desk clean and well organized. I do not like when some unnecessary things are lying on my desk and disrupting me during my work.
Having flowers is time consuming. It would be good to find out in advance what conditions are the best for the plant to grow. Therefore we need to adjust this choice to our interior, conditions and commitment, because nobody wants to watch their plants die. Properly cared for plants look beautiful, but replanting and watering regularly is not my cup of tea.
What I appreciate most is the good view from the window. Big window brightens the room, but also it's fascinating to observe the changing seasons if you have a little nature on the other side. Simple tree outside the window provides an excellent opportunity for this kind of observation. The tree is a representation of the passing seasons and time, green and full of flowers in spring, covered with warm colors in autumn. The colors of "healthy nature" enter my room through the window, what I really like. That's enough for me and I don't feel the need to bring them inside.
During the pandemic times, it's great to be close to the nature as we aren't out often. For the people who are working remotely, its great to break everyday view routine adding some plants to the room. Not only they are looking good, but we also feel better with them.
I'm remote worker for a couple of years now and my place of choice for working is my own home (there are remote workers who prefer cowork-spaces or coffee shops). There isn't anything particular I've changed or did to make transition from the office area to home space.
I prefer minimalistic design, so my single-room-apartment is really all about bed, huge desk with 4 monitors and kitchen area.
There maybe few things I'm missing, but these are very minor and don't really relate to working at home by itself. These are things like adjustable desk height (more ergonomics and would allow me to do "standing" working hours), more sunlight or comfier chair.
I know I should be following rules like: don't bring your work to your bedroom or have a seperate room just for work, but I can't put a clear border between these things at my space. It's a bit chaotic, but I feel comfortable about it and I'm indeed efficient.
s12539/Filip B.
I believe that statistically 'biophilic design' and other approaches in this field can help a lot of people to increase their productivity, help to achieve their goals, and so on. But the only two things which help me are lack of time or great passion. Other stuff should just not to disturb me. For this purpose, there is no need to organise your workspace, only not to mess it up.
However, I regularly have problems with organising my laptop desktop, but it's another theme to discuss, I guess. Sometimes it was a destiny gift when I had some hardware or software problems that made me reinstall OS cause it was the only way to clean it all. Or the easiest one at least.
s21455
The best workspace is the most minimalistic. And I mean minimalistic, not like those shown in the pictures of the article. Surely, plants and overall Scandinavian style of the furniture like a wooden desk, a simple chair and combinations of grey, green and other subtle colors can be calmful and can have a positive effect on your well being, but I find myself more focused on those peaceful things rather than the work I have to do.
So the biophilic design described in the article surely calms your mind, but may not necessarily make you more focused on your work.
I have never heard about biophilic design before. Currently in my room i have huge desk, two monitors, laptop and pin board. In previous lockdown i didn't need to change anything because i had a lot of plants stright behind the window and around my balcony. Right now i don't have any plants in my room but this article was quite interesting and convincing. Probably i will buy some to improve my workspace for winter.
When the pandemic has begun I was honestly feeling a little lost. I couldn’t resist the feeling that there is something missing. Spending whole time indoor had visible impact on my behavior, creativity, it even caused insomnia. At first going for a walks helped a little, but it didn’t solved the problem. Even though my day was Fully scheduled, I was feeling like I am wasting my time being committed to various tasks that I couldn’t concentrate at. I begun to think more specific, searching for the reasonable solution. I found out that my surrounding is taking out all of my attention. I was seeing a single crump on the floor, every single thing that wasn’t standing perfectly straight. Living in rented apartment wasn’t helpful at all, because I wasn’t able to change much. I’ve finally decided to bring life to my house.
My adventure starts with just a few little plants, that were placed on the bedroom window. When I was able to see how they has grown, how they position was changing during the daytime I felt change. I was waking up with much better attitude, even for attending my online classes I was more often choosing my bedroom instead of a living room. As the time passed, more plants were growing in my house and I started to see changes. I started to think more creatively, I worked faster and I was simply happier. This positive energy even affected my cat, making her way calmer.
I do believe that people needs contact with nature, as well as organized workspace to work effectively.
S17800
I would also like to refer to the production of oxygen by plants. I heard it's not true and even plants in the bedroom or office can be harmful because plants also "breathe" and take up oxygen at night or in dark rooms. This is because, in the absence of daylight, photosynthesis does not take place. Proposal? If we design in accordance with Biolophic Design, we should have very bright rooms.
From myself I would like to add that an interesting solution is to play with the light temperature. I think about choosing the right light bulbs, which we set ourselves depending on the activities performed. If we want to learn or work we should set light to cold temperature, that increases intellectual activity. If we want to relax the best option will be warm light which clearly reduce stress.
I don't feel like any design ideas can improve or decrease my productivity.
Since there is a pandemic situation all over the world we have a time to put our eyes on the space where are living. I am getting used to do everything online without going out, I mean to work, study, shoping and etc. I think it was a bit hard for me to do so, because I have a bed behind me and I felt that I want to have a nap everytime. I started to learn how to be active and motivated remotelly for example I started build my workspace, put some action plans near my laptop or decorate the wall with beatifull pictures and it reminds me something like office.
When it comes to productivity, I try to drink water in the morning with an effervescent tablet with electrolytes. It helps me to wake up properly. I also try to ventilate the room regularly. During work, I try to get up briefly once an hour, for example, to walk around the apartment. My smartwatch helps me to remember it. One of my downsides is a lack of focus, so I try to turn on silence mode and put it as far away as possible so I don't get distracted as often.
If I want to change something in my workspace, I will add another screen or more comfortable chair but I'm 100% sure that I don't buy any plants or something would only use for decoration. I don't need to work any "distracting things".
Personally i think having clean workspace is more important when it comes for comfort and proper surrounding while working. That is why even though i agree with biophilic design, I don't consider is as necessary.
Jakub Kisiała
Even though I do admire minimalistic style of the decor, unfortunately, I have a bad habit of collecting - generally useless - things in my room, mainly on my desk. I am really working hard on getting rid of this trait, because it creates a chaos that negatively affects on my focus during work. That's why I have to clean my workspace really often to be the most productive.
Except that, wide open windows, as much fresh air as it's possible and a lot of natural light in my room makes me feel comfortable.
I read similar articles about biophilic design two years ago and that's why I decided to have a wall mural with a flower motif in my bedroom. Moreover, my desk is placed by the window, so I can enjoy natural light and views while working.
Besides flowers, I improved my workspace at home by placing some candles. I’ve created a decoration consisting of an aquarium and shells. I always open the window during work (no matter if it's warm or cold outside). I try to keep the room tidy. Nevertheless, sometimes it doesn't work :)
To sum up I feel very comfortable in my room. I prefer working in my room much more than in the office.
Currently I don't really have much plants in my room and up until now it didn't cross my mind that it can have any impact on my productivity. The hardest part about having a lot of plants is the necessity to remember to water them. Sadly I would probably forgot about them in a week or two. That's why the only plants I have right now are cactuses and I love the fact that they require so little attention.
Right now, I feel a little blue, so I decided to make my place look warm and welcoming. I bought some plants that separate my working place from the living room. I also got some new scented candles and pink flowers on the table. I love it all. It brings a little smile on ma face, every time I see my new arrangement.
That's why I decided to introduce a lot of green and flowers to my flat. In that time I’ve never heard about “biophilic design” but right now I know it was exactly that style of life. I really appreciate this idea because it may make people happier. Especially in pandemic’s time. I can honestly recommend these roommates. They are calm, quiet and produce oxygen. Regards with my happy orchids and roses!
If I were to design the interior of my room from the beginning, I would focus on choosing the right color of the walls and functional furniture.
In my opinion, it is much more relaxing to sit in a comfortable armchair during a break than care on plants.