How can I optimise my environment for productivity? This page explains how to align your workspace with your tasks to boost focus and creativity.
The room you are in should align with the goal you want to achieve there. The only things in your bedroom should be those in service of sleep. Everything non-sleep related requires willpower when you are trying to sleep.
Most of us do several types of work—reading, writing, sending emails—in the same workspace. To perform best on a task, we should have a different environment to work on each of them.
When you are working on a task, you focus your mind on the problem at hand. It is when you allow your mind to wander that you get the most creative ideas. Getting an idea and working it out require completely different environments.
You should synchronise your tasks and their appropriate environments with your energy levels. We are best equipped to perform high-focus (non-wandering) tasks three hours after waking. You can extend this window by alternating environments and prevent it from becoming mentally stale.
Journaling after ‘wandering phases’ allows you to capture breakthroughs you did not know you have had. By journaling first thing in the morning, you capture a night’s worth of mind wandering. This is useful, since your wandering thoughts relate to what you are working on. To enable this process, think about and visualize what you want your mind to focus on while you sleep.
