We all know a tidy room equals a tidy mind, but did you know you can enhance your potential for success at work and bring in positive energy by making a few changes to your home office interiors? Lucy speaks to Feng Shui expert Priya Sher about Feng Shui home office tips to maximise your success when working from home…
What is Feng Shui?
Feng shui is studying the flow and movement of energy within a space and purposefully guiding it to offer the greatest benefit to the occupants. Literally translated feng shui means ‘wind water’. All humans need air and water to survive.
Its principles maintain that we live in harmony with our environment. Its aim is to achieve balance in our living and working space and maximise our potential for success in all areas of our life.
How did you get into Feng Shui?
My father was a property developer and we moved around a lot when I was a child. I noticed that every house we moved into things were very different for us. I started understanding that spaces had energy and that in certain homes things were very good for us and in others not so good. Several years later I came across feng shui and started studying it and everything started to make sense. I have been studying authentic Chue Style Feng Shui with my feng shui Master since 2001.
Why is it important?
When the feng shui of a property is good the occupants can lead a healthy and prosperous life. Any space you spend time in you will absorb its energy. Just as the energy of people you spend time with rubs off on you, so does the energy of a space. The difference is we are more aware when people drain or boost our energy, but less aware of how a space can also do that.
People that are very sensitive to energy can feel the effect of a space quite quickly, but for the majority of us it takes time for us to feel that. Once we learn to optimise our environment to support us, our life becomes smoother, opportunities flow with greater ease. Feng shui ultimately is about bringing balance into our lives so that our quality of life improves.
What are your Feng Shui home office tips for people WFH?
Desk Direction
If you have a room at home that you can dedicate to making your home office then this is the ideal situation. Position the desk so that the back of your chair has a solid wall behind it. Always avoid sitting with your back to the home office door as the door is where opportunities enter and you don’t want to have your back to opportunities, as you can not receive opportunities if you have your back to them.
What to avoid
Also avoid sitting with your back in front of a window as this can not provide you with support. If you have no option but to sit with your back to the window then get a chair with a high back that is higher than your head, to provide you with support.
The position of the desk is vital, position the desk in the command position which is diagonally opposite the door, if you have a large room, you can place the desk more centrally, always keeping a wall behind you to provide you with support and power.
Your view
You should have a good view of the full room so that you have control of your space. When you optimise the configuration of your work space you are simultaneously enhancing your potential for success at work.
On your desk
Always keep your desk organised and only place current working projects on it. Always file and archive completed work. At the end of your working day (for which you should have clear timings, just as you would when going out to work), tidy your desk. Your desk is a reflection of your mind and a cluttered desk reflects a cluttered mind.
Close the home office door at the end of your working day. Every morning open the windows of your home office to refresh the energy and light a woody candle, as the element Wood represents growth and new opportunities.
Do not place any paperwork, books or files on the floor as this reflects a deterioration of your work.
Plants uplift energy
Place a peace lily plant on your desk to absorb electro magnetic stress, this will enhance your energy as electrical appliances can drain our energy. Place a money plant in the corner diagonally opposite your office room door. This is a pulse point for wealth. A money plant placed here will enhance your potential for wealth. For more information on which plants to go for, The Joy of Plants is a great resource.
Avoid the bedroom
Avoid working from your bedroom as this is not a conducive space for work. The energy of the bedroom is yin and the energy of a work space is yang. Therefore, it will unbalance the energy in your bedroom if you work from here and cause a disruption with your sleep. If you have no choice but to work from your bedroom then you will need to divide your room into two distinct spaces by using a screen. Once you have finished working you will need to totally put away all your work and laptop in a closed cupboard. So that the bedroom can regain its energy as a bedroom.
Get off the sofa
Avoid working from your sofa as this is a relaxation space to chill on after your working day. If you have no choice but to work from your living room or kitchen then ensure that after your designated working hours you pack everything away. In any room always aim to sit at a table when you work with your back supported by a solid wall and with a good view of the room that your are in.
Finding balance
I know that with this year much change has happened in our lives and many of us may not have homes where we can dedicate a full room for making into a home office, so we need to optimise on what we do have. Clear work and relaxation boundaries are key when working from home. It’s important not to check emails and take work calls after your working day is over, otherwise the energy of your mind will become unbalanced as you’ll never be able to relax fully.
Phones need to be used for relaxation after your working day, to chat to friends and family not for doing business deals. After your work hours you need to be able to switch off mentally from your work which may take time to practice when you work from home. But once you learn to master this it will enhance your potential for success and make you much more focused within your working hours.
Liked this article on ‘Feng Shui Home Office Tips’? Read ‘Declutter Your Life With Marie Kondo’
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By Lucy Sambrook
Hettie is the editor and co-founder of DOSE. A keen runner, she’s also partial to a blast of high-intensity and hot yoga. A country girl at heart, she divides her time between London and the lush rolling hills of North Devon. When she’s not jetting off on her next adventure, Hettie can be found in a candle-lit alcove with a laptop, a spaniel and a full bodied Malbec.
- Hettie Holmeshttps://whateveryourdose.com/author/hettie/
- Hettie Holmeshttps://whateveryourdose.com/author/hettie/
- Hettie Holmeshttps://whateveryourdose.com/author/hettie/
- Hettie Holmeshttps://whateveryourdose.com/author/hettie/
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