How To Create A Healthy And Productive Home Office Using Hygge.
Discover the benefits of using Hygge when setting up your work from home office to boost your productivity and well-being with Hayley McDonnell, founder of Just Hygge.
The concept of Hygge is synonymous with a feeling of cosiness and comfort. This means feeling content and having a sense of personal well-being and satisfaction. In real life I understand Hygge as a philosophy that means you live your life with intention and with ease and flow. Essentially this means it is a concept that you can adopt for your own life and lifestyle and incorporate in a way that suits you.
For some of us, working from home will be a choice and with this lifestyle choice the benefits include greater flexibility in your schedule and your day-to day life can be easier to manage. The commute from bedroom to boardroom in less than a minute is attractive for many, and with that comes the opportunity to be more productive as your mind-set is more aligned to the task at hand rather than switching from travelling to the work place and then on to the expected tasks ahead. Away from co-worker distractions, noise and longer coffee breaks chatting to others, the idiosyncrasies of fellow workers who do not align with yours will no longer be a problem.
The actual work space itself is the focus of this blog post, and with the working from home option you will realise that the ultimate benefit is the opportunity to choose to work in a space that can be way more comfortable and cozy for you; a space curated by you that suits who you are and the values that are important to you. From a Just Hygge perspective this will be a created with ease and flow at its heart.
The commute you no longer have will put pennies back into your piggy bank and the quick on the go lunches and the ‘I deserve' lattes won’t be part of your day to day spending and now becomes your day-to-day saving. The money saved is now reserved for your Hygge working from home space. The clothes you wear (*) can be more relaxed and informal with an opportunity to be less formal than what you are traditionally used to. A potential money save there too.
So, how to make your space and working from home set up a space with Just Hygge ease and flow? The living with intention aspect of Just Hygge is fundamental and in this regard means having a designated work space for you. The stereotypical office space is often conjured at this point and in reality will work for some of you, but for others perhaps with a creative or practical work life this won’t be relevant. However, I advocate we all need somewhere to work from at home for at least organising our lifestyle, bills, family household management and so on. Keep this in mind as you read on.
To move into the ease and flow of homeworking a tidy desk and working environment is key. Yes, I am talking about the less is more concept and to achieve this you will have to de-clutter first. As a motivation to help you achieve this space ask yourself, “Am I feeling positive about working here right now?" and even at the end of the day, “Do I really want to come back to this space tomorrow?". These questions are intended to help you feel motivated to move into your home working space metaphorically and physically. They can help you decide what you need to be productive and most importantly happy whilst enhancing your mental health and well-being.
Ease and flow means having what you need close by so you can do what needs to be done; the consumables or supplies that are in this sense tangible. In a similar vein anything that you have to read or notice should be free from other distractions, a page of notes, a noticeboard with ideas, an online tool for keeping relevant features at hand must be allowed to breathe metaphorically, maintain the ease and flow by finding what you need quickly and easily without distraction.
Adding more ease and flow and joy to your workspace with the aim of making it a space that has a purpose or intention is the motivation behind the Hygge choices. I refer to this as Hygge Plus. It both motivates me to become more productive whilst making me feel happy and supports mental health and well-being.
It can be difficult to separate ‘work’ hours from ‘life’ hours. You may have experienced it when work expands and seeps into your free time. lt can throw off your work-life balance and accelerate burnout. Working from home means work and life are woven together and increases the chance for stress and anxiety to return. Ease and flow can find a way around this.
Your working from home area ideally has a door to close it from the rest of life. If not, tidy everything away at the end of the working day and focus on leaving the space as a Hygge Plus space. Adopt the mantra, “don’t put it down, put it away”. What is left for you and others to see should be one that still maintains the emotions of mental health and well-being until you are ready to return.
Filling your workspace with beautiful things that support you in your business and give the Hygge Plus feeling will make work-life a happier experience and as a greater extension of your lifestyle will ensure that this is maintained in your every day life.
Let’s celebrate the creative control you have over your workspace and the chance to truly make it your own and curate your optimal work environment. A Just Hygge workspace never dictates, so to a degree go with what floats your boat.
*A note of caution with chosen work attire. Many years ago whilst working in a school, some colleagues and I decided to come into work the following day which was a training day in our home clothes aka onesies! Donned in my rabbit onesie the following morning I confidently walked into the meeting held in the main school hall to be greeted by over 150 faces including senior leaders who of course were all dressed in their ‘normal clothes’. I don’t work there anymore! On a serious note the clothes we wear for work at home or in an external work place should be appropriate for the environment and any unexpected or
expected face to face meetings. Ease and flow of course dictate.
Find out more about Hayley and her inspiring passion for Hygge and the wonderful life it creates at Just Hygge.