Hi friends!
I know I said I would
post about Quinn’s party today BUT I still need to do a little more photo
editing. :( I promise I will have it up tomorrow!
Having just re-entered
the workforce after being off for one GLORIOUS year of maternity leave, I knew
I had to share this topic. Since I spend eight hours a day, five days a week in this
small cubicle I figure why not make it as comfortable and inviting as possible? Here
are some suggestions for making your workspace a little less like a prison
cell:
1) Clean up!
If you too are re-entering the workforce or
maybe you have been given a new office, the number one thing is to clean it
from top to bottom! I can’t stress this point enough. Buy a container of
disinfecting wipes and clean the heck out of it – desk, chair arms, KEYBOARD,
PHONE, etc. When I think of all the grubby fingers that have touched those
things it makes my skin crawl. Maybe I’m a little OCD on this matter, but keep
in mind that you touch those items all day, every day. Sure, you might be a
clean person who washes their hands after going to the washroom, but that
doesn’t mean the last person did. Nuff said. Keep some cleaning wipes at your
desk and once a week give everything a wipe down. Starting up this routine will
not only keep your digs spic and span, but probably also help ward off
allergies and seasonal illnesses. Bonus!
2) Plants!
Give your office/cubicle life by bringing in some plants. Not only do plants brighten up your space but they purify the air around you. If you aren’t the best at keeping plants alive (like me) bring in a fake plant. I bought a fake fern-like plant from Ikea along with a cute vase and it does the trick for me. Fake (or real) flowers also help to keep things happy.
via
3) Photos!
Bring in photos that make you happy. They don’t have to be personal photos – landscapes or quotes can be just as nice. Anything that makes you smile will do the trick. I would also recommend putting said photos in nice frames. This extra touch will makes things feel
home-y and less office-y.
Here are a few quotes that speak to me:
All three via Pinterest – I don’t have the
links! :(
4) Fun office supplies!
Most workplaces provide employees with office
supplies but they are often the cheapest and frankly are a bore-fest. Buy a
couple of nice pens, some awesome desk organizers, and maybe a fun notepad or
agenda. Imagine strutting into your next meeting with an amazing agenda or top
of the line pen… I bet you won’t fall asleep during that meeting.
Here are some
seriously amazing office supplies that I am crushing on:
5) A cozy
sweater!
If your office is anything like mine, it's either wayyy too hot or wayyy too cold. Hurray for re-circulated air! When dressing in the morning I try to stick with layers so I can strip down (get your mind out of the gutter) or bundle up, but let's face it, sometimes you want to wear that cute dress and don't want to add a fugly cardigan on top. That is why I keep a cozy, but cute sweater at my desk. Its always on hand to keep my warm but easy to ditch if I want to look fabulous during the staff meeting. No crazy wardrobe planning at 5am for this gal. Nope, I know my cozy sweater has my back. A cozy blanket could work too.
Here are some beauty sweaters that I wish I could buy:
6) Yummies!
If vending machine coffee and chips aren’t your thing, bring in some tasty treats that are! Fall is here and that means pumpkin spice season is here too! I have a box of pumpkin spice tea stashed away at my desk so anytime I have a craving I have it on hand. I also have a selection of granola bars and fruit that I keep at work for snacking purposes. Bringing your own healthy snacks will hopefully help you cut back on both impulsive snacking and excessive spending. Yay!
7) Music!
The team I work with is awesome. They are all about collaborating, sharing, helping and socializing. It’s great, but not so much when I’m trying to concentrate. Queue the music – literally. Most of us have smartphones or mp3 players nowadays so grab your headphones, put together a rockin’ playlist, drown out the chatter and get to work! Need a pick-me-up before your big presentation? Blast a little something in your ear to get pumped up. Need to calm down after a hectic morning? Thrown on some mellow music to bring your stress level down. Right now I am totally into jazz, namely Billie Holliday. Her sultry voice and lovey-dovey lyrics put me in such a good mood. Choose whatever motivates you. I highly suggest 8tracks. It’s an awesome website that lets you stream playlists that other users have put together. You can search by artist, genre, song name etc. I downloaded their free app to my iPhone and use it all the time. Grooveshark is another great website that lets you create playlists from their database of songs. The only downside is that there isn’t an ‘app for that’; you have to use a web browser.
Jobs can be stressful – sometimes it’s the work, sometimes it’s the people. Do yourself a favor and make the place you spend your entire day a place you can cozy up and get creative. Putting a little time and effort into prettying up your workspace will give you a confidence boost and show others you are a committed and organized member of the team. By adding some personal touches to your workspace you make it an inviting space not only for yourself but for your co-workers. There is nothing worse than an empty office. In the past I had a coworker who literally only had the documents he was working on, a pen and his computer on his desk. Then, at night he would completely clear his desk. It looked like a vacant office. I found this so depressing and to me it really spoke volumes about his commitment (or lack thereof) to our team. Don’t be that person – decorate your space today!
xo, Vicky
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