Minimalism is the art of keeping it simple. It is all about stripping everything to its bare essentials. In the office, this may just be the key to healthy and beneficial work life. Setting up the environment to be an efficient minimalist workplace only needs a few things, and achieving this is a pretty straightforward approach.
Look around your desk and you’ll find what needs to be done. Is everything you need within reach? If at first glance you are able to find the necessary things, then good; if it’s a mess, then maybe it’s time for a new approach. Now that offices opt for open floor plans, the spaces that are available to you can easily become a dream minimalist space.
Clear Space, Clear Mind
A famous article in 1982 by George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson, “Broken Windows,” talked about the importance of morale for the people by elevating public order—where cops doing foot patrol
ensured the safety of the citizens by just being there. The bottomline of this article though was that people comply to the environment they are in. A clean and pristine work space will result to good behavior among the people in the workplace.
Many people believe that clearing the physical clutter of any space promotes clarity and a relaxed mind-set. A great environment leads to a boost in morale and encourages one to do their best. Decluttering the work space is a great place to start when you want a minimalist desk. No matter the job description, everyone has tons of information, materials, and data to keep track of. Clear out what you don’t need and organize what you do. Start with a clean slate and move from there.
Simplicity Is the Key
Simplicity in the office will promote productivity because it can help bring focus to work since it makes it easier to effectively and efficiently manage the tasks people have at hand. After all, simplicity is practicality.
With so many products in the market that focus on delivering great value while keeping a sleek design, it’s almost too easy to choose the right ones. The key is keeping it as simple as possible. Take only what you need and how much you can maximize the value of one product. For example, a surface book HDMI is a great way to keep all the necessary ports you need for your laptop in one place. Hubs for USBs and other essentials are necessary to maintain order on your desk while allowing accessibility. The possibilities from a practical and simple setup is endless, and the end goal is to maximize productivity efficiently and effectively.
Here are a number of other items to use in the office to achieve the minimalist desk setup:
Wireless Gadgets
The rise of Bluetooth gadgets in the market means there are more items that are wireless to choose from. A typical minimalist desk will almost always have a wireless keyboard and mouse to minimize the clutter that corded items tend to do. Consider other Bluetooth items for the office as well, like printers, projectors, and other appliances that can help make team meetings and conferences much more streamlined.
Go Paperless
Many offices still stick to paper for their everyday note-taking, but in this day and age, we don’t really need to. Whiteboards are a great go-to item that a team can have so everyone can stay in the loop regarding events and meetings. Some offices also allow the use of phones as replacements to note-taking, especially since one will always have their phone with them anyway.
Dual Monitors for Everyone
Although two monitors seem like more clutter, it is actually quite the opposite. The benefits of having a second screen for employees include increased productivity by 20 to 30 percent, according to some research. Because more data and information is made available to you in one go—dual monitors can show more things than just one—this significantly makes the job easier for employees.
Universal Laptop Docking Stations
A universal laptop docking station basically expands the functionality of a laptop. It will help support a variety of display outputs, audio, ethernet, and other USB peripherals with just one cable. This will help make a laptop a versatile machine, basically making yourself available everywhere you go. Because of its portability, many offices often look toward getting docking stations to efficiently cut the time for setups during conference meetings and allows an employee to be on-the-go at all times.
Make the office an efficient and effective workplace while maintaining great ambience with minimalism. Time is less consumed and productivity will continue to boom.
