16. How to Set Up Your Ideal Work or Study Space: 10 Tips
Episode 16
Our work and study spaces have the power to make or break our concentration and performance. In other words, our environments aren’t something we should ignore.
In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I share 10 practical ways you can tweak (or even overhaul) your work or study space so that it supports the important work you do there. You can implement one tip or all 10, but my suggestion is that you don’t do nothing.
Free Resource:
→ Time block planning template (Download the free PDF)
Other Episodes Mentioned:
→ Episode 14: How to Use the Pomodoro Technique to Increase Productivity and Motivation
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How to Set Up Your Ideal Work or Study Space: 10 Tips | Episode 16
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The following transcript was autogenerated and may contain some interesting and silly errors. But in the name of efficiency and productivity, I am choosing not to spend my time fixing them. :)
[00:00:00] One mistake I see students and working professionals make all the time is underestimating the power of their environment.
The things in our surroundings, our spaces, the lights, the colors what's there, and what's not there can all have a dramatic impact on how we learn and perform.
In this week's episode of the Learn And Work Smarter podcast, we are talking all about setting up your ideal work and study space.
By the end of this episode, you'll hopefully have some motivation and inspiration for tweaking the space that you're currently in.
Now, nowhere in this episode am I going to advise that you go out and buy anything expensive or spend money try and to match something that you find on Pinterest? Nothing like that.
My intention is to give you some ideas and to encourage you to think about the way that you're currently operating or not operating in your current space to encourage you to see if there's any [00:01:00] area, no matter how small that you can improve.
So thank you for being here today and let's get started.
Now, as I said, at the top of this episode, our environments can have a significant impact on our productivity.
But not just that.
Our work in study spaces can also impact our emotions, our focus, our motivation, and how well we actually do the tasks that we're supposed to be doing.
In just a moment, I'm going to share 10 strategies that can help you elevate your work or study space.
You can try one, you can try them all, but if you are listening to this episode then I am assuming you could probably benefit from just trying something.
The tips are not in order of importance as what's important is subjective, and it honestly depends on what your current workspace or study space status is at.
All right. Let's jump into the 10 tips.
[00:02:00] Tip number one to improve your study space is to make your space obvious.
Now this tip might not be relevant to everyone, especially if you work in an office, but if you are a student or you work from home, then this tip is for you.
When I say, make your space obvious, I'm suggesting that you actually create a space that can remain set up and looks like a place that you'd want to sit down and do your work in.
If you're a student, this could simply be a table or a desk in your room, but it is not the kitchen counter. Because at the end of the day, the kitchen counter is going to have to return to being the kitchen counter.
Right. If you're working from home, I'm suggesting, you know, we avoid working on the couch. Hear me out.
When we walk into a [00:03:00] gym and we see gym equipment and machines, we get psyched up and ready to work out. Right.
Or when we walk into a kitchen and we see food, or I don't know, even just suggestions of food, we get hungry.
When we walk into a party and there's music, we become ready to socialize.
We need to look at our work and our study spaces, the same way.
Now, if you're doing your work in a location that doesn't look like a place that you would do work, you're doing nothing for your motivation or for your focus, even a simple table lamp, um, a pencil holder, a pad of sticky notes, right?
Is enough to trigger your brain to say, Hey, This is where I do my work.
Now workspace tip number two is to keep surface clutter minimal.
Now everyone has a different threshold as to what they consider clutter. Right? Some people could have a million things on their desk and that has absolutely no impact on their productivity or focus.
But some people. It's like me. Become overstimulated and distracted by anything [00:04:00] more than the bare essentials.
Now you might be different than me and you're you have to experiment. So I am not here to tell you to keep nothing on your desk or your workspace.
Rather, my suggestion is to get you to ask yourself the difficult question of is what's on my desk, helping me.
Now at the end of the day, you might love candles and figurines and 54 pens and 11 picture frames. But you need to ask yourself, is that really helping me reach my goals?
Is there another place that you can put all of those decorative items?
When we're working on something challenging, like studying or writing a report or thinking, or, you know, whatever our job entails, we set ourselves up for success when we surround ourselves with just the things that support our concentration and the work that we're doing.
So a practical strategy to get your workspace to the state of optimization is to start by taking everything off the surface. I know that's annoying. Everything. [00:05:00] Yes, this takes time. Everything. And then clean the surface.
And then before you throw everything back where it was, I want you to take each item and ask yourself, do I use this item every day? Or most days?. And if the answer is no. Then it does not belong on your desk.
So for example, let's say that you have a pencil sharpener on your desk. Going really basic here. At first you're probably like, yeah, I use the pencil sharpener. But like, are you really using it every single day? You really wearing out that many pencils? I mean maybe if you're an architect.
But could you maybe store the pencil sharpener away and then take it out on the infrequent times that you need it?
In a coaching session with an adult client recently, we had this exact same conversation. She had a small printer that she kept on her desk. Now she's a tax accountant and she actually did have to print things once in a while, pretty regularly.
But [00:06:00] space on your desk is valuable real estate and the printer just didn't make the cut.
We actually put it under her desk where there was plenty of room and that opened up so much more space, like surface space for her to feel more mentally clear and have room to spread out what she needed to spread out.
Right. She fought me on moving the printer, but at the end of the day, she's like, oh my gosh, Like, why didn't I do that center?
Another quick tip that goes along with this tip is to make an effort to clean up and tidy your work or study space whenever you're done with it for the day.
Even if you're going to need those same materials, the next day.
Straighten it out, put away what you can.
If you remember the fewer things you have on your desk, the easier it is to clean.
Workspace tip number three is to use a, visible time element.
I know we all have timers and clocks on our phone, but if you are serious, About working in studying with minimal distractions then your phone doesn't deserve a place on your desk.
I suggest then you have some other kind of clock. I don't know. You know, like a cheap digital clock you can get on Amazon or from Target- one that you have laying [00:07:00] around somewhere already at your house.
And then set that up on your desk or, you know, even on the wall instead.
In episode 14, I talk about the Pomodoro technique, which is a time management time management technique that involves using a timer. It is a fantastic focus and productivity tool that requires an actual timer. And in that episode, I recommend those. Um, cube timers that have like a set time interval on each face of the cube.
The benefit of having some kind of external clock besides your phone, if it's a queue timer or a digital thing that you put on the wall, whatever. Isn't you can see the time without getting sucked into the vortex. Of your phone. 'cause you know, as well as I do that, even a simple tap on your phone, just to boop check the time.
Right? Can lead you down a rabbit hole that is so hard to come back from.
Now this tip and the following one support tip number one, which is to make your study space obvious.
So if you're creating a space that's designated to work and learn, and you have the privilege of being able to leave that space set up, you don't have to take it down each day, [00:08:00] then having a clock on your desk or on a wall near your space, contributes to it looking like a place of work.
And then that takes us to the next tip, tip number four, which is to incorporate a visual calendar into your space.
Yeah. I know most of us are using a digital calendar these days. And that's fine. And that is awesome. And keep doing that.
I do that. Or even maybe if you're already using an analog calendar, like tucked inside of up like a paper planner or something.
That's great too. Keep doing what you're doing, but what I'm talking about here is some kind of old-school wall calendar.
Or you can even get the type that's like the desk pad calendars. You know, to protect your surface.
And this is more of a reference thing than anything else. So sometimes when we're working or we're studying, we just need to check the day, check how many days away a deadline is simple, things like that.
And again, Anything that can separate you. From your phone is going to help you in the long run.
Again, like I said, this as well as some kind of, you know, [00:09:00] clock element contributes to the vibe of your workspace. It makes it visually triggering as an actual place of focus.
No workspace tip number five, keep important items. No more than two touch points away.
Whenever we're talking about organization, the goal is always to reduce friction.
So whether we are organizing a work bag, our digital files, our kitchen drawer, or our workspace, we should be looking for ways to reduce friction in our workflow.
And one way to do this is to keep frequently used items no more than two touch points away.
So for an example, if you regularly use sticky notes because their name is Katie Azevedo, then I don't recommend storing them inside a container inside of a drawer because you'd have to open the drawer, open the container, pull out a sticky note pad, right?
That's if you count, count with me now, three touchpoints.
And then when something is more than two touch points away, not only does it create friction [00:10:00] to access that thing that we're looking for, but we're also less likely to put it away when we're done with it. Right. Because it's too annoying to do so.
And that's what contributes to the clutter.
Now, this might sound silly, but when you're putting items back on your desk, after you removed them, as I suggested in tip one, right?
Or tip two, I want you to ask yourself, do I use this regularly? And if the answer is yes, okay, you should have already done this,
then I want you to count out loud.
Ask yourself, how many test points there are to access where you plan to store that item? Okay. Yes. 1, 2, 3. If you're hitting three and four. Rethink where you going to store it.
The work and study space tip number five is to consider a processing folder or tray.
This tip is not for everybody.
And it depends on the type of work that you do at your desk.
It's also more practical for working professionals and college or graduate students in maybe not so much for high school students.
Now, some jobs are entirely digital and you won't have any paper at all. And if that's you, then you can go [00:11:00] ahead and skip ahead to the next tip.
But if you tend to accumulate papers on your desk, I suggest you use some kind of processing folder or a tray to keep all of your active papers organized.
No, this is not a filing system, or a place to collect trash. But it is a spot on your desk where you can reliably store and find papers related to things that you are actively working on.
The key to stop this processing bin or whatever you want to call it from just becoming a messy pile of papers is to go through it regularly. It depends, maybe once a week is sufficient. Maybe twice a week.
You're going to have to figure that out for yourself to see how quickly the pile is accumulating and say, okay.
It's time for me to check in with the pile.
So, for example, if you're working on a project for more than an afternoon, maybe a few days or a few weeks, and there's some kind of papers that go along with the project that you need to access or use most of the days, you can store them [00:12:00] in that processing tray, you can also consider storing papers in there that literally need to be processed.
So this would be things like meeting notes and you have to clean up and review.
Forms that need to go somewhere else. Things that need signatures or some kind of follow-up.
Think of the bin as something that says, like has a sign on it that says, like pay attention to me, don't ignore me.
And if you start to ignore that bin, and this is a strange little strategy, but actually move it to the other side of your desk to add a sense of novelty.
We pay attention to things that are more novel.
Now, if you are debating about whether something that you have should go into that tray, this is what you do.
You ask yourself: is this something that I need to pay attention to or deal with in the very near future? Okay. And if not, then I want you to go ahead and put it in your final destination. Whether that's the trash, whether that's a project or a class folder, maybe it's an actual filing cabinet.
Maybe it needs to be scanned and you're going to store it digitally.
But if you're going to use it in the next few [00:13:00] days, then keep it in the processing bin.
Tip number seven, use a scratch pad. Inbox. I love this tip and I recommend it to I'd say most of the students and all of the professionals that I work with and I teach it thoroughly inside schoolhabits university.
Now a scratch pad inbox, and I like to call it just totally made that up. It's just simply a piece of paper or a pad of paper, that you keep on your desk to capture all of the things that come your way, both internal and external during a work or a study session.
If you get an idea, you remember something that you're supposed to do, anything pops into your head, a message that you have to reply to someone calls and it goes to voicemail, right?
You don't want to stop what you're doing and tend to those things, or you're going to lose focus and you probably won't get done what you're supposed to get done.
But if you try to ignore it, Or tell yourself that you'll remember it later, your brain is going to spend precious energy trying to remember that.
It's going to [00:14:00] do everything it possibly can to keep that little reminder in the background.
And that is going to divide your cognitive resources between remembering that thing and then doing the task that you're working on, and that is not at all what we want.
So the simple act of writing things down on a piece of paper, which I call the scratch pad inbox helps you stay focused, organized, and then less stressed.
Now, if you're someone who regularly practices braindumps, then you could consider this kind of like an open ongoing brain dump that just ends when your work or your study session ends.
So that means when you get up from your desk or, you know, shortly thereafter, you would look at your scratchpad inbox and you'll deal with whatever's on there.
There's a high chance- this is the best- that some of those things just needed acknowledgment and there's no action.
You look at it and you're like, oh, I just needed to like, get that out of my head. Right. But if anything on that scratch pad inbox is a task that requires action, put it in your [00:15:00] task management system.
Alright, work and study space tip number eight is used the right lighting.
Now I opened this episode with emphasizing the importance of not underestimating the power of our environment on our focus and on our mood. And a significant component of our environment is lighting.
We all have different preferences for lighting. That's fine.
I'm not totally here to recommend like one or another, but this strategy is to inspire you to think about lighting as a controllable part of your workspace and not something that just exists. Okay.
Funny story It's story time! I had a corporate job right out of college as an assistant editor at a tech company.
And it was honestly my very first experience with the cubicle and a hugely open working environment. It was like a massive building, all open cubicles, right?
There were actually lots of windows, but my cubicle was more in the middle of the room. So I didn't get that direct sunlight. And the first week on my job. [00:16:00] I brought a small desk clamp to put on my desk. Yes, I did.
Now the purpose was twofold. I brought in a warmer light bulb to offset the neon fluorescent lights from above that I just didn't like.
And also it changed the vibe of my very industrial workspace to be more like library, like the college library I had essentially just graduated from. Okay.
Were some people in the office like, wow. What the heck? You bet they were. Good thing I didn't care back then just like, I don't care now.
But before I left there almost two years later, other- this is the best part- other people had desk lamps on their cubicle desks. Okay. I like to say I started that trend.
I'm not saying you have to get a desk lamp for your cubicle, but maybe you know, get a lamp with the right color light bulb make, maybe you just have to change the light bulb from cool to warm or to neutral.
Right? Maybe you already have a lamp and you can just tweak what's there. Or maybe you're [00:17:00] lucky enough to have the option to move your desk closer to a window.
The point is to think about lighting is something that you can intentionally design and something that you have control over. Just like other elements of our workspace. All right.
Tip number nine, have enough surface space, either on the left or the right of your computer.
Now this tip might sound a little funny. But it's something I've noticed a lot of people overlook, especially people who work from home or have small workspaces to begin with.
So, most desks, if it's a legitimate desk, have that opening for the chair right in the middle.
You know what I mean? And that's not necessarily bad. Except if the work surface is small.
Why. Because if we have a small ish work space surface, that's fine. But if your device or laptop is right in the middle, then you're not going to have sufficient space on either side- left or the right -to fit in notebook, a timeout plan, a your, to do [00:18:00] list, your textbook, whatever it is that you need that's related to the task that you're doing.
If you're the type of person who likes to go to, you know, cafes or libraries to do your work, I want you to keep your eye open for tables or surface areas that allow you to put your laptop on one side with enough space on either the left or the right side for these types of things.
Now what side obviously depends on if you're a lefty or righty, of course.
Now, if you're working with a large surface area, then honestly, this tip is not going to matter so much because you're going to have plenty of space on either side.
So this is more relevant if you're dealing with limited space.
And one more thing about this tip before I move on to the 10th tip.
You might be thinking that you don't need any other space besides just the space for your laptop or your computer.
And this might be true some of the time, but I am actually inviting you to reconsider what you have in front of you while you are working.
Now, in an earlier tip tip [00:19:00] number at this point, but I mentioned the idea of having a scratchpad inbox.
So they're like eight, maybe. So. I don't know. To collect those random thoughts and ideas that pop up during the day.
Okay. Well then if you're going to use that strategy, you're going to need a place to put that piece of paper where there are no pad.
If you're going to try to time block, right time block planning to increase your productivity and focus, then you're going to need a place to put that time block plan, because I do suggest, honestly, if you're going to be time block planning, you do it on paper.
And yes, of course I have a free time block plan for you to download and printer use digitally.
That will be in the description box if you're watching this on YouTube. Or in the show notes if you were listening to this as a podcast.
All right. Tip 10 last tip, kind of, hehe use a tech box.
This is another workspace tip that won't necessarily apply to everybody, but I've seen it help enough people that it made the list.
Tech boxes are nothing fancy.
It's not like a legitimate thing. It was just the name that I'm giving to the idea of storing away all your chargers, your mics, [00:20:00] your USB things, your drives, your webcams, backup batteries, any tech that's related to your work or study space that you don't need using up valuable permanent real estate.
Okay. Even if it's something you use once a week, I would consider storing it in a tech box under your desk or in a drawer.
It can even just be a box that you keep on the floor next to you.
If you have multiple devices and multiple chargers and things could get mixed up, then just label each one with a simple piece of tape and a Sharpie.
You don't need anything fancy for your tech box. I'm talking like a shoe box or, uh, any basket that you have laying around. And one of those big, you know, plastic Tupperware type things, doesn't have to be fancy.
You're not going to go to Amazon and search for tech box because it's just something that I've made up.
Now this simple strategy of not storing every single piece of tech on top of your work space. It really makes a difference in terms of the clutter, the distraction and the [00:21:00] subconscious attention that we play to pay to everything else besides the task that we're working on.
All right. So if you're counting, that was 10 tips. But I do have one more, a bonus tip, so to speak. And that is to keep in mind balancing function with flair.
Yes, I do want you to consider all these 10 tips that I share today.
You can choose which ones apply to you. Um, that might be one that might be all of them, but as you tweak your workspace or maybe even overhaul it all together, I want you to keep in mind that you've got to find a balance between functionality- so that's how the space works for you. Its utility its ability to support your focus, your productivity and your goals-
okay, and then the flare element. Those are the little things that are unique to us. That we incorporate into our workers study spaces that make us happy.
Now, of [00:22:00] course, I'm maintaining the belief that we should keep clutter to a minimum, but that doesn't mean that your space should not inspire you.
So hear me out: if you use sticky notes regularly okay and it's one of those things that you are going to keep on your desk. That's the function.
But then you add the flare by investing in sticky notes that you want. Consider a unique color or get the pop-up dispenser. You want get them custom-made or order them from a shop on Etsy so that they are uniquely you.
As I said earlier, I suggested hanging some kind of like calendar. Or it could be like a desk pad and having a visual time element in your space. Well, there is room for flair and personality in both of those tips too.
So you can incorporate fun and flair into the function, if that makes sense.
All right.
My friends, I hope this episode inspires you.
If you need a reminder of what the tips are then save this episode, take [00:23:00] a screenshot, write down somewhere, learnandworksmarter.com/podcast/16.
That is where you will find a transcript, a video, the audio and everything, and the download to the timeblock plan template.
It's a link to everything we covered today.
And with that, I leave you with some really important advice, which is to never stop learning.
