Optimizing the spaces in your home for life at home - Part 1 (WorkSpace)
5 spaces in your home and how to optimize them for life at home
After a few months of isolation during the pandemic, I realized that the structure I had created within each space helped me thrive. A lot of folks I spoke with had increased their ratio of ordering in to working out and their sleep was also affected. On the other hand, I didn’t skip any dish and I increased my year-over-year Apple watch exercise minutes by 52% in 2020. A 2021 online survey by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) found that 51% of respondents used medications during the pandemic. Of the regular users, 68% report an increased use during the pandemic.
More research is needed to determine precise numbers, but proper ‘zone definition’ within ones home significantly increases their ability to maintain a routine that supports achievement of health and work goals. To create an indoor space that optimizes physical and mental health while maintaining productivity, one needs to define sections within the home.
Since the early 90s, the open floor plan has been a dominant interior design trend for new or remodelled living spaces. It makes sense when you consider that pre-covid, life at home was mostly about winding down alone or mingling with friends/family after hours spent outdoors. The open concept style, though great for socializing, could be a problem when adopting the space for a Life at Home especially in an era where being indoors is encouraged. The need to physically or mentally create sections within the home becomes so much more important when spending almost the whole day indoors.
By clearly defining each area of the house and using each space solely as defined, you can get yourself to feel a certain way within each area. For example, by defining your bedroom strictly as a sacred sleeping sanctuary, you train your mind and body to understand that in this space and on that bed - it’s pass out time! Not snack, then sleep. Not doze off to your Netflix show. Not even a place to relax and chill. Sleep. That’s it.
In this series, I break down the 5 spaces every guy should have defined in their home including recommendations of essential items to have in the space and things to avoid bringing into that space. I share activities that are encouraged and those that are discouraged within each space. I would skim over the basics with plans to revise in more detail in future posts.
WorkSpace/ Home Office:
This is your creative hub. Home workspaces have birthed many world changing ideas. For example, Graham Bell conducted the earliest experiments for the telephone invention in his Brantford, Ontario home. One can run a business from their home office or use the workspace as an outlet for personal goals/passions/hobbies or more commonly for those #wfh selfies.
Walk into this space only when you need to get down to business. After using this space for a few weeks, your brain should become conditioned to snap into work mode as soon as you show up. It’s like arriving at work. Sitting at your desk space would become all you need to swing into work mode. Typically, you are not jumping on social media when you get to work or trying to take a nap when things slow down. I said typically. So stay focused in this space.
Some rules to increase productivity in this zone:
Absolutely no social media!
No movies/TV shows (you can stream from your computer to the TV screen in your living room using an Apple TV, for example, but you cannot watch any movie in here).
No food. Of course you can have coffee. Light snacks can also be tolerated.
Home Office starter pack:
Desk
Reading Lamp
Swivel chair
Reading Chair
Physical pieces of your hobby/passion - musical instruments, camera accessories or anything to make your space look ‘worked in’.
Books
Computer, stationery, etc
If you feel tired or sleepy, step out and head to the Bedroom zone.