This article is part three in an ongoing series on Feng Shui and how the ancient art of balance and harmony can help out in offices, not just homes. We first covered How Feng Shui can Help Find Balance at the Office, and next highlighted How Plants and Feng Shui Cleans up Office Spaces and Makes Employees Happier. Today we are going to show how using Feng Shui principles to reduce clutter in your office and work space can help improve productivity.
Psychologist and Feng Shui consultants both agree that cluttered spaces make your mind cluttered and less productive. Having a clean office environment that is free of clutter and arranged in a way to improve the flow of your chi is the ideal design for optimum Feng Shui. “Quite simply, being organised gives you more time for the things you want to do – cooking, exercising, family time, taking a bath – you time. That’s very important to mental health,” says personal organiser Kerri Rodley.
7 Tips to Help De-Clutter Your Office:
- Start small, even if it’s only with a single drawer or section of your desk.
- Make de-cluttering a quick 15-minute weekly routine; it can be something you tackle at the end of each day or first thing in the morning. If that still seems daunting, try breaking it up into 5 minutes in the morning, 5 minutes before lunch, and 5 minutes before leaving for the day.
- Do not procrastinate! Get in the habit of putting things away after they are used, rather than “doing it later”.
- Store seldom used items out of the way.
- Throw away used items or donate unused ones.
- Use plenty of containers and office organisers when storing items.
- Management should allow time for de-cluttering and provide the proper organisational supplies.
If your office space is a cluttered mess and you are not sure where to even start, Feng Shui gives you some great ideas as to which area to clean first to achieve certain goals in your life and your work. Keep in mind these tactics can work in your home as well as your office.
LOVE/RELATIONSHIPS: Clear out the SOUTHWEST corner of your office. Clutter here can manifest as problems with relationships or can create health Problems.
MONEY: Clear out the SOUTHEAST corner of your office. Clutter here can create problems with lack of savings (accumulated wealth) and difficulties in the hips, legs and knees.
FRIENDS, FAME, RECOGNITION: Clear out the SOUTH corner of your office. Clutter here can create problems with friends, social contacts, as well as health problems with vision and heart issues. Brighten and lighten this area up and create open space (air feeds fire!) and watch stress come down and fun rise.
HEALTH, FAMILY GROWTH: Clear out the EAST corner of your office. Problems here result in difficulties with family members, tension in the house, problems with skin, lungs, and feet. Beautify with water images to feed the wood energy of this sector and improve health and family relationships.
CAREER, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES: Clear out the NORTH corner of office. Problems and clutter in this area creates problems with kidneys and ears. Brighten and lighten this area, create space to create flow for the water energy here that brings career and business opportunities.
CHILDREN/BABIES, CREATIVITY, PROJECTS TO FLOURISH: Clear out the WEST corner of your office to watch projects come to fruition. Clutter in this area creates problems with children, the mouth and teeth. Add metal to this area to create movement in projects and help children.
EDUCATION, PERSONAL GROWTH, SPIRITUALITY, WRITING: Clear out the NORTHEAST corner of your office. Clutter in this area keeps you from thinking clearly, making good decisions and keeps you feeling anxious and uncertain about your life. It also affects your hands. Keeps hands in good condition with lotions, manicures and watch how you think more clearly.
TRAVEL, MENTORS, HELPFUL PEOPLE: Clear out the NORTHWEST corner of office. Clutter in this area creates problems with men, the man of the house, and with finding people to help you and assist you in life. Excess mess can also create problems with the head, such as high blood pressure and headaches. Open up this space and the world opens up for you!
