Own Your Space

Visiting a client, I get a tour of the facility. I notice that one office has a scenic view of snow-capped mountains. I almost pass by, and then stop in mid-stride — there are very few snow-capped mountains in Chicago. Snow-capped land fills, maybe, but no snow-capped mountains, and certainly not in September.

I take a half step back and peek in.

The occupant is out, so I look more closely at the mountains and realize that I'm looking at a print — complete with window ledge and vertical blinds. The office has no actual windows, but on another wall is a poster — you've probably seen it — of a skier essing back and forth down an unending slope of deep powder.

On the desk is an old prism-shaped wooden name stick. It reads "Warren's Desk." I never did meet Warren, but I'd guess that he's a skier — or was once, before he moved to Chicago.

Add meaning and comfort
to your working environment.
Make it your own.Warren had a small windowless office, but he had made it his own. You can do the same with yours, if you add meaning and comfort to your environment. Here are just a few possibilities.

• If your office is cold, bring in an "adult blankie." If you're more comfortable in slippers, bring a pair to work.
• Pay attention to ergonomics. Make your chair comfortable — adjust its height for safety and comfort. Add a pillow or seat cushion. Get a wrist rest.
• If you're on the phone much, ask for a headset. Your neck will thank you. If the company won't buy you a headset, get a doctor's note, and see what they do then.
• Hang prints, photos, or textiles. Bring in a decorative ceramic pot, or a sculpture one of your kids made.
• If you don't like clutter, clean up your office. If you like clutter, clutter it. In your office, you're in charge of defining organized.
• Get a plant or two. If you're a serial plant killer, get help — or get fake plants.
• Think about toys, stuffed animals, and goofy clocks.
• If you live in earthquake country, prepare. Arrange things so they will land where you usually aren't.
• Check out what other people are doing around you. It's amazing what you can see when you look. Search the Web for "office accessories" to get more ideas. Here are Google's results.

Whether you work in a cube like Dilbert's or in a custom-decorated office with a vast expanse of carpeted emptiness, you can take control of your surroundings and make them uniquely yours. When you Own Your Space, you'll feel better about the time you spend at work — and you'll lower your level of stress.  Top    Next Issue

Love the work but not the job? Bad boss, long commute, troubling ethical questions, hateful colleague? This ebook looks at what we can do to get more out of life at work. It helps you get moving again! Read Go For It! Sometimes It's Easier If You Run, filled with tips and techniques for putting zing into your work life. Order Now!

Photo: Harry Glicken, Mount St. Helens, May 17, 1980. Courtesy US Geological Survey.

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness:

At the Sound of the Tone, Hang Up

When the phone rings, do you drop whatever you're doing to answer it? Do you interrupt face-to-face conversations with live people to respond to the jerk of your cellular leash? Listen to seemingly endless queues of voicemail messages? Here are some reminders of the choices we sometimes forget we have.

Let Me Finish, Please

We use meetings to exchange information and to explore complex issues. In open discussion, we tend to interrupt each other. Interruptions can be disruptive, distracting, funny, essential, and frustratingly common. What can we do to limit interruptions without depriving ourselves of their benefits?

Appreciate the Moment

Often, we focus our awareness where we aren't or when we aren't. Whether we're in a heated meeting, or blowing out the candles of a birthday cake, being fully present can make our experiences more positive and memorable. Why are we so often someplace else? When we are, how can we come back? Or better, how can we stay fully present when we want to?

What Measurements Work Well?

To manage well, we need to know where we are, where we would like to be, and what we need to do to get there. Measurement can help us achieve our goals, by telling us where we are and how much progress we're making. But some things aren't measurable, and some measurement methods yield misleading results. How can we use measurement effectively?

False Summits: II

When climbers encounter "false summits," hope of an early end to the climb comes to an end. The psychological effects can threaten the morale and even the safety of the climbing party. So it is in project work.

See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming October 1: On the Risks of Obscuring Ignorance

A common dilemma in knowledge-based organizations: ask for an explanation, or "fake it" until you can somehow figure it out. The choice between admitting your own ignorance or obscuring it can be a difficult one. It has consequences for both the choice-maker and the organization. Available here and by RSS on October 1.

And on October 8: Responding to Workplace Bullying

Effective responses to bullying sometimes include "pushback tactics" that can deter perpetrators from further bullying. Because perpetrators use some of these same tactics, some people have difficulty employing them. But the need is real. Pushing back works. Available here and by RSS on October 8.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenaXXxGCwVgbgLZDuRner@ChacDjdMAATPdDNJnrSwoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info