Your environment can greatly influence your productivity. Particularly if you work from home in Los Angeles. I have learned many hard lessons about creating a good work environment over the years, so I hope to give you a few tips here on how to best set up your Los Angeles work space for maximum world domination.
And what are the key factors in creating a productive workspace in Los Angeles? They’re your senses. If your five senses aren’t focused, happy, and calm, you’ve started off on the wrong foot. It may seem like a lot of work to set up, but the best way to create success for your work day is to start by taking care of your senses of smell, sight, taste, touch, and sound. Here’s how I do it:
Sight
I recognize that I have a monkey mind and work desperately to tame him. (He’s a dude, my monkey. He’s the monkey version of Sean Penn in Fast Times At Ridgemont High and I have named him Justin.) I know that if I give my monkey too much to look at, he will inevitably want to go crack a beer at a Los Angeles bar and party while getting nothing done.
If I work at the kitchen table and give him half a chance, Justin will see a banana and immediately want to stop working and eat one. Or, if I hit a roadblock in whatever I’m working on in Los Angeles and look up to see that I need to wash a pan, my work is interrupted and my monkey mind is appeased. The point is that I need to take Justin to time out corner and make him focus.
It’s literally the same thing I do with my son. If I put myself in an enclosed space with sunlight where I have very little visual stimulation, I almost always get more done. Otherwise, I’m pining over folding laundry, taking out the trash, making a smoothie, or doing any other myriad of tasks that will distract me from the task at hand. If you want to be productive, I’d recommend visually put your monkey in a time out corner.
Sound
There is something about ambient sound that helps me focus and relax. Some people in Los Angeles like to work in a quiet environment, but I have found that if my ears have a little something to chew on, they’re not as distracted by other sounds. I have recently discovered 528hz sound healing sessions on Youtube.
Most of these are long sessions (up to 3 hours) and they make you feel like you’re in a spa. I don’t know if the sound is working as advertised and promoting “deep healing”, but it does make my ears happy while I write things. And every now and then, I can imagine that I’ve taken Justin with me to Burke Williams Spa in Los Angeles for a mani pedi and massage.
Whether you choose ambient sound or heavy metal, most scientists say that it’s best to choose tunes without words. According to an article in the Business Insider, 48% of people are distracted by speaking at work. I’ll assume it’s the same with lyrics of music. So, take a sound bath and get to work.
Touch
If you’re going to be productive, you MUST be comfortable. But not too comfortable. I started working from home while sitting in the scratchy chairs at our dining room table. Bad idea. Two weeks later, my back was jacked and I was overall grumpy. A good chair is key to productivity.
If you’re going to get into a flow state and conquer Los Angeles, you don’t want to be distracted by your armpit itching because you’re wearing scratchy fabric or your butt hurting because you’re working on a crappy chair.
The point is that you don’t need to go out and buy a $500 chair, but you should be mindful that your body needs to be in a position that is comfortable while you’re working. I change positions and alternate between my armchair and standing in the kitchen with my laptop on the kitchen island.
Taste
In order to make your mouth happy, set your productivity alarm and give yourself a treat every now and then. It doesn’t have to be a sugar-filled candy, but anything fresh and uplifting can boost your energy and your mood while you’re working. I like to eat fresh cucumber slices with a little salt and lemon. It’s a low-calorie treat and I can quickly prepare it and then get back to being productive.
In the long run, you have to stop to eat even if you’re in a flow state. Hunger can kill a productivity streak faster than you’d think. So, set aside some snacks that are readily available during your work sessions so you can get a little treat and then keep plugging away.
Smell
I am a huge believer in the power of scent in relation to mood and focus. The things you breathe in affect your limbic system which, in turn, can impact learning and memory. There are a plethora of scents you can incorporate to improve productivity inclusive of citrus scents, peppermint, and lavender.
I have a little diffuser that I keep at my Los Angeles workspace that I refill every day with filtered water and a few drops of Zongle orgranic grapefruit essential oil. It makes my room smell fabulous and it gives me a little pick-me-up when I leave and then return.
Regardless of what you choose to use as the scent to boost your productivity, you should choose it purposefully. Scent is one of the most underrated senses and one of the easiest to appease. So, grab a diffuser for twenty bucks on Amazon and boost your productivity and your mood.
Everyone is different. Perhaps you like to work in a dark space on a bean bag chair with incense burning and candles surrounding your laptop. Bust a move. The point is that if you create a working environment that is right for YOU, you will inevitably enhance your ability to get things done.
And ever how incremental your improvement may be, every little thing you do counts toward the overall picture. And then, someday, you may be able to tame your Los Angeles Justin and get him to work with you rather than against you.
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