By Kelly Myers
We know that most of our readers are not going to walk through their offices with a smoldering handful of dried sage to cleanse the office of negative energy (unless you are a fan of “smudging”). But we do know that many of you consider the office your second home, and your immediate surroundings do have an impact on productivity.
Feng shui is the ancient Chinese practice of rearranging physical objects to create a harmonic environment. We’re going to give you the extremely abridged version.
A cluttered workspace is not a good thing. When you walk into your office and see piles of papers on the desk that spill over onto nearby chairs, console tables and every available surface, chances are you are feeling overwhelmed by simply walking into your office.
If you have never been able to tackle this problem, find someone who can. You may feel more comfortable finding a professional organizer – look for one affiliated with a professional association. If you have an office manager who is a whiz at keeping chaos at bay, let her do it – and you leave the room while she attacks the clutter.
Just as your staff won’t find files if they are scattered around the office, you can’t possibly keep tabs on your clients without logging their information into a centralized database. IMS clients who started using the E-2 CRM are functioning with greater efficiency. They can access Mr. Jones and Ms. Day’s information after a few clicks and are far more comfortable getting on the phone when they can see all of the couples’ information on their monitor.
Another part of Feng Shui is incorporating objects that have meaning to you. Again, for details on exactly what to put where, look at a chart that will show you precisely where things should go. But in broader strokes: keep a photo of your loved ones nearby to remind you why you work as hard as you do. A beautiful, healthy plant in your office cleans the air, and gazing at something green and growing is refreshing to the mind. Use your desk as a reminder of the areas in your life that hold value and encourage a flow of positive energy through your work space.