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Have you ever noticed? Sometimes the only place you can tackle a challenging bit of work is in a coffee bar–or in my case, Julie’s, a tea garden here in Alameda.

As someone who’s worked from home consistently since 1986, I’ve learned there are times when you just need to leave the house. AND… there are times when hunkering down in the home office is just the right thing to do. (Note: Coffee bars can have less than robust wifi, especially if the place is crowded.)

Which could explain the current push by more than 75% of corporate America to move their teams to hybrid work. Turns out working at home all the time is productive—yet over time, it gets lonely, too, and that drains the productivity.

Surprise, surprise. We need each other—live and in-person. But only sometimes. Meanwhile, I say our environments and what’s in them still impact us. For I suspect most of us are far more sensitive than we’d cop to.

So to that end, here are a few ideas on how to adapt any work space, at home or in your workplace, to increase your feelings of self-care. (All of these ideas can be adapted for shared or ‘hotdesking’ modes.)

Make sure the temperature is just right. Be like ‘baby bear’ in The Three Bears, and really tune in to what works for you. Acknowledge your needs and take care of them. If you’re on your feet and you’re feeling cold, add layers. If you’re sitting at a desk and you’re burning up, add a portable fan. You get it. Always keep a layer to put on at hand.Bring headphones/air pods or such and some music that instills a sense of calm and peace. I like Spotify’s ‘Peaceful Piano’ playlist. Also Nature Instrumentals. These disappear into the background beautifully and keep you from being distracted by, say, someone’s Zoom conference in the next cubicle or the barking dog next door.If possible, bring art.  I have a large view of the Pacific over my desk. Why is it there? Because nothing provides me with prevailing peace like the ocean. This is a picture of my beloved Sonoma Coast, and the colors and the mood just make me go ahhhhhhh. When I look at it, I always come right back to myself.If you can’t hang art in your space, bring along a 5X7” version of the image, and maybe stick it in a tough portable frame for easy transport. Of course, you can always make this your desktop background on your laptop. I have both.
 Stash the right snacks nearby. I have a mason jar with my beloved Salted Licorice Disks…Sometimes one of those will pick me up like nothing else. It’s the kind of edible encouragement I just need a little of now and then, and a jar lasts me months. (Note, I’m not suggesting you bring chocolate-covered potato chips or whatever you might consider a binge-worthy food…just something to put a smile on your face.)Get the seating right. I have to have a small, dense pillow right in the small of my back to help me sit up with better posture. Otherwise my long hours in the office chair start to gang up on me. Some chiropractors I know insist that arm rests are not useful, others say they are. The biggest factor ergonomic seating is the angle between your hips and your knees. Ideally you want them at a 90-degree angle, at least, with knees not higher than hips.Don’t forget the water. I notice that when I’m really, truly hydrated, my mental concentration is great and my flagging energy picks up. So get your water on. Why not buy a really beautiful water bottle that holds what you need—and looks cool, too? Perhaps it will give your lowly water bottle a little cachet… Here’s a fun example.Pop on a little aromatherapy. I can’t tell you why it works—maybe it’s simply suggestion? But when I put the right scent in my home office, it eases my stress and makes me feel inspired. Yes, there are seasonal scents (Pumpkin Muffins, Fall Leaves) but I like stress-relieving scents like Lavender and Eucalyptus. Just the basics, please. May you have fun experimenting. Aromatherapy diffusers are inexpensive and easy to use.Work standing up with a variable desk. One genius I know has been doing this for years by working on his baby grand piano. But I keep it simple with a varidesk—a small convertable desktop that has options for moving up and down, depending on how you want to work. When I stand, I try to shift my hips and change position frequently, apparently better for your body. And yeah… sitting all day long is the enemy. Research tells us that if you sit all day, a half-hour workout at the gym will do no good afterwards.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but feel free to send me more ideas at Suzanne AT suzannfalter.com. And don’t forget to breathe!

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