11 Change surroundings
The environment determines the individual. –B. F. Skinner
We all live and work in environments of some type or other which constitutes our surroundings. These environments include both the physical objects as well as the people that we interact with. Our workplace surroundings can have a significant influence on our attitudes, well-being, productivity, and creativity. When we change our surroundings, we can change how we…
Your workplace surroundings do influence your creative abilities in particular because your surroundings can constantly stimulate you in ways that can peek your creativity with new ideas and provide a safe place to take risks.
Transform your energy, transform your life… We’re creatures of habit, which means we quickly become accustomed to certain things in our space. Without realizing it, we also attach memories to, and trap energy within, colors, smells, images, sounds, lightness and darkness in our environment. Making small changes to your mindset and environment can dramatically transform your life. — StephenieZamora.com
Dr. Robert Epstein gave this challenge:
“One of the easiest, most economical, and most powerful ways to change the way people think is to change the stimuli — both physical and social — that surround them. Are you stuck thinking old, ineffective thoughts? Sweep the items off your desk and put some new ones there. Turn your desk a different way. Hang out with some new people. Put posters on the walls of your business reading NEW IDEAS WELCOME HERE, or, better yet, put blank posters everywhere that say WRITE YOUR NEW IDEAS HERE at the top. The next time you order pens and paper, make sure they’re all printed with a message such as, NEW IDEA RECORDER. A stale, unchanging space produces stale, unchanging ideas. An ever-changing space that broadcasts messages welcoming creativity can alter an organization’s culture overnight.” http://drrobertepstein.com/downloads/CREATIVITY_FOR_CRISES-e-booklet-c_2009-Dr._Robert_Epstein.pdf
A few years ago I was using five different email address for various purposes and would log into five different email systems to access and send messages. I then discovered that I could centralize all of my emails into one system with Gmail. Now I only log into Gmail and I can still manage five or more different email addresses. This changed my work flow and environment significantly. Now when I need to change that part of my environment, I can just change the themes in my Gmail display. I am currently using the Mountains theme.
Can you change the themes and backgrounds on your email system? Could you benefit from changing to Gmail?
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Here are some other ways that I keep my environment fresh:
- Go for walks on various routes, observing different things along the way.
- Look for different things in my surroundings and create photographs of them.
- Change the forms of entertainment I engage in.
- Look for new technologies to explore their value of application in my work.
- Change the location of my workplace sporadically. Have a laptop computer helps.
- Change my routines sporadically especially when I feel they are getting stale.
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How do you keep your environment fresh in your workplace?
Trying applying this now:
- Create a list of the things in your surroundings that stimulate you the most.
- Create a list of things that don’t stimulate you anymore.
- Consider when was the last time you changed things in your environment.
- Plan how you can change your environment to make it more stimulating again.
- Evaluate how successful your changes were and would you would change again.
The people in your surroundings can also have a significant influence on your success. Some of the most important elements of the environments in our workplaces are the people that we work with. People that we work with can be the best or worst part of our working experiences. I find that communications with these people seem to play the most significant role in determining this. You may want to examine how you are communicating with others in your workplace and make changes. To learn more about this go to Five Communication Mistakes That Are Holding You Back and read how you can improve your communications.
Watch this video presentation created by Caleb Langford, Chlesea Anderson and Brianna Keil about how to apply this principle.
Surroundings https://youtu.be/A6nGPUiAVy8
Not everyone recognizes the value of changing environments. They may even see it as an unnecessary cost. You may identify people in your workplace that are like this. What can you do to keep your environment fresh?
What is holding you back from changing your surroundings more often?
Challenge:
- Change something in your environment and see how it influences you. It doesn’t matter what you change.
- Visit other people’s work environments to get ideas on how to improve your own.
I’m in love with cities I’ve never been to and people I’ve never met. — Unknown.
In order to lead a fascinating life — one brimming with art, music, intrigue and romance — you must surround yourself with precisely those things. — Unknown.
Further Readings:
