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The modern office cubicle is often portrayed as more of a sterile cave than as a cradle for the creative. The small space, often combined with questionable decoration and lighting can lead to creative stagnation, and is often not conducive to the type of fast paced creativity expected from many employers.

Below are six ways you can foster creative change in your office corner, with no moving vans required.

Clean Slate

It’s hard to concentrate on being creative when you’re surrounded with clutter. A great place to start on your creative crusade is with cleaning up your working space. A clean and tidy space acts like a blank canvas for your mind, and allows you to envision your surroundings and yourself anew.

Another beneficial outcome from the cleaning process is that you may find objects and artefacts which are helpful to your creative practice. Finding good storage for items of value and getting rid of items which have ceased to have value is an important part of the process.

Position Yourself

Getting yourself into a comfortable, sustainable working position is as important for your creativity as it is for your health and well-being. A stand-up desk, or an ergonomic monitor arm might be the solution to your workday woes, and may lead to increased creativity and output.

Finding ways to be both comfortable and productive can be tricky, but the use of devices such as monitor arms means that you can work in a wider range of positions while maintaining optimum physical positions compliant with modern OH & S safety standards.

Into The Light

Lighting plays a large part in our relationship with our surroundings.

Think of the way that harsh, fluorescent lighting makes a doctor’s office or a hospital seem sterile; or the way that soft, diffuse candlelight is considering conducive to relaxation and romance.

Lighting in your workplace has the ability to influence how you’re creating things, and in many cases, whether or not you’re in the mood to be creative at all. Many large workplaces utilise bright fluorescent lights as they’re easy to install and are relatively cost effective to run. If this type of lighting is stifling your creativity, it’s time to change things up.

Ask for the lights adjacent to your desk to be turned off or down, and employ the use of lamps. Individual lamps allow you to adjust the lighting to your taste, and allow you to choose warm or cool lighting, and focal direction.

Natural Instinct

Plants give office spaces an invigorating splash of freshness and green credentials. They’re also effective air cleaners, constantly photosynthesising and renewing the air.

If you’re feeling creatively compressed, some gorgeous greenery might be just the ticket you’re searching for. A well-placed fern or ficus can change your office outlook from gloomy to blooming in no time at all.

On Hand

Convenience plays a part in how creative you can be at any given time. In order to facilitate this, keep selected supplies on hand. For example, if you’re inspired by hand drawn scribbles and cartoons, keep a stash of paper, pencils and pens close to hand. If you’re more drawn to interior design and decoration, keep some magazines and publications on hand for coffee breaks. Having inspiration and having the means to be creative close by will mean that you’re less likely to use apathy as an excuse or barrier to your creativity.

Art Attack

Another way to surround yourself with inspiration is to decorate your space with things you love and with things you find inspiring. If you’re motivated by aesthetically awesome artworks, pin-up some prints. If you love a certain type of music, culture or food, find ways to express this through the decoration of your surroundings. It’s an easy way to turn your space from a cubicle into a creative corner.

With a few small changes and some smart ergonomic integration, you can change your office existence from a creative rut to a creative cloud.