Adjustable home office lighting improves creativity and focus.
Few of us do only one kind of task in our offices, whether in our home office or a corporate office. For most of us work involves problem-solving/creativity, focused analysis and administrative work.
“A well-designed workspace must adapt to what you’re working on.”
A weak source of light on the ceiling and a small lamp far from the desk equals poor lighting for productivity.
A recent study proves that one-size-does-not-fit-all applies to lighting as well as office set-up. Subjects where tested under three different lighting levels: Bright (TV studio light levels), Light (standard corporate office levels) and dim (similar to a cloudy day). Subjects did best with a creativity task in dim light, while they did best on a logic task in an illuminated (non-dim) setting.
In your home office (or if you have control of the lighting in your corporate office) set up adjustable lighting to support the various aspects of your work. Too many home offices are inadequately illuminated: a 60 watt bulb in the ceiling fixture and a desk lamp on top of the file cabinet in the corner. Set up a table lamp on your desk to illuminate the analytical work you do on your computer (spreadsheets, coding, proofreading). If your home or corporate office has a reading chair, be sure there is a lamp next to it. Turn the lamp on for comfortable reading. Turn it off or dim it for thinking/reflecting.
If your reading chair is near a window, take a break to look out at nature or draw the shade to turn inward to tap into your creativity and insights. For creative work or brain storming in a corporate setting, snag a small conference room and dim or turn off the lighting.
Smart lighting is an easy way to make your workspace support you.
What lighting changes have you made? Did they work for you? Share your story in the comments below.
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photo by Robert Stinnett
