If you’ve been working from the same space for more than a year, it’s a good feng shui strategy to make as much of a fresh start as possible. The best way to begin is by removing everything from your workspace and staging it nearby. With the room emptied out, you can clean and refresh the space completely, before bringing back in only those things that truly deserve a place there and arranging them according to the guidelines you will learn in the next chapter.
If you are moving into a new home or converting a space previously used for another purpose into your office, you have a wonderful opportunity to follow this recommendation. If you just want to “tweak” your current office space for better feng shui you may think I’ve lost my mind to suggest this step (you’re busy enough already, without taking on such a task, right?) ... but I’m recommending it anyway. Taking the necessary time—and making the effort—to completely clear out your space before moving things back in may seem unnecessary or unreasonable, but I hope you will at least consider it. There are a number of advantages to this ap- proach:
• You will significantly shift the energy of the space by taking everything out of it.
Moving things is in itself a very good way to get stuck energy unstuck. The longer you have been using the space, the more you will notice the benefits of doing this.
• If you clear out all the furniture and stuff from your space, you’ll be able to thoroughly clean the room before moving back in.
If you are feeling a little less than inspired about your work or about the finan- cial results of your work, a thorough cleaning of your office will help to “freshen up” the energy and inspire forward motion again. If you must leave furniture where it is and clean around it, the effect won’t be as great although you will still reap some benefit.
This helps you let go of mental frustrations and feelings of “I’m not doing as well as I’d hoped,” or “building this business is taking longer than I thought,” so you can get back to work with renewed enthusiasm.
• If the space was previously used for other purposes, you can more fully claim it as your own.
• You will see the room differently when it is emptied out, and may have some insights about how to make better use of the space.
This can be especially helpful if your office shares a mixed-purpose room with other family activities. Moving everything out is a great opportunity to rethink how the entire space is being used.
• You are more likely to tackle the big jobs like painting the walls, moving the furniture around (which I hope you will be inspired to do in the next chapter), and cleaning or replacing the carpet, rather than putting these tasks off until “someday” arrives.
• You will see your furniture with fresh eyes as you move it, and may realize that you hate your file cabinet, or that your desk chair is looking very shabby these days and it might be time for a new one.
• As you go through the move-out/move-in process, you’ll realize how much of the stuff you’re hauling around is really clutter and that you can do without it. Think about it. How long will it really take to do this? An afternoon, a week- end? The benefits you will reap over the next few months of improved mood and energy are worth the investment of a few hours —or even days—to make your home office the best it can be.
At the very least, if you can’t do a total overhaul, devote some time to cleaning and getting rid of clutter. If you do nothing else, these two steps will dramatically improve the energy of your office. Here’s an interesting exercise that will help you explore how in need of attention your workspace may be…
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
If you asked a friend or neighbor to come take a look at your home workspace—as it is right now, not after you’ve tidied up or redecorated—and give you an honest and unbiased opinion of it, what would they be likely to notice?
Is your home office neat and tidy and ready for business or is it cluttered and chaotic? Is it so full of things unrelated to work that it doesn’t look like a workspace at all? Would your friend say, “Wow, you’ve got a great office!” or, “I can’t believe you get anything done in here”?
Stand in the doorway or entry to your current home workspace and take a look at that space as though you are seeing it for the first time.
• What are the first three words that come to mind to describe your space:
• If this were a stranger’s office, what insights might you gain from this room about the person who works here? What are three things you might assume about that person’s work habits, priorities, or level of success: