Jumpstart Your Work by Ditching Your Desk

You won't often catch me at my desk: I work all over the building, sometimes in a conference room, the lunchroom, even the patio. I think it helps me to focus and keeps my thinking fresh, and there's even scientific evidence to prove it.

Ever heard of the Hawthorne Effect? In a famous study, industrial psychologists tried switching up environmental effects to see if they could increase productivity. They installed higher wattage lightbulbs throughout a large factory and productivity soared. But then, after a day or two, it returned to normal. So they removed the higher wattage bulbs and, guess what? Productivity soared again. ANY change, brighter or dimmer lighting, cooler or warmer temps, increased productivity. The very change itself was the key.

We are not the only company that finds that mixing it up makes us better: @jasonfried, co-founder and CEO of Basecamp, recently published an article about Summer Hours. "Keeping Summer Hours hones our prioritization skills and breathes fresh energy into our work." While your org may not support a seasonal four-day work week like @Basecamp, mixing up your hours may do the trick. We have people on our team who are super creative and focused during those quiet early morning hours, and others who really get burning in the late afternoon. Encouraging them to mix it up puts them in contact with different team members in different settings that can mean exciting collaboration.

Whatever you do, try shifting the setting and see if it doesn't make you sharper. It doesn't have to be a big change to make a big improvement.

Where and how do you mix it up to keep your focus sharp and jumpstart your creativity?