Working from home comes with undeniable perks—no commute, cozy clothes, and the flexibility to create your own schedule. But as anyone who’s set up shop at the kitchen table knows, it can be challenging to remain productive when your space feels cluttered or uninspiring. In fact, the environment you work in has a huge impact on your mental clarity and overall well-being. By incorporating principles of hygge and wabi-sabi, you can transform your home workspace into a serene and inspiring haven, where you can truly thrive.
The Impact of a Cluttered Space on Your Mind
It’s no secret that a cluttered space leads to a cluttered mind. When piles of paperwork, stray objects, and chaos surround you, it becomes harder to focus on the task at hand. Clutter increases feelings of stress, anxiety, and overwhelm, making it difficult to find clarity in your work. Researchers have found that visual clutter competes for your attention and lowers productivity, which is why tidying up your home office can significantly improve your mental state. Creating an organized, beautiful space where everything has a purpose can reduce that mental “noise” and help you stay focused on your work.
Hygge: Creating Comfort in Your Workspace
Hygge: Creating Comfort in Your Workspace
The Danish concept of hygge revolves around comfort, warmth, and coziness—elements that can make your workspace feel welcoming. Bringing a touch of hygge into your home office is about appealing to the senses. Consider using warm, soft lighting from lamps or natural light to create a calming atmosphere. Adding natural textures like wool throws, wooden desk accessories, or woolen cushions can help create a nurturing environment that feels grounded.
Hygge reminds us to slow down and savor the moment. Instead of powering through tasks in a sterile, impersonal workspace, take the time to create a place where you want to spend time. When you feel comfortable and content in your environment, you’re more likely to be productive and positive about your work.
Wabi-Sabi: Embracing Imperfection
In contrast to the structured perfectionism that often accompanies workspaces, the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi teaches us to embrace imperfection and find beauty in the incomplete. Your home office doesn’t need to be perfectly organized or designer chic. What matters is creating a space that feels authentic and aligns with your personal style. Maybe your desk is a bit worn or your bookshelf is a mix of colors and shapes. Wabi-sabi encourages you to lean into those quirks rather than fight them.
By embracing imperfection, you free yourself from the pressure of needing everything to look flawless. This mindset helps you become more comfortable with the natural flow of your work, imperfections and all, and lets your workspace reflect the dynamic, evolving nature of your creative process.
Bringing It All Together: Tidiness as a Form of Self-Care
Ultimately, putting in the effort to make your workspace lovely and tidy is a form of self-care. When you intentionally craft a space that feels good to be in, you're showing yourself that your work—and your well-being—matters. Tidying up doesn't have to be a chore; it’s an act of mindfulness that sets the tone for how you approach your day. By combining the warmth of hygge with the simple, imperfect beauty of wabi-sabi, you can create a space that feels both comforting and inspiring—a place where productivity flows naturally and you feel at peace with your surroundings.
Whether it's adding a cozy throw, clearing off your desk, or hanging art that sparks joy, transforming your home office into a space that reflects who you are can do wonders for your mind and work. The space where you spend your workday should make you feel empowered, calm, and capable of tackling the tasks ahead.
All this time the Queen had never left off staring at the Hatter, and, just as the Dormouse crossed the court, she said to one of the officers of the court, ‘Bring me the list of the singers in the last concert!’ on which the wretched Hatter trembled so, that he shook both his shoes off.
Here one of the guinea-pigs cheered, and was immediately suppressed by the officers of the court. (As that is rather a hard word, I will just explain to you how it was done. They had a large canvas bag, which tied up at the mouth with strings: into this they slipped the guinea-pig, head first, and then sat upon it.)
Alice watched the White Rabbit as he fumbled over the list, feeling very curious to see what the next witness would be like, ‘—for they haven’t got much evidence yet,’ she said to herself. Imagine her surprise, when the White Rabbit read out, at the top of his shrill little voice, the name ‘Alice!’
‘Here!’ cried Alice, quite forgetting in the flurry of the moment how large she had grown in the last few minutes, and she jumped up in such a hurry that she tipped over the jury-box with the edge of her skirt, upsetting all the jurymen on to the heads of the crowd below, and there they lay sprawling about, reminding her very much of a globe of goldfish she had accidentally
About the Author
Hi! I'm Darby! As a lifelong lover of paper products and organization, I created Paper + Progress to help others streamline their lives and manifest their dreams. With a background in teaching and a passion for personal growth, I design customizable planners that combine productivity with mindset tools like visualizations and affirmations. When I'm not working on new planner designs, I’m balancing life as an entrepreneur and a mom, always finding ways to stay organized and inspired.
