How to Easily Feng Shui Your Office

We've all heard the word. The "fung-shway" one that is spelled completely different than it sounds, and a few of us have an idea about what it means, but did you know it can help you improve your whole lifestyle? Feng Shui is a Chinese word that refers to the ancient art of harmonizing one's personal space with the surrounding environment. It can even help improve the productivity and efficiency of your office so that you work faster and feel more energized while you do it. However, principles of feng shui are hard to learn for beginners unfamiliar with the practice, but don't worry! We're here to help you out by highlighting some simple ways you can apply feng shui to your office!

Know the Right Colors

Feng shui depends largely on the individual. The right feng shui for each room (or each section of your office or cubicle) is  determined largely upon that person's zodiac, energy, and sign. The best way to determine how to use all the feng shui elements is by using a "bagua," or a device that helps you map the energy of your space. Once you find out your signs and where north is in relation to your space, you can apply the right colors to the right areas. Since the bagua is divided up by the five elements, earth, water, fire, metal, and wood, we'll help you out here by defining which colors go in which areas and what they do to help improve the efficiency of your space.

Water: Black, Blue

*Blue is very good in the East and Southeast areas of your home or workspace to help improve the energy of your career growth. Who doesn't want more of that in their office, right?

Wood: Green, Brown

* Green improves health and helps balance family and the people you work around when used in the East feng shui area of your office.

Fire: Orange, Red, Pink, Strong Yellows

*These colors help in the Southern Area of your decorating space by creating a cozy, comfortable space to work that promotes happy gatherings and warmth between individuals.

Earth: Light Yellow, Light Brown (think sandy, earthy colors)

* These neutral colors help to ground the space, harmonizing it with the environment. It also brings in the sense of a touch of nature, so the work environment doesn't feel so stifled.

Metal: Gray, White

* White is a wonderful influence on creative energy

While all these colors are well and good, make sure that they don't clash and that they sit in harmony with the other objects in your space such as furniture, office desks, and chairs. You don't want all the colors and furniture fighting for your attention all the time. Its very distracting…

It's All About Orientation

Feng shui is big on proper alignment with the universe. In the ancient days, if just one thing was off, the world fell apart in landslides, earthquakes, bad harvests, and poor imperial rule. Don't let that happen to you! When you're redecorating your office space in the feng shui style, make sure you pay attention to position. The bagua is decided up into five sections. We already learned that each section is associated with an element and a color, but its also associated with direction and elements of lifestyle. Here's a quick list to help you out:

South (Fire): Fame and Reputation

Southeast (Wind): Prosperity and Abundance

East (Thunder/Wood): Family and Health

Northeast (Mountain/Earth): Skills and Knowledge

North (Water): Career/ Path in Life

Northwest (Heaven/ Metal): Helpfulness, Blessings, Travel

West (Marsh/ Metal): Creativity, Children, Future

Southwest (Earth): Relationships, Love

A few extra tips: if you work out of a home office, make sure your office is as far away from your bedroom as possible. Whether at work or at home, try to have your desk facing the door, but far away from it in order to give a commanding feel that attracts successful energy. Do you best so that your desk does not have to face a wall. If it must, or if you are working in a cubicle, try to make the wall disappear with the cunning use of artwork, or choose a wall with a window. Having a view of nature will keep you energized so that you feel less trapped.

Keep Things Light and Airy

Literally. Poor air quality is terrible for health and a big no-no in feng shui. If your brain doesn't get enough oxygen, it can slow your work, depress you, and tire you of your job no matter how much you love it. Consider bringing in some plants that will purify the air such as peace lilies and small palms to lighten the mood. Adding small fishtanks are also great to help bring in positive, flowing energy, adding a touch of nature. Opening windows and doors is good for feng shui too because beneficial energies can flow on the cross-breeze rather than collecting or swirling stagnantly in each room. Also, try to get plenty of natural light for your office and make sure it is sufficient for working. Natural light is the best because it has a scientifically proven positive impact on the mind, making individuals feel less trapped and more energized. However, artificial lights are better than nothing since you need them to work. Just be sure to try and go for a walk during your breaks to get some fresh air!

Clean and Organize

Whether your decide to practice feng shui or not, keeping things clean is never a bad idea for an office environment, or any environment for that matter. In a public workspace, cleanliness improves the health of all employees, and creates a positive image for your business. Be sure to clean things that people touch a lot, like keyboards and stylish chairs for guest use (which do best in the northwest section of your office building). Keeping things organized with the use of shelving and storage cabinets for office use saves space and improves the look and energy flow of your workspace by keeping things off of the ground. It also helps if your room has a focal point such as your office desk to attract positive attention, but make sure to add other things like decor plants elsewhere in the room to absorb any negative energy. They eye should be able to flow around the room without getting distracted by clutter. You can practically see the positive energy flow, and if not, you can certainly feel its effects when you sit down to a clean desk!

Ergonomics

A great way to apply feng shui in today's high tech age is with contemporary furniture for office use in both homes and businesses. Modern furniture such as office chairs with ergonomics can drastically increase the health, efficiency, and productivity of any workspace. If ergonomics existed in ancient China, they would have undoubtedly have used it in their feng shui art, because of the positive effects it has on home and work environments. Because ergonomics refers to the study of efficiency in the workplace, every piece of ergonomic furniture is designed to help improve all aspects of work. Not only is it adjustable to meet the needs of individuals, it is also healthier for people than traditional office furniture. If you're seeking harmony in your workplace, there is no better way to do it than by bringing the advanced technology of ergonomics with the ancient art of Chinese feng shui to your office!