Is Your Environment Helping or Hindering Your Goals?

Our environment plays an important role in our lives. We might feel at peace—or we may feel anxious and overwhelmed by chaos.

For instance, colors used in our offices or homes can have an effect on our emotions and energy levels. I’ve chosen to use a combination of earth tones, light golds, reds, blues, and white in my home because they make some spaces feel clean and others warm, cheery, and welcoming.

Plants are a must, and I grow an abundance. You’ll find a number of them inside, and during the summer, the outside is filled with flower gardens, hanging baskets, and potted plants. A rainbow of color bursts everywhere you look. I adore trees, so it’s a good thing I live in the Pacific Northwest. This girl wouldn’t be happy living in the dessert. 

As a writer and a freelance editor, I have the privilege of working from home. Since I spend a lot of time in my office, I’ve made sure the room doesn’t feel sterile, despite white walls. Large windows provide a view of the backyard, colorful blooms, and the water fountain where numerous birds entertain me. Candles that offer a light citrus fragrance are burned in the summer, but during winter months, my go-to-smells are cinnamon and pumpkin spice. I’m surrounded by my favorite books and family pictures.

Each space in our home holds favorite photos, pieces of artwork, or keepsakes. The word “believe” is hung at eye level on a wall in the house where I walk by it countless times every day. No visitor can enter our family room or kitchen—or leave—with passing by the sign. It’s a “statement” piece that encourages me—and I hope others—to believe in whatever they need to at the time. Sometimes it’s faith that God will provide, that he’s with us every step of the way, or that he’s still in control. Other times, the sign may be a reminder to believe in ourselves and what we’re striving to accomplish.

Everything surrounding me affects my productivity and creativity.

But what helps me might not work for someone else. My husband has often said that he couldn’t do his job from home because he’d be too distracted to get anything done. I can’t concentrate in a busy Starbucks, but a good friend of mine who is a writer has found that hanging out in coffee shops is better than trying to write at home with four children interrupting her flow. While I prefer silence, another author friend often works to music playing in the background.

It takes time, energy, and motivation to go after our dreams. We need all the help we can get! So, give serious consideration to your environment and how tweaking it a bit might help you achieve your goal.

Is your environment important to you? Is the condition of your home or work space affecting you in a positive or negative way? If your work space is hindering you, what can you do to change it?

Dawn