Altering Workspace Environment for Optimized Productivity

 For college students, productivity is on all of our minds. It allows us to get our coursework done in an efficient, timely way, and lets us have free time to spend outside of academics. Contrary to the “grindset” social media accounts, though, maximizing your productivity requires more than just hard work and dedication. We can work on our productivity in many ways, one of which is creating an optimized workspace that caters to your body's natural rhythms and needs. In this essay, let’s explore the ways you can build a workspace that fosters focus, alertness, and productivity throughout the day. 

(Citations and TL:DR are listed at the bottom for more reading)

Firstly, our productivity is closely linked to our body's natural rhythms. To make the most of these rhythms, it's important to recognize the three distinct phases of the day: Phase 1 (0-8 hours after waking), Phase 2 (9-15 hours after waking), and Phase 3 (16-24 hours after waking). Each phase has its own unique characteristics, affecting mood and mindset, which can be leveraged to build and maintain productive habits. In Phase 1, which occurs in the morning, our bodies are naturally more alert. This is an ideal time for tackling challenging tasks and building new habits. Phase 2, during midday, sees a decline in stress hormones and an increase in serotonin, making it a good time for less demanding activities like journaling or listening to music. Phase 3, which occurs in the late evening, is a time to prepare for sleep and focus on deep relaxation. Focusing your study hours during the first first phase of the day, occasionally using the second phase, but certainly allowing for mental and physical rest and recovery during the third phase preceding sleep.

Within these phases, there has been research to prove that we work best in 90-minute intervals. You may have heard of the Pomodoro technique, where you complete three micro-study sessions of 30 minutes, each with 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest. Despite whether you use this exact technique or not, understand that it is VERY hard to have more than 2 90-minute sessions of ACTUAL productivity. Sure, you hear students brag about how they “studied for 8 hours today”, but were they truly focused for that entire time? I would bet not. They spent 3-4 hours studying relatively effectively, scrolled for an hour or two, and completely lost their focus for the rest, letting their stress and anxiety build. Forcing your body to “focus” for such a prolonged time is ineffective at best and truly damaging to your wellbeing at worst. Please, don’t cram information the day before an exam. Spending 1.5 hours a day five days a week is far better for your mental health than spending 7.5 hours on a single day. You’re not disciplined and cool and “an academic weapon” for banging your head against the textbook for three days straight, but that’s an essay for another time.

Next, let’s talk about workspace lighting. Bright, well-lit environments are conducive to alertness and productivity, especially during Phase 1. To optimize lighting during this phase, work in a space with ample overhead lighting, and consider using a ring light or light pad in front of you to further increase alertness. During Phase 2, as the day progresses, it's beneficial to start dimming the environment. Reduce blue light exposure, turn off overhead lights, and use softer lighting options like lamps. This gradual change in lighting helps align with your body's natural rhythms. 

While quality of light is important, so is direction of light. Where you place your screen or book in your workspace can significantly affect your level of focus. We’re just getting new research about the direction of light exposure and wakefulness in the brain! When we experience bright light from above, our brains signal to our bodies, saying “time to wake up, or stay awake!” This is why it’s helpful to avoid overhead lights before falling asleep. As such, you can do the opposite while studying; keep a bright light overhead if you must work during the second and third phases of the day.

Also, when your eyes are directed downward, you activate neurons related to calmness and sleepiness. This may be why you grow drowsy while staring down at your laptop while studying. To maximize alertness, it's advisable to work while standing or seated with an elevated screen or book. This stops that neural pathway related to sleep and sleepiness. Furthermore, creating a narrow visual focus (such as looking at the side of your head or just outside your immediate field of vision) can enhance alertness and cognitive performance. Experimenting with different visual environments, such as high or low ceilings, can also be beneficial depending on the type of work you're doing and the time at which you’re trying to study. Generally, high ceilings elicit abstract thoughts and creativity, whereas low ceilings promote detailed and concrete work. Just a fun fact.

Lots of us ask, “is music good for studying?” Some swear by the Lofi Girl YouTube channel for their study hours, and others demand a perfectly silent environment to work. So, which one is the best? Auditory factors can either enhance or hinder focus, depending on the individual and the day. Background noise, like the humming of air conditioners or heaters, can increase mental fatigue and reduce cognitive performance. Therefore, it's important to be mindful of your auditory environment and adapt it to your needs. Using white, pink, or brown noise can help improve focus in short bursts, while binaural beats, which involve playing different sounds in each ear, can enhance relaxation, creativity, and cognitive function. Experimenting with different auditory environments can help you find the best conditions for your work; essentially, everyone has different preferences for their study environment, so attune to whether music works for you or not. When in doubt, turn off the music.

Now, obviously, interruptions and distractions can derail productivity and take valuable time to recover from. Managing work interruptions by acknowledging others' presence without shifting your focus. Unless you’re in a planned group study session, try to study alone. Being with friends will almost always distract you from the work you need to do. To reduce phone distractions, consider turning off your phone, enabling airplane mode, or placing your phone out of sight. Alternatively, you can try turning off the colors of your phone in the Display settings. This has been studied to lower and even remove the dopamine response we get from prolonged scrolling.

Back to standing desks for a moment, I would be remiss not to acknowledge the adverse effects of prolonged sitting. These include impacts on sleep, neck pain, and cardiovascular health. However, standing all day is not the solution either. Striking a balance between sitting and standing by using adjustable desks or makeshift solutions like boxes can improve overall health and cognitive function. I’ve tried using a standing desk for an hour-ish, then either taking a short break or continuing the study session sitting for 15 minutes. Active workstations, such as cycling or walking desks, can boost attention and cognition for some tasks. However, it's important to note that verbal memory scores may be compromised during active work. Therefore, the choice of using an active workstation should align with the specific demands of your work. 

Overall, there are many ways to improve our productivity. Looking at your  workspace lighting, placing screens strategically, managing auditory environments, minimizing interruptions, and incorporating a healthy balance of sitting and standing all help optimize our work time. However, your focus, alertness, and cognitive performance throughout the day are a purely individual prospect. The purpose of writing this is to inspire you to explore these options, and see what works for you.

SOURCES:

The Influence of Ceiling Height: https://bit.ly/3gcB31K

Heating, Ventilation, & AC Noise During Mental Work: https://bit.ly/3rbG69c

Office Noise & Employee Concentration: https://bit.ly/3AMoJPa

Effects of a Workplace Sit-Stand Desk Intervention on Health & Productivity: https://bit.ly/3reelwF

Effects of Binaural & Monaural Beats on Attention: https://bit.ly/3IN2Wda

40-Hz Binaural Beats Enhance Training to Mitigate the Attentional Blink: https://go.nature.com/35BVrYh

TL:DR

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• It will take about 6 minutes to settle into work and focus

• In the first part of your day (0-9 hours after waking), bright lights make for maximum alertness – use bright overhead lights and blue light or ring light in front of you

• Our cognition follows our visual environment: for detailed analytic work (ideally in Phase I 0-9 hours after waking), work in a lower ceiling environment or put in a hoodie or hat to restrict visual field; for Phase II (9-16 hours after waking creative work), work in high ceiling room or outdoors

• To be alert and maintain an optimal level of alertness, keep the screen or book at nose level or slightly higher up – ideally while standing or seated

• For every 45 minutes you are focused on something, take a walk or relax your eyes and dilate your gaze for 5 minutes to avoid fatigue

Reminder about Using Phases of the Day for Productivity

• Phase 1: 0-8 hours after waking up

• Alert state heightened by sunlight viewing, caffeine delaying, fasting, etc.

• Norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine are elevated

• Healthy cortisol is also elevated in the brain and bloodstream

• DO THE HARD STUFF NOW: you are naturally more readily able to engage in activities with a high degree of limbic friction

• Phase 2: 9-15 hours after waking up

• Levels of dopamine, epinephrine, and cortisol start to come down

• Serotonin starts to rise and lends itself to a relaxed state of being – can be enhanced with a warm bath, yoga nidra, ashwagandha

• Taper the amount of bright light (unless it’s sunlight) & start dimming lights a bit

• This is when you want to taper stress level and take on habits and things you are already doing that don’t require a lot of override of limbic friction

• Phase 3: 16-24 hours after waking up

• Keep environment very dark or dim & room temperature low

• The body needs to drop in temperature to fall asleep & stay asleep

• Deep sleep is critical to wiring neural circuits for building habits

Workspace Lighting:

• Fundamental variable of workspace optimization:

• Being in a brightly lit environment can lend itself to increased productivity throughout the day, not just in the morning

• Work in a space with as much overhead light as is safely possible

• Lighting tip: during the first 0-9 hours of your day, work in a space with as much overhead light as possible to facilitate the release of dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and optimal amounts of cortisol

• A ring light or light pad will also increase alertness and stimulate photons

• Placing your desk near a window – and opening a window if possible – will stimulate eyes and send “wake up” signal during the first 7-8 hours of the day

• 9-16 hours after waking, start dimming environment: reduce blue light exposure, turn on lamps or other lighting options in the workspace, turn off overhead

• Screen brightness: people have different retinal sensitivity, but you never want it to be painful to look as your screen

Visual Focus

• Looking down toward the ground, neurons related to calm and sleepiness are activated

• Ideally, work while standing or seated, not laying in bed or on the couch

• Standing and sitting up straight while looking at a screen or book that is elevated will generate maximal levels of alertness

• You will create maximum alertness, focus, and cognition when you bring your eyes to a narrow point in space – keep visual focus narrow

• Cathedral effect: thinking becomes smaller and more constricted in tighter visual fields

• For Phase II (9-16 hours after waking creative work), work in a high ceiling room or outdoors; for detailed analytic work (ideally in Phase I 0-9 hours after waking), work in a lower ceiling environment

Auditory Environment

• Listening to particular sounds and in particular, conditions can improve cognition

• Sometimes we want more background noise, sometimes we want less: our auditory tolerance can change from one day to the next and even fluctuate within the same day

• Background noise to avoid: the incessant humming of air conditioners or heaters can increase mental fatigue and decreased cognitive performance

• Even if we’re not registering background noise, our auditory system is processing

• Working with white, pink, or brown noise can help in spurts of about 45 min but not for hours on end – you’re better off walking or getting sunlight for a few minutes

• Binaural beats place the brain into a state that is better for learning

• Binaural beats: playing one sound in one ear and a different sound in the other ear

• Low-frequency waves put the brain into a relaxed state versus high-frequency soundwaves which put the brain into more alert states

• Binaural beats (around 40 Hz) have been shown to increase cognition, relaxation, creativity, pain reduction, anxiety reduction

Interruptions and Distractions in Workspace

• Distractions and things that take away from tasks aren’t just bad in the moment, it takes time to get brain waves back into attention and focus

• Tip: if someone enters your office or workspace, acknowledge their presence but don’t shift your body or reorient yourself

• Managing phone distractions: turn off the phone, put the phone on airplane mode, put the phone in a drawer or away from eyesight