How to Feng Shui your Desk (and increase your happiness and productivity)

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice that believes your environment has a profound effect on many areas of your life, from your wealth and prosperity, to your health, relationships, and even the success of your career.

According to Feng Shui, you should arrange the items in your surroundings in a way that promotes the flow of positive energy (or chi), as this will bring good fortune to the various areas of your life. As Feng Shui can be used to boost your concentration and creativity, allowing good chi to flow in the workplace can be said to also increase morale and productivity levels.

Although addressing the placement of items on your desk is one of the easiest ways of practicing Feng Shui in the workplace, as an employer, you can also promote positive energy by encouraging your staff not to leave clutter on their desks by providing them with adequate storage space (such as cupboards and draws), and entice them to print less by storing and sharing documents online.

As plants enhance the ‘wood’ element of Feng Shui (which is the chi of new beginnings), bringing more greenery into the workplace with interior plants is an easy way of incorporating Feng Shui. Even if you don’t necessarily believe in the benefits of Feng Shui, plants and flowers have been proven to be great for our health and well-being. The fact that they lower the levels of CO2, dust, mould, and bacteria in the air (which can cause headaches, nausea, dry eyes, and other unpleasant symptoms), is just one of the ways that plants improve our moods and productivity. In fact, a study conducted by the University of Queensland in 2014, found that office plants boosted productivity by 15%.

A less cluttered desk could also help to make your employees more organised as they’ll be able to find important files and documents more quickly and easily. This is bound to have a positive effect on their productivity levels, as well as making your premises look tidier to any visitors you have!

Another way you can practice Feng Shui in the office is by considering the placement of workers’ desks, as well as the material they’re constructed from. Facing the wall or your workers having their backs to the wall are said to be the least beneficial placements; everyone in the room should be able to see the door, if possible. Additionally, because they’re Feng Shui elements, wood and metal are considered to be the best materials for desks.

The flow of positive chi can also be promoted by arranging your workspace in a specific way. According to the Bagua map, a space should be divided into nine sections, with each one representing a different area of your life. These are prosperity, reputation, love and relationships, family, heath (or mind, body, and spirit), creativity, wisdom, career, and helpful people and travel.

The ideal layout for your desk, according to the rules of Feng Shui. Image courtesy of Ms. Feng Shui

With that in mind, here are some tips to ‘Feng Shui your desk’ for optimum benefit in the workplace:

• You should place your laptop, a computer screen or even a well-cared for plant in the top left corner of your desk to attract wealth (particularly in terms of money).
• At the back of the desk (in the centre) represents fame and reputation, so this is a great place to your keep business cards and things that motivate you.
• Another area you should put objects that inspire you is to the right of your desk, in the centre. Because this is where you want to promote creativity, you could also place a notebook here.
• Place reference books and helpful files and documents on the bottom centre of your desk, as this is the part of the map that represents knowledge and wisdom.
• To attract helpful people, you should keep your phone and any contact numbers you need on the front right section of the desk.

Now that you know how to Feng Shui your desk, it’s time to get organising! Whether you believe in the practice or not, there’s no denying that a clean and tidy desk will help to clear your mind, which will no doubt boost your productivity.