Offices are horridly unnatural places. Research has consistently shown the negative impacts they can have on our health, our productivity and our creativity. I’m always conscious of what the office environment can do to myself and my coworkers, but the office is such a standard part of so many workplaces – what can you do to combat the mental rut of the office?

Not everyone has the luxury to do this, but one of my favourite methods to fight this is to go mobile. If I can get out of the office and set up in a nearby cafe for the day I often find I can achieve much more – and boost my productivity much more when I do get back to the office. An occasional change of environment is so important for my sanity, but even if you can’t completely change scenery I’ve also had success changing desks for a day or working from a different room.

Sometimes the smallest change in environment can make the biggest difference to escaping the mental rut. What works for you?

-JB

Imaged sourced from Phil Whitehouse.