Does Your Work Space Spark Joy?

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – Does your office space spark joy?

Whether you’ve tuned in to Marie Kondo’s show on Netflix or simply seen the memes of people finding joy in less clutter, chances are you’ve contemplated the “KonMari” tidying up method. “Many of us could use a good closet purge,” says Nicole M. Coomber, associate clinical professor of management at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. “But have you thought of how a focus on ‘sparking joy’ might help at work?”

Through her 2014 best-selling book and her new Netflix series, aptly titled “Tidying Up,” decluttering guru Kondo urges people to go through their belongings, category by category, touching each item and asking yourself the question, “Does this spark joy?” She tells her devotees to express gratitude for each possession, keeping only the things that are joy-sparking and to discard or donate the rest. For the items that stay, she says, find each a permanent place in your home.

Her wildly popular method has earned her celebrity status and has inspired millions of people to “tidy up” their homes. But what about the office?

Your Space

“Whether it’s an office, a coworking space or your car, you spend a lot of time at work,” Coomber says. Coomber is an expert juggler and time-manager – a full-time faculty member, mom to four young boys and entrepreneur behind Managing Motherhood, a blog and consulting service that helps parents stay on top of their busy lives.

Depending on your role, you might be required to purge certain types of paperwork, or you might be required to keep certain documents on hand for a certain amount of time. You likely know how paperwork can pile up. “For example, at Maryland Smith, faculty members are required to keep tests for at least a year after students have taken them. That’s why the bottom of my bookshelves are lined with multicolored tests, blue books, and Scantron sheets,” she says.

Depending on where you stack, file or shove that paperwork, research shows it might make you less proproductive. Princeton neuroscientists have found that visual stimuli – that is, the things you see around you, like clutter – catch your attention and compete with your thoughts for mental resources, she says.

For that reason alone, it would make sense to konmari the workspace. But in truth, there are lots of other reasons to do so. “Not the least of which is joy,” Coomber says. She offers a guide to getting started:

Chances are, many of the things in your line of sight at work are there to remind you about something you need to do. If you follow David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” method, Coomber says, you can replace each one with a Post-It note or a to-do list item, that can then be organized into a project you’re working on, a someday/maybe item in a separate folder, or filed away for reference.

If it all feels overwhelming, this sorting and filing and purging, consider tackling the job a bit at a time, Coomber says, working in “intervals,” until the task is finished. The interval working method, pioneered in the 1980s and commonly referred to as the “Pomodoro Technique,” uses a timer to help you stay motivated.

“What next? Look around your office,” Coomber says. “Are there things that spark joy for you?”

Kondo’s method isn’t just about getting rid of things (though, let’s be honest, that’s definitely part of it). “It’s also about making your space more enjoyable,” says Coomber. “Whether it’s a beloved photo, fresh flowers or an award you’re proud of, put something in your eyesight that reminds you of your true self. That way, your office becomes a more productive and enjoyable place to spend most of your waking hours.”

Your Workdays

“Not everything in your calendar can be joyful,” she says. “After all, there are expense reports to file, timesheets to fill out, and in my case, seemingly endless papers to grade.”

But Kondo’s method concedes that things don’t have to be beautiful to bring you joy. Your athletic socks may not be beautiful, but Kondo says if you broaden your definition of “joy” it can include what something can do for you. “Your athletic socks allow you to go for a run, which keeps your heart healthy and energizes you for your day. Your file cabinet might be utilitarian, but it safeguards important, precious documents, such as your marriage certificate and old photos,” Coomber says.

For those dreaded tasks on your calendar, Coomber asks, can you redefine them? “For many professors, grading papers can be tedious, maybe even slightly dreaded. But receiving feedback is important to my students. When I reframe my task not as ‘grading, forever and forever,’ but instead as ‘giving students essential feedback,’ my attitude changes,” she says.

“Work can be productive, meaningful and fun,” Coomber adds. “By investing a little bit of time finding joy in both your physical space and your calendar, you can give out a little more joy to those around you at the office.” A little KonMari may help with that.

Want to catch “a day in the life” of a working mom with four young children? Check out Nicole M. Coomber’s takeover of the @getuplifted Instagram account on March 5. You might even get behind the scenes with business leader and philanthropist Carly Fiorina for Smith’s annual Women Leading Women event happening on March 5.