People are often aware that they habitually respond to the norms of others, and to the norms triggered by a place or an object such as a chair. When others appear busy around us it can feel natural to concentrate on work. How do we self-motivate, when our habits are without social references within the home environment?
In our Dayshift research we asked the question of ‘what’s your best day at work?’
It was often answered with simply going outside to take a break and enjoy natural light. This became the basis of this article for Helsinki Design Weekly entitled The Enlightened Discussion.
Building a manual for how we like to work.
How might we create a rhythm to make time for magic. Going beyond the routine to make a breakthrough for ourselves. The individual cherishes focus, and that seems to be abundant at home. When to do certain tasks is entirely personal, but some natural rhythms exist. Author Daniel H. Pink elaborates on the topic of timing in his book entitled: When.
Then there are personal rituals, such as preparing for an important online meeting. What form does our body language take while working online? What is our body language communicating to the other person and vice versa? One respondent referred to experimenting with high-power poses through the frequent use of a high-power wonder-woman pose.
It is our home, but when work happens there may be a need for negotiating with the people we interact with. It might be with the people we live with, our colleagues, our boss, or our clients. This is a matter of giving ourselves permission to allow home life to come into work life. Our partner enters the background of a video call to grab a pair of pants, or a child runs in to give a hug and say hello. Once we feel we have permission, we’re free and it sets us on a path of new discovery.
Design in context: Transitioning our cognitive abilities is about giving ourselves the permission to do the things we feel are right for us and the way that we work, could a guide be created to help foster this?
