6 Ways to Better Optimise Your Learning Space

Optimising your learning space can help you achieve better results, whether you’re studying at school or university, or delivering tasks in the workplace. Procrastination has been estimated to cost businesses across the UK around £76 billion a year and is also seen as a main reason why we fail to learn to the best of our ability.

No matter if you’re looking to learn a new skill or put the ones you’ve already been taught to good use, here’s a few tips on how to optimise your learning space and thus create a better environment to help you successfully complete your objectives…

Bring some greenery into your learning space

There’s so many benefits to planting some seeds around your learning space and adding greenery around the room as a result, as various studies have underlined. Flowering plants are great ways to increase our concentration levels and lower the sensation of stress. The likes of ferns clean our air space, while the snake plant also cleans up toxins. Succulents such as a cactus are also a useful addition to your space for decoration purposes as they don’t take a lot of looking after.

Inject some colour into your surroundings

Colour can make a huge difference to any space. Red has been linked to boost how alert we are. It’s looked upon as the ‘colour of passion’. Elsewhere, blue can help us generate ideas and keeps us focused on the task at hand, while green helps avoid eye fatigue and stay efficient. If you were looking to keep stress levels to a minimum, you should look to include white or beige as this can have a calming effect.

Get the sound levels just right for you

Every person will have different opinions where this point is concerned. While some people work best in silence, others prefer a bit of background noise. Everyone benefits in their own way. Either way, a good set of headphones could be the ideal solution as they can either block out the tones around you or provide the tunes/podcasts best suited to keeping you productive. Other low-level noise could distract you from your studying or work and have a negative effect.

Classical music may be a perfect solution. Italian researchers found that this genre can significantly enhance your working memory performance, while research in the Journal of Consumer Research also found that a moderate level of ambient noise can benefit our creative senses.

Light up the space

Carry out a task in your job or do some studying and chances are some, if not all, of the work will be completed using a computer. Natural light is an amazing way to counteract any effects of sitting in front of an artificially-lit computer screen. It is also known to enhance our mood by increasing our happiness. This is because natural sunlight is a great source of vitamin D. Without this, some people experience seasonal affective disorder. By being exposed to natural sunlight, you will also have a sense of contentment thanks to the production of vitamin D.

Studies have also suggested that a critical and analytical thought process can be encouraged as a result of a room that is brightly lit.

Add personal touches

Don’t forget to add some personal touches and home comforts to your learning space, as they can help increase your productivity levels so much. Family photos and postcards of your favourite quotes are both great visuals that can help get your creative juices flowing.

Keep everything organised

If you want to be productive, clutter won’t be helping you achieve your goal. It’s not a coincidence that a clear desk can represent a clear mind. By ensuring that your workspace is free of unnecessary distractions, you are more likely to remain focused on the task at hand. You can do this by having a bin within reach, setting up a physical inbox for your papers, and scheduling regular cleaning times.

Hopefully the above advice will help you to better optimise your learning space. However, take note that there is no definitive solution for creating an optimum workspace. In the end, each of us learns in a different way. By following these steps we’ve provided though, you will set yourself up nicely to succeed in your end goal and boost your productivity levels.