We recently bought a load of furniture as part of getting the house in order after the fire, and other new stuff that we’d been planning to buy regardless. One of these was a desk for the second bedroom, so I can work from home.
Desk and chair arrived, all assembled, computer and peripherals set up, all works (table is slightly too high but I haven’t adjusted it yet) and all’s well.
K found my desk light and I’ve just set it up, thinking about ergonomics so that it wouldn’t blind me, but provides sufficient light for what I need, and doesn’t cause glare on the screen. It’s done, to my right, although I may move it to the left for a bit to see if it’s any better.
I thought I’d do a quick search and see what the latest ergonomic tips are fo the placement of desk lamps, and within the results I found a page (now dead) detailing the best set up for desks, to make it is feng shui balanced as possible.
The main and most important desk related tip tells that you should never place it in such a way that your back is towards the door; you should always be able to see who enters the room without having to turn.
Not a good start – my desk is wedged into the corner of the room, with the bedroom door to my back right. Oh well, it’s only K who’s likely to walk in – so I know it’ll be her without having to turn.
The area of the room where your desk is placed is very important. Ideally, your desk should be placed facing south west or south since this are the career related bagua areas. If your desk is placed at the south area of the room, this will help you improving your career and professional related achievements. On the other hand, if it is placed at south west, it will help you improving your skills and gaining knowledge.
South-west you say? er, no. My desk is in the north east corner of the room. There’s a chest of drawers on the south wall, and a built-in cupboard in the south-west corner – far too small for me to work in, whatever life balance benefit it may offer.
The best position for a desk to be is diagonally crossing the entrance door, in a way that allows you to see it but without being right across from it. Being right across an entrance door would make you receive any chi energy flow that enters the room, and this might have a negative effect on you since it would be difficult for you to concentrate and focus on your work.
I’m in the north-east corner, and the door is in the south-east corner, opening directly at me. My chi energy must be off the scale by now.
There are some guidelines regarding your desk itself and the way objects are distributed over it. These guidelines should be done by applying the bagua map indications to the desk surface. According to this, the south area of your desk is the career related one, and therefore you should always try to keep it clear and free of objects. Keeping this area free would allow you to concentrate and work without obstacles as well as it would let advance and achievements to occupy this space.
Keep…south…bit…clear. Right. Wrong. The south end of the desk is currently the area that contains a jumble of bits that I class as my “It’s there to remind me to do stuff with it” pile. If I get this area clear, *then* I might be able to do work on it that doesn’t require the keyboard, but then what’s the rest of the desk for?
The west and north east spots of your desk are the family and love related area, therefore you should keep a picture or objects which reminds you of your family and loved ones over those spots.
The west spot currently has a coaster on it. I like cups of tea, so maybe we’re getting somewhere. The north-east spot of the desk holds the computer monitor. Now I know K will point out that I appear to love my computer more than anything (anyone) else, but she’d be wrong. I may go as far as saying I’m addicted to it, but I do try – honestly.
Your desk’s south east area is the most appropriate for you to keep your phone or any communication technologies since it would help you having access to helpful people. The south west desk area is the best spot for you to keep any books or consulting material since, according to the bagua map, it is ideal for skills and knowledge help and improvement.
The south-east section is currently empty. A feng shui’d Freud et al would say that this means I don’t want to communicate with anyone. Does it count that my MSN messenger status icon is closest to that part of the desk? Probably not.
Finally, in the south-west corner of my desk is me – it’s a corner desk, and I’m obviously sitting in the bit that’s cut out. In short that makes me my best source of skills and knowledge, and is probably the one bit of all the above that I agree with, but then that’s only coincidence.