Turn Your Office Into A “Spa”-ffice

Somewhere between hunting, gathering, and cube farming, we surrendered to the idea that hard work is synonymous with discomfort. Take the contemporary corporate “uniform,” for example:

Awesomepreneur - Tip #7: Turn Your Office Into a "Spa"-ffice

Who decided that neckties and nylons made people more productive and professional? (This guy.)

For most live action Monopoly players, when we don’t leave work frazzled, sore, and exhausted, we feel like we’ve either duped or screwed The Man (usually both–so we go out and buy a new pair of achy breaky heels to celebrate/assuage our guilt).

I speak from experience. Once upon a time, I, too, was devoutly dry clean only but that hardly made me a hard worker. Sure, I put in my eight (ten, twelve, fourteen) hours and accomplished the tasks assigned to me, but my work was always half-hearted. Bunyons and backaches helped me feel effective but, in reality, I only looked like a big deal.

Now that I make the rules, I’ve relaxed the dress code quite a bit (kimono + long underwear, remember?) but I still have a ways to go un-learning the notion that the more I resent my work, the better I am at it.

So, this morning, when my roomie asked if I’d take a break and do chocolate face masks with her, I immediately jumped on board, excited to share the results with you.

Awesomepreneur - Working hard at my home "spa"-ffice

Working hard at the “spa”-ffice

“Technically, you’re still working,” she told me while snapping this picture. (She was right! I can type with my eyes closed, you know. And you’d be surprised by the amount of light that penetrates a cucumber seed.)

Ten to fifteen minutes later, I felt relaxed, yet alert. (I’m telling you, it’s the cucumbers–surprisingly effective and they do their job naked!)

That’s when I realized that a huge part of doing what you love and loving what you do is loving how you do it. And, in my case, discomfort doesn’t motivate me–it drains me–which is why I encourage to find ways that you, too, can turn your office into a “spa”-ffice.

Awesomepreneur - The cucumbers were totally my ideaI realize that if you’re living the cubicle life, you might raise a few eyebrows if you wear your mid-day snack instead of eating it, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find subtle ways to soothe–not abuse–yourself throughout the day. (In law school, when I hit the twelve hour mark, I did downward dog in the library stacks.)

Smuggle in an mp3 player. Meditate. Wear slippers under your desk. Bring a yummy scent to sniff. Drink anything other than coffee (that won’t get you drunk/fired). Beautify your workspace. Adopt a pet plant. Exercise on your lunch break.

Hard work/heartwork shouldn’t hurt.

Rachael Kay Albers

Rachael Kay Albers is a creative director, business comedian, and brand strategist gone wild. She writes and performs about branding, pop culture, tech, and identity. When she’s not muckraking about marketing, Rachael runs RKA ink, a reinvention studio and branding agency for businesses that burn the rulebook. She's also on Instagram a lot.