Feng Shui at the Office

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My daughter recently feng shui-ed her bedroom, with the help of a friend. They rearranged furniture, strategically repositioned pictures and knick-knacks, and added a few "elements" according to the feng shui kit my daughter received for Christmas. Afterward, she asked me to survey the results, and I was quite impressed. She explained the various aspects of the arrangement to me and told me what everything meant and its importance for her personal arrangement.

It occurred to me that this might be nice to bring to my office. I asked her to think about what I could do to bring a little feng shui into work, and here's what we came up with:

• Artwork: we took down my degree (which I already know I have) and my military discharge and medals (which I got a long time ago), and replaced them with a pleasant and relaxing saying. This is the image I see most often during the day, as it is directly above my computer monitor; it reminds me to chill out and enjoy the ride.
• Live Plant: we added a mini live bamboo plant to my desk (I already have lots of fake plants that I can't kill!), right next to my phone so I look at it often throughout the day. The delicate greenery is visually refreshing.
• Music: I now play relaxing music during the day through my computer's CD drive. It helps create such a calm atmosphere.
• Scent: we looked up the different aromatherapy scents and their meanings and chose the one that I needed most, which turned out to be lemon or citrus. I found a great lemon verbena reed diffuser at Home Goods and my office smells delightful.
• Clutter: one of the biggest things my daughter told me about was clutter. Having clutter around helps contribute to underlying feelings of stress. My office isn't a mess, but I do have lots of files and paperwork out in view. Feng shui principles suggest cleaning this up, throwing away what I don't need, and storing what I do need out of sight. I'm continuing work on this one, as it will take a little longer, but I can feel the difference as I pare down and put away each pile.
• Furniture: I have fairly big furniture in my office and there really isn't a different way to arrange it, so we decided to be satisfied with how things were. Fortunately, my desk is already facing the door, which is suggested in the feng shui book.

None of these changes were difficult (well, the clutter one, maybe) or time consuming, but they really change how I feel when I'm in my office. And, it makes it so much more pleasant for my visitors too.

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