Category " office"

Absolutely says Feng Shui expert Carole Hyder
Posted on December 11, 2012

One of the biggest changes in someone’s life is the loss of a job. There are many ways to cope with that loss. This post offers an interesting alternative.

Feng Shui (pronounced phung shway) is an ancient Asian practice based on the notion that everything has energy. The Chinese call this energy “chi” (chee). According to Twin Cities-based Feng Shui expert Carole Hyder, “Your things have energy, your space has energy, even the paint on your walls has energy. Applying Feng Shui principles enables you to make conscious decisions about what to keep, remove or change to ensure free flow of that energy.”

What does this have to do with finding a new job? Good question, Grasshopper.

Be clear about what you want
Feng Shui can help you with a job search because it requires you to be intentional. Don’t mamby pamby around with idle thoughts about “the best job ever.” Be very specific about what you want. Write it down. Then put it in an envelope, tuck it away somewhere and – here comes the hard part, according to Carole – “Back away from it and say, ‘let it happen.’ Don’t fret about it. Don’t obsess.”

Carole’s clients often tell her that when they rediscover their intention-filled envelopes, they’re pleasantly surprised by how accurate their “predictions” turned out to be. But wait, there’s more.

Want a new job? Change your work space.
Carole evokes a wonderful image when she talks about the effect your space has on you. She calls it your “cape of chi.” Think about that. Everything in your space, whether it’s your home or your office, “coats” you with energy. You wear it wherever you go. If you want that cape to turn you into a job seeking super hero, try these things:

• Declutter. Clear off your desk. Organize your files. Doing so, says Carole, “opens up space for new things to come in.”
• Put fresh flowers on your desk. Their energy invites new opportunities to grow. But beware, as soon as they start to die, replace them!
• Come into your work space using a primary entrance. If you have a home office, come in through the front door, not through the garage. Use the main entrance at work, even if it’s further away from your desk.
• Make your bed. Mom was right. Making your bed each day reinforces that you’re worth the extra effort.
• Eat at the table. That means you, desk eater. You’re special, remember? And you deserve more than chomping a sandwich standing over the sink or getting crumbs all over your keyboard. When you give your body the energy of food, make that time special, almost reverent.
• Use a chair with a high back. It provides support and protection.
• Make sure, if you can, that your back isn’t to the entrance of your office. That’s tough in cubicle land. If you can’t rearrange your desk, use a mirror to see what’s behind you. It’s not ideal, but it will help. You want your back protected by more than empty space. And you don’t want to be surprised when someone enters your space.

Taking Carole’s advice will help you focus your job search. It increases your productivity as you no longer have to spend time searching for things. Most important, it will open an energetic space for new opportunities.

Now, put on your freshly recharged “cape of chi” and find that new job!

Christine Morgan empowers managers and leaders to lead effectively in times of transformation change.  Check out her blogs or more information go to www.communicate4achange.com.

Because more and more people are working out of their homes, creating a home office that is efficient and productive is important. Regardless of whether a client comes to the home or if the business is totally reliant on sales/emails/fax requiring no physical interaction with clients, there are some important Feng Shui considerations to assure success and focus.

The biggest issue with a home office is that it is easy to relax its professional potential. This may be even more so when the office is housed in what used to be a bedroom or if it has to share the space with sporadic guest accommodations. As you can imagine, sleeping and working are exclusive of one another. The office color should be reflective of a business, not a color left-over from when it was a bedroom. You don’t want to look up and remember when your little boy played with his trucks in that room. Those memories, although precious and unforgettable, may not be inspiring to you in terms of creating a business.

Here are 4 additional tips to help you create a Feng Shui office at home. . . .

1. Use a high-backed chair. Making decisions, calling on clients, paying bills are all activities that can require you to feel like you need all the assistance you can get. A tall chair supports you.
2. Sit so you can see the entry. In order to feel strong and empowered, sit in the office so that you can easily see anyone coming into the space. If you have your back to the door, you may be caught off-guard or be side-swiped by some unexpected event.
3. Place the office near the front door. If you have an option, set up the home office so that it is near the front door. This pattern is the least disruptive to your personal life as it isolates the business energy from your family energy.
4. Keep your work in your office. To set healthy boundaries, don’t make a habit of bringing your work into other parts of the house. Keep the door to your office closed when you’re not working and set business hours. Although you may love what you do, a balanced life is a more wholesome one.

Following these few ideas will help you on your path to owning your own business and can help you succeed doing so. If the office looks and feels professional, prosperous and productive, the business will align with that as well.

As a follow-up to my last email when I complained about being interviewed on a radio show and then being preempted by the weather and a topic that had been discussed prior, I will now tell you what I would have talked about had things gone a bit more smoothly.

I was asked to come on the mid-day talk show to give some Feng Shui tips on what people can do in their work environment to create a more positive space in order to counteract the negative news that swirls around us daily. Here are the five talking points:

1. Deal with your clutter. This is a good time to deal with this stuff—in your office, on your desk. Some people have found themselves without a job at all, so they have some time on their hands. Here is an opportunity to go through those shelves, that file cabinet, those drawers in order to make room for new possibilities.

2. Change something in your office. This can run the gamut of changing the furniture all around or simply re-arranging the top of your desk. When your space changes, it changes the vibrational pattern inherent in a room/office/cubicle, which in turn changes the way you think opening you up to some new ideas.

3. Use your front door. The front door represents new opportunities coming in. Keep that door moving to maximize the security of your current job or the hopes of a better one. If it’s inconvenient to use the front door, use it as often as you can, assure that it’s easy to open and that it has a color that you love.

4. Check out your bedroom. Although this isn’t specific to the office, the bedroom still impacts your work since it’s the room where you sleep, rest, and dream. Remove everything under the bed for better flow around you; keep the closet doors closed at night to minimize the chaos coming from your clothes; remove the computer and/or television from the bedroom (even if temporarily) to maintain the quiet safety that you want in there.

5. Wear red. Red is an active color and, in the Chinese tradition, a successful color. If you don’t like red or don’t look good wearing red or any of its shades, then wear the color underneath, i.e. red cami or red boxer shorts. The active color will keep your spirits up and your enthusiasm high.

Disclaimer: These suggestions are not a substitute for doing good work at the place where you already have a job, or updating your resume and going on interviews. However Feng Shui can support your efforts to secure or hold a position you love and/or one which will ride you through the economic troubles.