Enhancing your Virtual Workspace

Calling all online educators! Do you agree that your environment impacts your creativity in your courses?  If you’re like me, you need a space that’s conducive to creativity. As an online educator, I’ve tested out quite a few places, but in this blog post I'll share a few of my favorite spaces to get my creative juices flowing.

If you're an online educator, working from home is nothing new to you but working from home is still "new" to many educators. As a temporary fix, many people decided to work from their kitchen table or basement... but now that many of us have been working from home for quite some time, I'm sure we have all found our preferred virtual spaces to work. My favorite ones tend to be the ones that help me to be creative as well as productive. Here are a few of mine:

Place 1: My home office

This is my sanctuary! Since I've been teaching online for a few years, I have had the pleasure of a home office for a while, although I admittedly did not use it very often. It was in the basement of our home and a little dark and secluded for me. Additionally, I often worked when no one else was at home so staying upstairs at the dining room table worked well. There was a lot of sunlight in the room and I was perfectly content. However, when I had the opportunity to move my home office upstairs (next door to my bedroom), I found that this was my ideal place to work! I invited my interior designer and sister, Nikki, over to help me turn it into an ideal working environment and she did not disappoint!

One of the things I love most about my office is the color. We found an amazing removable wallpaper that uses a terracotta design that I absolutely love. We accented one wall with it and added a comfy chaise with lots of fluffy pillows. The opposite wall has my desk and a 27 inch desktop iMac where I do all my virtual meetings and lecture recordings. The accent items also help spark my creativity and these are usually little plants and metallic paperweights. Most of all, the sunlight that floods into the room from the window just makes this an ideal place to work.

Being in a room that is warm and inviting like this just makes me feel productive even if I'm not actually being productive! Not to mention, I also have a TV fully loaded with a fire stick and an Apple TV... so really... there's no need to ever leave this room other than nourishment and bathroom breaks!

Place 2: My Living Room Recliner

While there's really no need for me to venture outside of my home office oasis, I can't completely isolate myself from the other humans in my house (although I try). So by 4pm everyday I relocate to my "other refuge", my living room recliner. I like to tell myself that this is my "relaxing time", but for the most part, I'm usually still on my computer, but mostly doing things I enjoy, like searching for and creating innovative online assignments and activities. Working from my living room recliner, however, gives off the perception that I am available and social. My step-kids who are teenagers are usually locked in their rooms and my husband might by busy with his hobbies, but being in a public area makes me feel more connected to them. Eventually the kids will come out to grab a bite and hubby will come to watch TV with me so I can easily set my computer aside to chat or socialize.

One of the things I love about my recliner is that it is so comfy! So even if I have to do work from this spot, it feels more enjoyable and a little less taxing.

Place 3: My bedroom

I don't really advocate for working from your bedroom, but I have to admit that this is usually where my day starts. Although I get up at 7AM every morning, On week days I don't actually get out of the bed until 9AM. On weekends, this might be more like 11AM or even 12 Noon! But, I'm still up and being productive, I promise! During the week 7AM-9AM is the time I like to "eat that frog" and get some items off my To Do list that I don't really want to do like grading or course prep that I didn't get to do during the "break". I feel better staying in bed even though I am working. I'll often venture out of the bed to open the curtains to add some encouragement also. I know it's not ideal but, believe me, this is probably one of my most productive times of the day!

There's no right or wrong place to work as long as you're comfortable and being productive however; being in a space that makes you feel creative and energized can be a super helpful bonus especially when the tasks you have to complete are less than appetizing. I'd love to hear about your own virtual work spaces and how you enhance them to help you be productive. Share your thoughts, experiences and ideas in The Online Educator Facebook Group by clicking the link HERE. Also, as a treat don’t forget to GRAB YOUR FREE GUIDE to the 3 Secrets to Teaching Online Successfully.