Meetings can kill all the inspiration. Most of us spend a great deal of our working day in meetings. Studies show that managers spend about 35% of their working day at meetings. And for the top managers it looks even worse. They spend as much as half of their day in the meeting room! And it has a negative effect on your energy and increases stress.
Make room for creativity
There are many good tips on how to boost your energy and your creative level during a workday. But why not use meetings and meeting rooms to find inspiration and energy. Think out of the box and spend time in the meeting room to get new ideas!
In order to renew your own and your employees’ energy, it requires creative space! And if you don’t have creative meeting rooms on the must-have list, you should reconsider now.
Things to consider …
- What purpose does your meeting room serve? (few or many participants?)
- Do your employees work best in small groups or in larger groups?
- Is the meeting room for internal or external use? Or both?
- Should the meeting room be easy to get to or could it be located a little further away?
A meeting room that boosts energy and collaboration
There may be some logic in having meeting rooms that are for internal use only. That way you can make sure to incorporate visual material and design in the room that promotes job satisfaction, self-confidence, cooperation, internal strategy, inspiration and efficiency. The meeting room must be a place that boosts your employees’ inspiration and energy – otherwise you will lose momentum!
Of course you will also need external meeting rooms. Meeting rooms that are targeted customers and their experience of your brand.
Lighting is important for productivity
Most of us don’t think about it daily. But the right lighting is paramount for your cognitive capacity at work and at home. The right lighting actually increases work focus by more than 15%!
You probably know that it’s important for your inner daily rhythm that you get enough daylight during the day. Because daylight comes through our eyes and transforms into chemistry in the brain. Chemistry that enables our two brain hemispheres to communicate properly and helps us sleep better at night, think more positively and resist stress.
And when you are more rested and positive, you work more efficiently. The positive effects are so many that you cannot dismiss them!
Use colors for inspiration
Research shows that colors can help spark inspiration, job satisfaction and increase productivity and positivism. Orange colors are energetic (lots of entrepreneurs use that color). Green can help kickstart the creative processes. White is a good color to open up a room visually. And blue is a soothing and calming color. But choose your colors carefully. Too much color can seem stressful and confusing.
The name
Most companies know that the meeting room is the hub spot for creating true synergy between employees. But many companies spend time think up a “fun” or “different” name for their meeting rooms. And of course the name can help. But the name alone can not do it. There must be action behind the name – and it must fit the theme in the meeting room!
For example, if you call your meeting room “London”, why not have a red phone booth as entrance to the room?
Create a theme
Themes are a great way of creating momentum to think outside the box. Therefore, it may be a good idea to start considering themes for your meeting rooms. What feel would you like your employees to get when being in a certain room? Do you want to communicate imagination, creative thinking? That the sky is the limit? Or should your employees have the feeling that everything is just boring in blue and gray colors?
Wall decoration and design
Mantras, visualizations and designs can be a good (and easy) way to create momentum and good energy. Most people spend about 25% of their brain capacity constantly decoding visual input and information. Why not use that knowledge as a leverage point? We all know how important it is for one’s well-being to surround ourselves with beautiful and inspiring things, pictures and designs.
Read more: Wall decoration with super powers!
Creative mindspace
The global company ISS has, for example seen the logic in a creative and inspiring place, where employees get creative inspiration and find creative space to think out of the box. They’ve created Corporate Garage.