Make sure the entrance to your office or place of business is easily accessible and free of obstacles.
Your entrance gives visitors their first impression of you and your business—make it as neat and attractive as possible so it conveys a positive image. This is also where ch’i enters, bringing creative energy and prosperity with it. Clear any clutter, litter, or obstacles that could block the smooth flow of ch’i into your workplace. If your company is located in a building with many other offices, do what you can to improve the main entrance to the building as well as the entrance to your own business.
Clean, polish, and maintain the sign for your place of business.
Like the entrance to your business, your sign conveys an image of your company to prospective clients. If it is dirty or in disrepair, people will get the impression that your business isn’t sound or that you don’t care about your work. Make sure your company’s sign is attractive so clients—and helpful ch’i—will be drawn to you.
Clean up the sidewalk and street near your place of business.
Litter and other clutter near your place of business creates an unsightly impression and can detract from your success. Don’t just clean your entryway, take it a step further and tidy the surrounding areas, too.
Keep your waiting room clean and orderly.
The lobby or waiting room serves as a transition zone between the outside and inside of your workplace. Clients and customers develop their initial feelings about you and your business while sitting in your waiting room. Organize reading materials neatly, empty wastebaskets, dust tables, wash windows, and make sure furnishings are clean. (Clean restrooms are essential, too.)
Smudge your lobby, foyer, and waiting room.
Smudge public areas in your place of business each evening. This practice removes the vibrations left by former clients and keeps them from influencing others. The preferred way to do this is by burning sage or incense, but you can also clear the air with aromatherapy light rings or diffusers that release cleansing scents (such as mint or citrus) into the area. It’s a good idea to periodically smudge conference rooms and individual offices or cubicles, too. By doing this right before you close up for the night, the smoke and scent will be gone in the morning before anyone with a sensitivity might arrive.
Clear passageways through your work area.
When the paths through your work area are free of obstructions, you can move about easily in the space—and so can ch’i. An obstacle-free work space allows you to work more efficiently. Clear pathways also encourage prosperity because they allow ch’i to flow into all areas of the workplace, infusing them with life-giving energy.
Superimpose the bagua over your workplace.
Place the eight-sided bagua over a blueprint or floor plan of your workplace, just as you did with the floor plan of your home. Align the arrow at the center of the wall that holds the entrance to your place of business (or your own office entrance). Now you can see which areas of your workplace correspond to which parts of your professional life. (See chapter 3 for a diagram of the bagua.)
Replace burned-out light bulbs in your office or work area.
In feng shui, light symbolizes the sun and helps to stimulate positive energy and growth. Burned-out light bulbs diminish vitality and can cause finances and/or business opportunities to languish. Keep your financial picture bright by replacing light bulbs as soon as they burn out. In some cases, you may wish to replace a bulb with one of a higher wattage to increase the amount of energy being generated in a particular area.
Dust, clean, and polish your point of sale.
If your place of business has a cash register, Square, or other point of sale device—including tablets and other portable card readers—make sure it’s clean and sparkling. Dust, grime, chipped paint, and corrosion discourage positive ch’i and can hamper your cash flow. Tip: Put your cash register in the Wealth Gua of your business to stimulate prosperity. Tie a red ribbon on it and put three I Ching coins in your cash drawer for good luck.
Encourage wise decisions with the number eight.
Eight is the number of pragmatism, business, and finance. Place eight objects in the Wealth Gua of your workplace to encourage the practical utilization of money and other resources. Make sure the items you choose signify your intentions.
Answer email promptly.
Keep email from cluttering up your inbox. If you respond to email as soon as you receive it, you’ll keep your mind uncluttered, too.
Delete emails regularly, rather than storing them.
Cleaning out old email is the electronic equivalent of eliminating old magazines, newspapers, and paper clutter. Delete messages as soon as you respond to them. If you want to save messages, create a special file for old email, and prune it regularly.
Update your contacts list.
Do you have piles of business cards stuffed in your wallet? Are names and phone numbers scrawled on slips of paper? Update your contacts list regularly so you can find names, addresses, and phone numbers easily and do away with paper clutter. You’ll also reduce the risk of losing someone’s address or number.
Answer snail mail promptly.
Don’t allow envelopes to pile up—they not only clutter your desk, they also serve as nagging reminders of unfinished business. Rather than wasting time rereading mail and memos, deal with them promptly. When you open a letter or bill, reply to it and then file it or throw it away.
Return phone calls, texts, and other messages.
Like the previous cures, this one clears up lingering obligations and gets them out of your way so you can stop thinking about them and move ahead. Returning messages promptly also demonstrates good manners and respect for the person contacting you.
Remove old files from your computer or cloud storage.
Pruning files you no longer need makes it easier to find what you want. It also frees up space and, if you’re deleting items from your hard drive, speeds your computer’s operation.
Group digital files into as few top-level folders as possible.
Set up a few subject categories and organize documents into subcategories within the main subject groups. This makes it easier to find documents and keeps your desktop neat.
Back up your computer regularly.
It’s amazing how many people overlook this simple task. If your computer fails (or is stolen), you won’t have to waste valuable time redoing lost work if you’ve backed up your files recently. At the end of each day, or when you finish working on a particular project or document, back it up on an external hard drive, flash drive, or cloud storage. If using physical media, keep a backup copy of important work in a place outside your office—at home, in a safe-deposit box, or in another location.
Color-code appointments on your calendar.
Design a system of colors to prioritize your appointments, such as red for essential or ASAP, blue for less important or ongoing projects. This method lets you see at a glance what you need to take care of first and helps you to organize your time more effectively.
Make your calendar fully reflect reality.
It may not be enough to just put an appointment on your calendar. To see at a glance how much time you really have available in a day, block out the whole amount of time each commitment actually takes up—for example, not just the length of an offsite meeting but the travel time to and from the location. This practice helps you keep from overbooking.
Take care of sticky notes.
These constant reminders of things you haven’t taken care of yet can distract you from the task at hand. Lots of little notes stuck all over your office can also make you feel inefficient or overwhelmed by unfinished business. Tend to them quickly, rather than letting them clutter up your office—you’ll improve your productivity and your sense of accomplishment as a result.
Remedy a missing gua in your office.
If your office or work space is irregularly shaped and has a notched-out section or a missing gua, you may be missing out on moneymaking opportunities. Hang mirrors on the walls of the missing corner to cut symbolic windows in these walls (see chapter 3 for more information). This cure opens up your space so your prosperity isn’t limited.
In an open office plan, group desks so everyone is comfortable.
Ideally, everyone should be seated so that he or she can clearly see the entrance to the room. This prevents workers from being startled or distracted by someone walking up behind them. In an open office situation that includes many desks, the ideal arrangement may not be possible. If some individuals must be seated with their back to the door, position mirrors so they can see the reflection of the entrance without having to turn around.
Adjust doors in your work area so they open and close easily.
Doors that don’t work properly impede the flow of ch’i through your workplace and can limit your prosperity. The door of your main entrance and doors in your Wealth Gua are the most crucial, but ill-fitting doors in any area can cause obstacles. Plane the edges of doors that stick, oil hinges, fix wobbly knobs, and so on so that everything operates easily.
Use plants to absorb emotional and mental clutter.
When many people must work together in tight quarters, place plants between desks to provide a sense of privacy. Plants also absorb the energies emitted by many workers, reducing stress. In feng shui, plants are a favorite cure because they symbolize growth—encourage growth in your business by including a number of live plants in your office decor. (Remember to keep plants neatly trimmed and healthy—dead leaves signal decay and decline.)
Get rid of metal objects to encourage flexibility.
The element of metal is associated with structure and rigidity. If you want to encourage spontaneity, change, and flexibility in your business—or the people who work there—reduce the number of metal items in the work area. Replace metal desks with wooden ones, for instance, to stimulate growth and new opportunities.
Limit wooden objects to control growth.
Usually growth in a business is desirable, but growth that occurs too rapidly may be stressful or problematic. To control the rate of growth and create stability, move some wooden items out of the Self and Future Guas of your workplace. Replace them with metal ones, which symbolize structure. If, at a later date, you want to spark growth again, you can put the wooden pieces back. Experiment until you get the right mix to produce balance.
Use an area rug to unite furniture.
To reduce the cluttered appearance of many pieces of furniture—especially in a small office or waiting room—place an area rug so that each piece of furniture rests partly on the rug. This decorating cure has an added advantage, too. By establishing visual unity, it symbolically brings together the different elements in the room and promotes workplace harmony. Consult the list of shapes and their meanings in chapter 3 to pick the type of rug that best aligns with your goals: A round or oval rug encourages cooperation, a rectangular one promotes growth, a square one increases stability.
Place only items you use regularly on your desktop.
Think of the top of your desk as the most valuable piece of real estate in your office. Only those things that you use in your daily routine, such as your computer, phone, and notepad, should be allotted this precious desktop space.
Superimpose the bagua on your desktop.
You can superimpose the octagon-shaped bagua over your desktop, just as you did with a floor plan of your workplace. This enables you to see which portion of your desk relates to which sector of the bagua. When you are seated at your desk, the far right-hand section describes your business relationships. The far left-hand part corresponds to money, the area to your near right signifies travel as well as people who can help you, and so on. Use this method to organize your desk and your work life. (Refer to the diagram of the bagua in chapter 3.)
Use the eastern section of your desk for new business.
The east, where the sun rises, is considered the point of new beginnings, so this can be a good spot to keep files and other materials that relate to new projects. Go through this paperwork daily to stay current. Move “in progress” materials to a different area. This keeps clutter from accumulating and makes room for new opportunities to continue flowing into your life.
Clean off your desk at the end of each day.
This practice lets you put your tasks “to bed” at the end of the workday. It also gives you a chance to catch anything that might have been misplaced or accidentally shoved under a pile of paperwork. In the morning, a clean desk invites you to start fresh, without feeling overwhelmed by tasks left over from yesterday.
Rearrange objects on your desk periodically.
This cure stirs up new possibilities and prevents your work situation and finances from growing stagnant. It also gives you a chance to reevaluate items—which ones do you really need and which are less important and can be moved off your desktop? In the process, you might even find something you thought was lost forever!
Hang bins or baskets in your office.
Hang baskets or wood, metal, or plastic bins on the walls in your office to reduce desktop clutter and keep paperwork handy.
Organize small office supplies in a convenient desk drawer.
Rather than letting tape, sticky notes, a stapler, paper clips, etc., clutter your desktop, move them to an easily accessible desk drawer. Keep loose items in an organizing tray, basket, or other sectioned holder to prevent them from shifting around in the drawer.
Organize cosmetics in a pencil holder.
Small cosmetics, such as lipstick, eyebrow pencils, and mascara, stay neatly organized in the compartments of a pencil holder—either a tray designed to attach inside a desk drawer or a portable case.
Organize books, magazines, and other reading materials.
Arrange books, trade magazines, and other reading or reference materials in a logical, convenient manner—by subject, title, date, author, or whatever method works best for you.
Discard outdated reference materials.
Recycle or discard old magazines and reference materials that you no longer use. Old literature not only creates clutter, it also can keep you stuck in the past and interfere with the flow of new ideas and information.
Place reading materials in the Wisdom/Knowledge Gua.
Organize books, magazines, trade journals, reference texts, and other reading materials in the Knowledge Gua of your office to stimulate the flow of information and ideas.
Clean off a shelf in the top of a closet.
A cluttered overhead shelf in a closet suggests that you have problems hanging over your head. This condition can lead to stress or headaches—something might even fall from the shelf and hit you on the head! Get rid of things you aren’t using and neatly organize the rest.
Organize your supply closet.
Organize office supplies and arrange them according to use—group computer supplies together, mailing materials together, etc. Get rid of supplies you won’t be using anymore when you update your office equipment or switch to other products. Place items you use often in easily accessible spots.
Clear your Future Gua to encourage new business.
The number one represents new beginnings. To stimulate new opportunities, remove all but one significant item from the Future Gua of your work space. Make sure the object you choose to leave there has positive associations and is compatible, from a symbolic standpoint, with your goals, business, or future plans.
Don’t store old stuff in your Future Gua.
A storage closet or file cabinet full of old business can stifle growth and block new opportunities if it’s in the Fame/Future Gua of your workplace. Clutter in this area can also cause other people to have a distorted or confused image of your business. Clear away anything that doesn’t point to the future and encourage positive associations.
Rearrange items on a table or shelf in your Wealth Gua.
If your company’s finances are sluggish, rearrange the objects on a shelf, table, or other piece of furniture in the Wealth Gua of the president or CEO’s office (or the office of another principal). Whenever you make a change like this in a section of your workplace, you spark change in the corresponding area of your business. This cure helps get your cash flow moving again.
Attract financial help from someone else.
Six is the number of shared resources. To attract financial help from a partner, investor, bank, or other source, clear away all but six items from the Wealth Gua of your work space. The symbolic quality of these objects is important, too, so pay attention to the meanings attached to those that remain—they should have positive, prosperous associations for you. One of them could be a light or a live plant, as both cures encourage growth.
Arrange ceramic items in your Wealth Gua to stabilize finances.
If money seems to go out as fast as it comes in, neatly arrange objects made of a ceramic material—tile, pottery, brick, stone—in the Wealth Gua of your workplace. To make this cure even more effective and improve money management at the same time, place four ceramic objects in your Wealth Gua and hang a mirror behind them.
Don’t place a wastebasket in your Wealth Gua.
You may end up “throwing away” your money on things you don’t need or unprofitable ventures if you put a wastebasket in the Wealth Gua of your office. Move it!
Keep wastebaskets hidden or in unobtrusive spots.
Trash represents things you don’t want or need. To prevent workers from paying too much attention to things that are no longer useful, place wastebaskets where they aren’t obtrusive.
Clean out your work bag or briefcase.
This cure is similar to cleaning out your desk or file cabinet, but it can be even more important for people whose work requires them to travel or conduct business outside of the office. Remove clutter to make room for new business and moneymaking opportunities. Get rid of old paperwork, names and addresses of people you no longer contact—anything you don’t use or need.
Throw away pens that don’t write.
How many times have you grabbed a pen to jot down a message only to discover that it’s out of ink or clogged? Instead of putting it back where it will annoy you again, throw it away.
Use pencils with retractable lead.
Pencils with retractable lead never need to be sharpened, so they don’t produce messy shavings. Whether you prefer disposable ones or distinctive refillable mechanical pencils, they are cleaner and more convenient than ordinary wooden pencils.
Use a whiteboard for daily reminders.
Rather than posting lots of little notes around your office, use a dry-erase board instead. This keeps paper clutter to a minimum and encourages you to respond to messages promptly. A whiteboard also cuts down on waste and saves trees. Use different-colored markers to prioritize messages.
Record your ideas with a notepad app.
Many people get bright ideas when they’re walking, driving, waiting in line, or performing mindless, routine tasks. While most smart phones come with a note app, there are plenty of other useful, user-friendly ones that might fit your needs better. If you record brainstorms and inspirations, they won’t get lost in the clutter of your daily work demands.
Use a bullet journal for “bright ideas.”
A bullet journal is a great way to keep track of to-do items and sudden strokes of genius in a single organized place—both your day-to-day and your distant future plans. You can find lots of instructions and advice for bullet journaling online, so do your research and go with the system that’s right for you. The important thing is that you stick with your process and symbols so it’s easy to use when you want to go back to something you wrote.
Complete a task on your to-do list.
Unfinished tasks produce mental clutter and nag at you, making you feel ineffectual. Each time you complete a task, you experience a sense of satisfaction at having taken charge of your life and alleviated one more obstacle to your happiness. Whether it’s a mental list, a daily sticky note, or a bullet journal, strive to check off as many items as possible each day.
Color-code file folders.
When it comes to physical folders, using a color-coding system makes it easy to see at a glance what’s in a crowded file drawer—it can also help you to spot outdated or misplaced files. Color-coding can be used in conjunction with other filing systems—alphabetical, chronological, etc.
Put away files promptly, whether they’re physical or digital.
How much time do you waste searching for files that weren’t put away promptly or saved in the right place? As soon as you finish with a paper file, put it back so you and others can find it easily. (In an office where many people share common file cabinets or materials, this organizing task becomes even more imperative.) When someone emails you a file to keep for your records, save it immediately to the place where it needs to go—don’t let it linger on your desktop or in your downloads folder.
Work on one project at a time.
Don’t try to juggle several projects simultaneously—it can be inefficient, confusing, and stressful. Focus on one thing at a time. It’s best to keep files and materials related to other tasks stored away until you’re ready to devote your attention to them. This also prevents paperwork from getting misfiled.
Get rid of old files.
Cluttering up drawers with old files and paperwork, or letting old documents you no longer need sit on your computer or server, can block moneymaking opportunities. Remove outdated materials that may be keeping you stuck in the past to make room for new business to come your way.
Follow through.
Allow enough time to finish a project once you start it. Follow through until you complete a task, or a designated portion of it. Each time you have to set work aside and come back to it, you clutter your mind with other thoughts and waste time refocusing your attention.
Keep business meetings on track.
Create an agenda for meetings and stick to it. Don’t allow discussions to wander off track. Rather than bringing in side issues that can clutter your focus and detract from the main points under consideration, schedule another meeting to deal with those concerns later.
Place pairs of objects in the Relationships Gua.
This cure is especially valuable if you work in partnership with someone, but it can also improve interactions among coworkers. In the Relationships Gua of your workplace, arrange objects in pairs. Two is the number of cooperation, congeniality, and teamwork, so placing two chairs, two lamps, two pictures, etc., in this gua can have a positive effect on all business relationships.
Eliminate sharp angles to improve communication.
Lots of straight lines and sharp angles in your workplace tend to increase single-mindedness and can interfere with give-and-take between coworkers. To improve communication and cooperation, remove objects with sharp corners or many angles.
Remove sharp objects from the Relationships and Helpful People Guas of your office.
Scissors, letter openers, and other sharp objects placed in the Relationships Gua or the Helpful People Gua of your office can have a detrimental effect on your relationships with coworkers, colleagues, and clients. Sharp or pointed items symbolize cutting words, backstabbing, severed ties, and other hurtful conditions. Move these tools to another spot.
Clean light fixture covers.
Dusty lampshades and light fixture covers cut down on the amount of light—and ch’i—flowing into your work space. Lights symbolize the sun, growth, clarity, and vitality. Increased light equates with a brighter financial picture and better overall well-being for your business.
Wash the phone in your office.
From a practical standpoint, this helps to keep germs from spreading—especially if more than one person uses your office phone. Symbolically, washing your phone suggests that you are striving for clear communication with business associates and clients.
Wash the windows in your office.
Ch’i enters a building through its windows. Clean windows let more light and positive energy into your work area, thereby improving your financial prospects and your firm’s general well-being. Because windows represent a building’s eyes in feng shui, clean windows allow you to see situations more clearly—symbolically as well as physically.
Clean your computer screen.
This practical maintenance cure not only enables you to see your work more easily, it reinforces your intention to make the most of your income-producing capability. Dust on your computer screen can physically and symbolically interfere with your ability to clearly see the task before you. The more you use your computer, the more important this becomes—wipe down the screen frequently.
Rein in cord clutter.
Some offices have systems for keeping electrical cords and computer cables hidden. In other cases, you can control them by tying them together neatly with twist ties or purpose-made cord wraps.
Vacuum your office rug.
Vacuum or sweep your office floor at the end of each day. Then, when you enter your office in the morning, you’ll symbolically step into a fresh environment full of opportunity. Because rugs and floors represent foundations, a floor that’s free of dirt and clutter suggests an orderly, stable base under your feet.
Hang a wind chime between your workplace and an obtrusive building.
If you feel pressured by a neighboring building that’s too close or much larger than yours, hang a wind chime between your office and the other building. The movement and pleasing sounds of the chimes disperse the disruptive atmospheric clutter and tension produced by the obtrusive structure and its occupants.
Install fans to circulate positive ch’i.
The windows of many large office buildings, warehouses, and other structures don’t open to let fresh air circulate. As a result, ch’i can stagnate. Ceiling fans stir up stuck ch’i and disperse atmospheric clutter to reduce stress, stimulate new ideas, and promote healthy interaction between workers.
Keep lunchrooms and break areas neat.
These areas are intended as oases from the stress of the workplace, but if they are cluttered or dirty, they may have the opposite effect. Workers who can clear their minds periodically throughout the day tend to be more productive at their jobs. Messy break areas can also contribute to low morale, arguments, and general confusion, so keep these rooms neat, clean, and attractive.
Ring a bell upon entering your office.
The sound of the bell summons positive ch’i into your office and clears the air of unwanted vibes that can produce atmospheric clutter. This simple ritual can also serve as a trigger to stimulate your intention to get down to work and generate income. If you work in an office with other people, you might want to run this idea by them first to make sure they won’t be annoyed with the sound. Maybe they’ll even join in on the practice.
Clear clutter from your Travel Gua.
Clutter in your Travel Gua can cause confusion, delays, and mix-ups when traveling. To facilitate smooth and profitable business trips, make sure this sector in your workplace is neat and orderly. Organize materials related to travel—as well as those that your company uses in connection with shipping and receiving—in this gua.
Create a focal point in your office or work space.
When your mind starts to wander, use a focal point to bring your attention back to your objective. Clutter distracts and scatters your attention; a focal point hones and directs it. Choose something attractive—a picture, a vase of flowers, a meaningful item—as your focal point. If your objective is to earn more money, place the focal point in the Wealth Gua of your workplace. If your reputation and public image are of primary importance, create a focal point in your Fame/Future Gua.
Create a focal point in a waiting room.
Give clients and visitors something to focus on while they wait, to help keep their minds from wandering to other things. This focal point should be something that encourages positive feelings about your company and conveys beneficial energy. A large, healthy plant or floral arrangement, a tank full of colorful fish, attractive artwork, and handsomely framed inspirational sayings are a few possibilities.
Use calming scents in your office or work area.
Soothing aromas, such as vanilla and lavender, can cut through mental clutter and help you stay calm under pressure. Depending on your office environment, you can burn incense, stash fragrant potpourri or a sachet in a drawer, or dab your wrists with essential oil to reduce stress and mental clutter. Be mindful of coworkers with scent sensitivities—their comfort comes first.
Use stimulating scents to improve mental clarity.
The refreshing scents of citrus and mint can help to keep you alert and increase mental clarity. Use these aromas in your personal space or (if your coworkers are onboard) diffuse them throughout your office environment to chase away sluggishness, stimulate the flow of new ideas, and improve communication between workers.
Hire help when you need it.
Although you may prefer to do everything yourself—or feel that you should—sometimes it pays to hire other people to help out. Overloading yourself with tasks can cause stress and burnout. It may not even be cost-effective if low-level functions are taking up time and energy you could be devoting to more important ones.
