If you have a computer both at home and the office, you may find yourself in the unfortunate situation where you are working at home and playing (surfing) at the office. This is by no means optimum productivity.
So why might you be playing around more at the office and working at home? One influencing factor is the "situational" cues your desktop computers are giving you.
I’ve talked a lot about how you can use productivity triggers to get more work done. Triggers can take the form of sights, sounds – even smells and feelings! That’s why we need to be conscious of the subtle triggers around us and how they affect our productivity.
Look at it this way. Do you work better sitting in front of the TV or at a cleaned off desk?
If you are one of the people who can watch Maury and knock out a 50 page report than you can stop reading. This is for the people who need a work environment to get their jobs done.
So one thing I do to separate work and play is to "bland-ify" my office computer and dress up my home computer with fun themes. When I see the plain theme at work, both consciously and subconsciously I know it’s not play time. At home, the theme can be whatever I want – I change them to suit my mood.
It’s easy to do using Windows XP.
Right click anywhere on your desktop
choose properties
Choose the Themes Tab
Choose Windows classic theme
This will create a different environment – thus mindset – between your work and home machine – leading to more productivity at work and more fun at home.
Technorati Tags: gtd, lifehacks, themes, productivity
