Green Desking
What is it about all these young influencers sitting on a beach towel, tapping away on their laptops. All that glaring sun, salty wind and sand getting in the wrong places.
I know they are promoting their mobile millennial location independent workplace and that’s great, but really, the beach.
But as it turns out, they are onto something. The other day I heard of the term Green Desking. As I read more about the subject I realised that we’ve been green desking for years, only I didn’t call it that back then. What’s more, with our house sitting lifestyle we always had an ever changing variety of green desking options.
While we didn’t punch out a story on a windy beach, we certainly worked from balconies or cafes overlooking beautiful beaches. And we worked from our caravan throughout Australia’s outback.
So what is green desking? I like to think of it as getting out of the confines of your work or home office and take your laptop to a new place. preferably in a natural setting, even a beach if that’s your thing.
Green desking is good for you.
There’s nothing like being outside in a natural setting to release stress. Why not break up the day and step outside with the laptop and get the feel good hormones flowing.
A change of scenery wards off fatigue, especially the post prandial fog.
Stretching your eyes by looking away from your screen into the middle to long distance is good for your vision. It is easier when you are outside.
Changing from stale air to fresh air clears the head as well as the lungs.
Even as COVID restrictions ease, many of us are still working from home, so the first step in green desking could be as simple as stepping out the backdoor.
Sit in your garden, smell the roses, listen to the birds and tap away until your heart is content.
If you haven’t got a backyard, find a shady bench in your nearest leafy park, sit under a tree for a while, look around and soak in your surroundings. Then whip out the laptop, tablet or smartphone and get creative.
Now that many of us live in apartments, why not work from the balcony and enjoy the view.
If green desking is not a realistic option, at least take a mental rest and break away from the screen all together. Go for a walk in local bush land or favourite coastal spot and breath in the endorphins. If you must, take a physical notebook made of paper and jot down some ideas that pop up as your mind relaxes and runs free.
So, all things being equal, what would your ideal green desking location be?