Five Easy Cheap Ways To Update Your Workspace.

No matter what you do in life, chances are if you're reading this you have some sort of workspace in your home. Maybe it's an office or a corner of a spare room where you work from home. Maybe it's a desk in your bedroom to do your college work from? Maybe it's just a particular armchair you like to blog from in the evenings. Whatever it is - sometimes those workspaces get stale.

You need to keep your workspace inspiring to keep you inspired and that often requires a bit of a revamp. I am one of these people who simply has to rejig things every 6 months or so or I get bored of my surroundings. When I lived at home or in uni I'd rearrange which side of the room my bed was on or where the wardrobe went so it's no surprise my office is the same.

Here's 5 simple ways you can update your workspace to keep it exciting for as little effort or cost as possible.

1. Change up the layout.

Like I mentioned above - there is nothing like changing the layout of the room to make it feel brand spanking new. If it's feasible why not move the desk to the other side of the room or swap the bookcase over with the storage unit. Change what's on your shelves and swap it with what's on the windowsill. Hang the pictures in a different order or pop a rug from a different room in there. It doesn't cost you a single cent but changing the layout of the room can create a much more dynamic working space you didn't even know you needed.

2. Add pictures or postcards.

A super easy way to create a more inspiring space is to add pictures, photos or postcards to the walls or surrounding your space. On my walls I have photos of my niece, photos from my graduation, my degree certificate, awards I've won, prints other people have made for me and even motivational quotes and postcards. I have deliberately chosen things that motivate me or things I love so think about what would inspire you and hang it up. Not prepared to attach things to the walls? Invest in a notice board and simply prop it up on top of a unit!

3. Invest in a few key pieces.

Ok so we can keep it cheap and still spend a coupla quid can't we? Investing in a few things to brighten up the room can be a godsend to your overall motivation levels and won't break the bank if you don't do it too often. Get a couple of new pencil pots from Ikea, a few photo frames from Wilko and a succulent or two from Matalan and jobs a goodun. Bonus points if you can buy something that also has a use not just to look pretty.

4. Keep it neat.

I don't mean keep it clean, tidy and minimalist - I just mean keep it neat. If a minimal workspace is your shebang then by all means that is the way you should keep it but if like me you like your 'stuff' then just aiming to keep it neat is your priority. I am very much of the cluttered desk variety and my workspace is full but even I can't work with papers not filed all over the place or scraps all over the floor. Have a big old sort out, put everything away that doesn't need to be out on top of surfaces and chuck any rubbish you have. Then reorganise your space so anything that is out has a home and you have at least one working area where you can set up shop without having to move 10 things out of the way first.

5. Fill it with what inspires you.

Whatever it is that inspires you - fill your workspace with it. If you're more productive with a clean desk with nothing on it but loads of plants to gain energy from then hell, fill the damn room with plants. If you're more motivated with a wall covered in bright pictures then head to Paperchase to snap up their amazing postcard collection. Create mood boards, adorn the shelves, pop up allll the ornaments, get all the fresh flowers in - whatever works, make it work.