Office Cubicles Don't Have to Suck

Are you one of the millions of people that commutes to work each week to spend a solid 50 hours staring at your cubicle walls? Office cubicles are for many the place they spend more time at then home. Sad but true. Americans are grossly overworked and a forty hour work week is something of the past. I don't spend time in a cubicle at all anymore. But a lot of my friends do and I know what it's like to have to sit in one. Here are some cool ideas on how to make your life in the cube a bit more cheerful. Of course depending on the office cubicle policy you may or may not be able to do a few of these.

So you've been assigned as a newbie to your 6x6 cubicle and this is hypothetically where you will spend the next 30 years of your life pushing paper, creating, screaming, and dreaming. Its bare-boned and still cares a few artifacts from the last person that “moved on”. Your excited for the new opportunity and its time to shine. You've got a clean slate, three cubicle walls to fill up with stuff. It's your canvas to an extent. Let's make it your little oasis.

Your going to be sitting on your butt for 8 hours a day at least. Treat your back and butt right and find the right chair for you. The standard office chairs are at not often going to cut it. Now if its a temp job you most likely don't want to spend the cash on a chair. But if you know that even if your going to get promoted or fired in five years and move on to an other office or cubicle you should invest in a ergonomic office chair. These chairs can get a bit prices. However they are worth every penny and you will be surprised at how good you'll feel when you sit in a chair that is actually built right. I tested the theory out back when I was in the trenches. I “borrowed” one of the fancy chairs from the board room for a few weeks during my very short tenure as a man of the cube. You feel more important in one of these bad boys for one, you physically feel better, you smile more, and in return spend more time focused on your job being productive, and less time taking trips to the copier or water cooler. The must have item in your office cubicle, if its affordable is a good chair.

An other great thing to get is a plant. Studies have shown that plants are good for you. Seriously. Some plants are proven to improve air quality. The chinese evergreen is may favorite cubicle plant. It needs minimum light, it looks nice, and is not overly water crazy. Try putting a plant in your cubicle. It will cheer the place up and make you breath easier.

Next up is the digital frame. These are a great addition to the cubicle. Put your favorite images on a constant slideshow to look at during some down time or when your stressed out to the max and need to look at that photo of the palm trees you'll be sitting under on your next vacation.

Number four on our list of must have items in the office cubicle is a ipod dock. This item is of course going to be a case by case, office by office, call on your part. I know at various companies this is simply not going to happen. I had one that allowed for headphones. When I wasn't yapping at a client on the phone I put some music on. Keeping the subconscious mind occupied helps with focusing on the tasks at hand. Don't be afraid to ask if you can have a radio or ipod dock.

Your sitting and pretty much glued to a chair all day. THIS IS NOT NORMAL. Your body is meant to move and be active. Get a pair of dumb bells. It's easier then you think to turn your office cubicle into your own personal gym. You'll be surprised by the results too. I had a set of 15 lbs dumb bells under my desk. I work the biceps, shoulders, and triceps when I was stressed out.

Ok this is an other item on our list that might be touch and go with management but its a cool one I saw a intern pull off. Get a cubicle pet. No not a rabbit or a flipping dirty bird but a little happy quite fish. This is a cool way to spice up the office cubicle and bring a little happy time too. Siamese fighting fish are beautiful and easy to maintain. Create your own little cubicle aquarium. It is scientifically proven that staring at a fish bowl calms the nerves.

This item is less off the wall then the cubicle pet but its a must have item for one of the three cubicle walls you stair at daily. A dry erase board. Use it to set up goals for the day, put famous quotes on, a count down until you either leave that god offal cubicle or go on vacation. Goals are 80% more likely to be attained if your write them down and see them daily. Use the dry erase board affectively and watch your spirit soar.

Number nine on the list is fine art. If you have a favorite photograph, painting, scene put it on the cubicle wall. I had a little Picasso poster on one of my walls that made me fell good. Van Gogh is popular too. Of course the classic photo of a palm tree next to blue water is in the top 10 list of cubicle posters. Seriously, find a poster you enjoy, pin it up somewhere in your 6x6 cubicle and lighten things up a bit.

Last but not least on our list of must have items for your office cubicle is the personal espresso machine. This little item is a god sent when your on deadline or your manager is hammering you to get more deals. A personal espresso machine will help pipe in that extra caffeine you need to take it to the next level. They can be purchased for less then $60.00 dollars and you can use all kinds of different flavors. If your not down with espresso then get the personal coffee maker. In the long run its going to save you a ton of money at Starbucks, you'll appreciate the cup of espresso or coffee more because you made it. It looks pretty cool too.

So there you have it. The top 10 things you must have in your office cubicles. Of course its subject to interpretation. Feel free to add items in the comments section. Here are the items listed out for you.

1. ergonomic office chair

2. plant

3. digital frame

4. ipod dock

5. dumb bells

6. world map/globe

7. pet

8. dry erase board

9. fine art

10. personal espresso machine