Accounting News

Yesterday I walked into my home office and examined the space from a fresh perspective. It hasn't had a facelift in about ten years and I've hardly noticed its dingy appearance. Don't get me wrong, I love my office but it's simply out of date and no longer reflects my personality. It's time for a change.

Approaching the challenge like any diligent, problem-solving coach, I did my research. What does science say about an office space that boosts energy, creativity, and productivity, all while projecting a safe, calm feeling for clients? Yes, it's possible, and you can do it all on your own. Here's what I've learned.

1. Use color, but not just any color.

Color psychology studies (and there are many) reveal changes in the body and brain when people view certain colors. These changes influence productivity, creativity, health, stress levels, focus, communication, and emotions. That's some powerful influence!

Color psychologist Angela Wright explains the phenomenon this way: "Color travels to us on wavelengths of photons from the sun. Those are converted into electrical impulses that pass to the part of the brain known as the hypothalamus, which governs our endocrine system and hormones, and much of our activity."

First decide what's most important about how color affects you, your employees, and your visitors. In an interview with Chris Bailey, Wright offered this simple breakdown of the effects of color on the mind: "The four psychological primaries are: red, blue, yellow, and green. And they affect the body (red), the mind (blue), the emotions, the ego, and self-confidence (yellow), and the essential balance between the mind, the body, and the emotions (green)." But it's not that simple. Bailey nicely breaks down the process of choosing just the right color in this article.

Confession – I have been going to naturopaths for 40 years, but I am terrible at taking tablets, potions and sprays. I start out Day 1 with the greatest of intentions but after Day 3, I am over taking something everyday but that all changed not so long ago.

Having been involved in Learning all my life and now running an eLearning company, (The Learning Factor), I’ve always wondered two things:

• Can eLearning (on-line learning) actually change behaviour?
• Can a 12-minute eLearning module have a lasting impact on daily life?

One of our clients is an Australian health supplements company. They engaged our company to build a global learning platform and work with their teams in developing numerous engaging and educational eLearning courses.

Having a passion for excellence and always want to make sure the eLearning quality we produce has the WOW factor, I began do my own review on some of the modules we developed for them. The modules were on things like Probiotics, B Vitamins, Brain Health, Heart Health, Fish Oil.

I was only doing the reviews of the modules for quality control but all of a sudden, my behaviour changed, I found myself asking my wife to buy these products and I started taking them religiously.

The eLearning modules had a major effect on my life, they had in fact changed my behaviour. Through the learning I saw the WHY and the WIFM. I think the vignettes and the animations really crystallised in my mind and emotions that these tablets were going to make me healthier and stronger as I continued through my life.

Now every morning I wake, shower, shave and swallow – 12 tablets to keep me healthy. It’s not that I have to do it, I want to do this and I’ve been doing it for over a year. I even took all my tablets on a recent cruise to Alaska in little bags, one for each day!  

Can eLearning change behaviour? For me it’s a big YES!

Chris Gaborit is managing director of The Learning Factor, an eLearning company who loves technology linked to learning. Follow him here on Linkedin, on Twitter @droneservicesAU and Instagram @idronefoto