How to Use Feng Shui to Position Your Desk

Introduction

The ancient Chinese art of feng shui provides principles for optimizing spaces to cultivate positive energy flow that can impact happiness, prosperity, and success. When it comes to your workspace and desk setup, the way you position your desk and organize your surroundings can have a considerable influence on your focus, creativity, productivity, and professional growth according to feng shui.

Feng shui emphasizes the importance of placement, arrangement, and orientation to allow for optimal movement and flow of chi (life force energy). By applying certain feng shui guidelines to your desk and workspace, you can enhance career opportunities, achievement, and advancement.

This article provides tips for using feng shui desk placement to boost your success and growth potential in your profession. We’ll cover how to set up a dedicated workspace, position your desk in a commanding location, angle it dynamically, consider your view, and avoid facing a corner. With some small tweaks to your desk alignment, you can invite more positive chi and cultivate good fortune in your career.

Set Up a Permanent, Dedicated Workspace

Having a dedicated workspace for your career is one of the most important feng shui enhancements you can make. Setting up a permanent desk area creates a physical anchor for focusing your energy and signals to the universe that you’re committed to your purpose.

There are several benefits to establishing a permanent workspace:

It enables you to keep all your important work tools and resources in one place so they’re readily accessible when you need them. No more wasting time hunting things down!
A dedicated zone carves out space to think deeply, strategize, and be creative without distractions. You can concentrate fully on the task at hand and get into flow.
When you sit at the same desk daily, you build up the energy of productivity, motivation, and success. The space comes to hold your intentions.
Walking to your workspace triggers your brain to shift into “work mode.” The routine builds career momentum.
Having an office makes work a more concrete part of your identity and visualizes your commitment to progress.

To set up an effective workspace, create clear visual separation between your work and living areas. Here are some tips:

If possible, use an entire room as your home office. Choose a space with a door you can close.
If that’s not feasible, use a screen, bookshelf, or other large furniture to demarcate the boundaries.
Make sure there’s enough space around your desk to move and stretch comfortably.

With a dedicated workspace optimized for productivity, you’re positioning yourself for career success!

Position Desk in Commanding Location

In feng shui, positioning your desk in a commanding location supports your leadership, success and career growth. The ideal placement is facing the door, positioned diagonally across from it, so you have a clear view when someone enters but are not directly in line with the doorway.

This allows you to see opportunities and challenges coming, without being overwhelmed. Sitting directly facing the door is too confrontational in feng shui.

To create this commanding position while still having visibility of the door, place a mirror on the wall that enables you to see behind you. Or put a crystal, plant or other object between you and the door – this acts as a buffer while still allowing awareness.

The commanding desk placement puts you in control while being able to respond and interact smoothly as people enter your workspace. This supports your success, productivity and leadership.

Angle Desk Dynamically

One of the key principles in feng shui for optimizing desk placement is to angle your desk dynamically. An angled desk invites more career growth, movement, and change in your life.

Rather than placing your desk squarely against a wall or in a corner, turn it on an angle within the space. Ideally, position the front edge of the desk pointing towards the door at about a 45 degree angle.

This activated positioning gives you more opportunities, control, support and creativity from the surrounding environment. It enables you to tap into the flow of energy as it circulates around the room.

An angled desk placement also allows you to face the door while working, giving you a commanding view of the entrance to your workspace without being directly in line with the doorway. This gives you a sense of safety and protection while remaining open to new possibilities.

Overall, angling your desk dynamism optimizes your career potential. The shift from a static position square to the wall invokes momentum, movement and positive change. It’s a simple adjustment that can make a big difference in realizing your goals and welcoming greater success.

Consider View from Desk

The view from your desk can have a big impact on your productivity and career success according to feng shui principles. Ideally, you’ll want to position your desk so that you’re facing a window or have a view of inspiring artwork or objects.

Avoid placing your desk directly facing a blank wall if possible. Having little visual interest in front of you all day can drain your energy and inspiration. Similarly, facing directly out a window isn’t ideal as it can be visually distracting and make it hard to focus.

Some good options for desk views include:

Facing a window with blinds to control glare and distractions. Angle the desk slightly so you’re not staring directly out the window all day.
Positioning your desk across from a beautiful piece of art, live plants, or an inspiring vision board. This gives you something interesting and energizing to glance at periodically.
Facing a wall with built-in bookshelves, cabinets or shelving units. The vertical lines and organized objects can aid concentration.
Having a view of greenery or nature, even if artificially created. Research shows even a poster of a nature scene can boost productivity.

The key is to avoid boring, sterile views and instead surround yourself with things you find visually engaging. This stimulates the mind subconsciously and sets you up for career success. Be strategic about what you face for hours each workday.

Avoid Corner Desk Facing Wall

Placing your desk in a corner facing a wall is one of the worst feng shui offenses for your career. The energy in a corner is stagnant, which limits new opportunities, growth, and creativity.

Sitting with your back against a wall makes you feel unsupported and out of control. It’s like you’ve been boxed into a corner, with no room to expand your career or business.

Having the wall right behind you also blocks helpful energy and resources from reaching you. Imagine sitting in a corner facing the wall – there’s no open space to your side or behind you. The wall cuts off any nourishing energy flows.

If you have no choice but to use a corner desk, here are some feng shui tips to improve the energy:

Hang a mirror on the wall you face to symbolically expand the space and allow energy to circulate.
Place a lamp, healthy plant, fountain, or crystal on one side of the desk to activate the space and prevent stagnation.
Position your chair slightly angled so you’re not directly facing the corner. This opens you up to more opportunities.
Decorate the corner walls with art, awards, or vision boards to inspire career growth and prevent the energy from becoming heavy.
Use a desk layout that makes you feel empowered, with the computer monitor off to one side rather than right in front of the corner.

With some small feng shui adjustments, even a corner desk can support your career success and advancement. The key is to counteract the trapped feeling and invite in vibrant, free-flowing energy.

Use Inspiring Decor

Surrounding yourself with inspirational decor is a key feng shui principle for career success. Your workspace decor should motivate and uplift you.

Aim to decorate your desk area with artwork, photos, or objects that align with your career goals and aspirations. Seeing these items daily activates the law of attraction, focusing your mind on desired outcomes.

For example, if your goal is leadership, place a photo of well-known leaders or motivational quotes about leadership. If wealth is your aim, use images of abundance.

Objects that represent your target achievements make them seem more attainable. This trains your mind to expect this reality.

In addition, artwork depicting water symbolizes fluidity, growth and new opportunities. Images with mountains or ascending pathways invite promotion and rising to new heights.

Your decor should make you feel centered, empowered and ready to conquer the day. Avoid clutter that distracts the mind. A clean, serene backdrop allows you to concentrate fully on advancing professionally.

Clear Clutter

A cluttered workspace can negatively impact your focus and productivity. Feng shui principles recommend clearing clutter from your desk and the area around it to allow for positive energy flow.

Start by organizing loose papers into folders and filing cabinets. Store folders and documents out of sight in drawers so your desktop remains clean. Remove non-essential supplies and items, donating or recycling what you don’t need. Any office supplies you use regularly can be stored neatly in containers or a drawer organizer.

Minimize distractions on your desk surface. Limit decorations to a couple meaningful items aligned with your intentions. Contain small objects like paper clips in a drawer to keep the top of your desk clear. A clean workspace helps maintain clear thinking and support career success.

Bring in Nature

Incorporating natural elements into your workspace can help stimulate creativity and clarity. Here are some tips:

Add live houseplants to your desk or workspace. The wood element of plants feeds the water element of career in feng shui. Certain plants like jade, lucky bamboo and money trees are considered especially auspicious for promoting career growth and financial flow.
Display natural materials and textures like wood, stone, crystals, seashells or pottery. These connect you to the grounding energy of the earth element. Natural materials also balance the metal element of desk and technology.
Consider a small tabletop fountain or place a bowl of water near your workspace. The soothing sound of flowing water activates career opportunity and income.
Hang landscape art or photography featuring green plants, flowers, water or mountainscapes. These represent vibrant yang energy to support your career aspirations.
Open a window if possible for fresh air and the scent of nature. This uplifts the energy and stimulates creativity. If outdoors is not accessible, use natural aromas like essential oils.

In feng shui, nurturing the wood element of plants and establishing a connection with nature enhances career success and prosperity. A thriving, vibrant natural environment at your desk nourishes growth, clarity and creative thinking.

Feng Shui Colors

Colors play an important role in feng shui for career success. Choose colors that will energize and motivate you. Bold tones are recommended over pale or muted shades.

Red is associated with recognition, passion and drive. It’s an auspicious color in Chinese culture. Decorating with red can help give your career a boost.

Orange represents socialness, creativity and optimism. Use orange accessories or decor to inspire innovative thinking. Orange also promotes good communication and relationships.

Yellow is linked to clarity, focus and confidence. Position a yellow object near your desk to improve concentration. Yellow stimulates mental alertness.

Green signifies growth, balance and renewal. Having green plants or artwork near your workspace encourages learning and development. Green reassures and reduces anxiety.

Blue promotes calm, trust and stability. Blue objects help counteract work stress. Light blue specially enhances creativity and expression.

Purple evokes imagination, wisdom and dignity. Use purple in moderation to inspire visionary ideas. Dark purple can aid in problem solving.

Coordinate accessories like plants, desk organizers, notepads and pen holders in complementary colors. Avoid clashing tones. Feng shui works best with a harmonious color scheme.