Setup soft diffuse lighting in your focus nook
Today I want to talk about an issue that plagues workspaces the world over. A moral failing that dirties the purest of focus nooks. I am of course referring to lightbulb nudity.
We can all agree that naked lightbulbs are morally repugnant, but as well as tarnishing the minds of our precious youth, they cause other issues too…
- Distracting glare on our books and screens.
- Harsh light that strains our eyes.
- General subliminal ambience issues.
How casinos deal with this issue
Unusually, it is casinos that have made the greatest strides in dealing with this moral issue.
Like many of these focus nook related Practical Betterments, this idea comes from the book Addiction by Design by Natasha Dow Schüll.
Casinos have known for a long time that soft diffuse lighting keeps gamblers on the slots for longer. Here we'll use the same logic to keep us in our focus nooks for longer.
Some research from casino designers concludes that lighting should be…
- Soft. No harsh or overly bright lights.
- Diffuse. No single light sources should be brighter than another. Light should be spread and scattered.
- Warm and subdued in color. Avoid bright colored lighting. Make sure the lighting matches your decor.
- Not directed at the gamblers 'forehead'. Lighting that is angled downwards and directly in front of you should be moved.
How to achieve soft diffuse lighting
There are a number of ways of achieving soft diffuse lighting in your focus nook.
- Clothe naked bulbs. Get yourself a nice paper lampshade for any naked bulbs.
- Replace bulbs with dimmer (or dimmable) ones. I've got some cheap dimmable bulbs from IKEA and they're very good.
- Put up semi-translucent curtains. Diffuse the biggest lightbulb of them all.
- Move lamps so they're not directed at your face.