Bringing the Outdoors In: Office Plants and Why They Matter

Plants don’t exist just to sit and look pretty. As it turns out, they have a powerful impact on our environment, our health, and our overall mood. Next time you’re looking for some new office décor, why not consider adding a few plants? Below are three reasons why a little bit of greenery goes a long way.

Plants have been scientifically proven to improve air quality. Try bringing aloe vera, spider plants, or peace lilies – to name just a few - into your office. These plants can help filter out formaldehyde (found in chemical-based cleaners, toilet tissue, and personal care products) and benzene (found in paint, glue, plastics, and detergent). Find a more comprehensive list of air-purifying plants here.

Plants are the original humidifiers. Plants add moisture to the air, reducing the effects many people experience from a dry environment, including a runny nose, dry throat, and itchy eyes. Most plants need relatively moist air to thrive, so if your office is dry, be sure to mist the plants with water occasionally.

Plants boost your mood. Since they are often colorful, vibrant, and eye-catching, plants naturally provide a welcome visual break from, say, a spreadsheet or pile of paperwork. According to Psychology Today, not only do indoor plants provide a dose of nature, but their presence has also been shown to reduce blood pressure, raise productivity, and increase job satisfaction.

Illustration: Naomi Elliot

Products We Love: Passion Planner

Have you ever felt that you have an extensive assortment of goals, ideas, sources of inspiration, and daily priorities, but that they’re scattered around in so many different places and so many varying formats that you can hardly keep track of them all?

We’ve all been there: making a million lists to accomplish everything, yet accomplishing next to nothing in the end because our lists are too widely dispersed to properly grasp their context. Wouldn’t it be nice if all our thoughts could be gathered in a single place?

Luckily, Angelia Trinidad recognized this problem and discovered a way to fix it through the creation of a product called Passion Planner. Trinidad felt that while most traditional planners are practical, their shortcoming lies in the fact that they’re not personal enough. She sought out a way to remedy this issue by creating a tool that blends both the structure of a planner and the creative space of a sketchbook or journal into a single workbook – or, as she likes to call it, “a life coach that fits in your backpack.”

The planner opens with a Passion Roadmap that serves as an excellent exercise for the mind. It encourages you to quickly but thoughtfully articulate your wishlist, divided into four different categories: Lifetime, Three Years, One Year, and Three Months. After that, it’s time to prioritize and map out the route to reach your destinations, creating a roadmap for each item on your wishlist.

The Passion Planner is effective because it breaks down goals into actionable steps, making them less intimidating and more manageable overall. There are areas to highlight the “bigger picture” or monthly goals, and areas to focus on weekly and daily goals. Having the added visual elements and creative work space makes this book much friendlier, and your goals more organized and accessible, than a traditional planner.

What’s more, the Passion Planner website offers a variety of helpful tips on creative ways to use your planner. The possibilities are endless, and the planner is customizable to fit your needs and your personal journey. If you’re tired of disorganized lists and scattered thoughts, this is definitely the tool for you.

By Erica Friedmann