Your workshop is an interface for getting things done.

Let the shop do the thinking.

You never think about whether or not you have bananas. Their color and shape coordinate with your subconscious mind the moment you glance at the counter, to instantly reveal whether you do (or don't!) have bananas. Your workshop can team up with your subconscious mind in similar ways. For example, see my video: Measuring Tapes are Yellow.

Opportunity Cost of Space.

Too often, we think of our workspaces as a puzzle, putting stuff where it fits, rather than putting it where it's the best use of that particular space.

By viewing our spaces as limited resources & treating it like money, we can inject fluency into our spaces in surprising areas. For some examples, see my video Opportunity Cost of Space.

Maximize Visibility in Unexpected Ways.

Visibility is a popular topic in a workshop, but I believe we're completely missing some opportunities to unlock its potential. Often, we only keep things visible that we use frequently. But we can expandd our minds & increase fluency of our workshops by also making things visible that we need to use frequently, as well as things we don't even understand.

For examples of the 3 types of things I keep visible in my workshop, see my video 3 Things Visible.

Avoid Technical Debt / Empty Space Design

One of our most unforgiveable workshop sins is that we build for NOW, and ignore TOMORROW. Therefore, we build drawers for the stuff we have now, but not for the stuff we'll have tomorrow. We design spaces for the stuff we do now, but not for the stuff we'll be doing tomorrow.

Empty space design is wildly important for enabling the day-to-day dynamics of using our spaces, as well as encouraging long-term evolution of our spaces.

"I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been." - Wayne Gretzky