Annemarie Lombard, Author at Sensory Intelligence Consulting

7 Tips to improve your remote working environment

Posted on March 20, 2020May 23, 2025 by Annemarie Lombard

Covid-19 is forcing us to rethink the way we engage in the real, physical world. The power of technology and connectedness has never been more prominent than now. As a team, we have always worked virtual and support a flexible, home working approach for employee productivity and wellbeing. In the sensory overloaded world we operate in, flexible remote working practises have saved many of our clients from the brink of burnout in the past. So let’s see this as the positive take on Covid-19. It will force us to use the tools that have been right in front of our noses the whole time. This time not by choice (we hope you do) but by necessity (you know you must)!

Here are our 7 tips to be successful when working online:

Your work environment should firstly be comfortable and conducive. Use a desk and proper chair – your bed or couch is not conducive for long periods of sitting still and can create unnecessary strain on your back, wrists and/or other body parts. Create an “office space” for you at home. No clutter, no mess, clean, tidy and comfortable. Although others won’t necessarily see it, you do and you need to like what you see.
Stable WiFi and good online systems are critical. It will ensure smooth and easy connections. There is a variety of systems to meet, chat, collaborate and act. We use G-suite, Zoom, Trello, WhatsApp and Hangouts but there are various options. It is just amazing how connected you can be without being in the same physical space as others. Just ensure you agree on standard operating procedures to use the systems to avoid duplications, irritations or uncertainty when you work in a team.
A distraction-free environment is important. Firstly, to help you to stay focused, ensure there is no annoying background noise. You can play your favourite playlist for sustained focus. I find Mozart, classical and instrumental playlists extremely helpful. They improve my level of focus by ± 30% and as a result, I get more work done. Secondly, when on a call you have to switch off all background noises. Switch off your music and keep the dog outside. Screaming toddlers won’t be appreciated by your audience. Disable the sound alerts on your phone or pc as they can be highly annoying for your team or audience on the other end. Mute your microphone when you are unable to control the noise and you are not speaking at that particular time.
Good, proper lighting is important to boost productivity and focus. Use as much natural lighting as possible as it boosts productivity more than artificial lighting. Open your blinds or curtains to allow for more light but not to the detriment of glare. The potential is to change your desk position to allow for more natural light this way. Play around with options. If you develop eye strain or headaches relook your lighting sources.
Sitting for hours and hours in your home office will have the same detrimental impact on your brain and focus levels when at work. Build stretch breaks into your home working day. Using the movement senses will improve your focus and alert levels and help you to have longer periods of productivity.
You are not having a pajama party! While it can be tempting to move from your bed to your desk in your pj’s… don’t. Brush your teeth, comb your hair and dress as if you are going in to work. Your body and attire will prepare your mind for focused work. The unsaid and unseen have great power in our output and attitude.
Last but not least, having self-awareness and self-insight into your natural rhythms and working style will take your home working productivity to the next level. The Sensory Matrix™ is our online assessment tool to provide insight into which sensory stimuli are distracting for you and which sensory stimuli are calming. Knowing how to build these insights into your day-to-day working environment will create lasting energy and focus. Most of my own team have low thresholds (they are roots of our Sensory Tree™) and can work week in and week out at home. I have high thresholds (the leaf of the Sensory Tree™) and find home working environments boring after a while. I need the vibe and stimulation of other people and different spaces. I will then arrange a meeting in a coffee shop and usually love it when I can go out and deliver services to clients. Understanding this unique diversity in our team has helped to ensure we are aligned optimally to the tasks needed.

Click here to do our FREE Sensory Quiz™ to determine whether you are sensory sensitive or sensory seeking.
Click here to buy the comprehensive Sensory Matrix™ with a 26-page report on your unique assessment scores, insights and strategies.
Click here to find out more about our online workshop Work from home effectively to learn how to be most productive at home.

Holidaying in Tokyo when you’re sensory sensitive

Posted on May 31, 2019May 23, 2025 by Annemarie Lombard

A week ago my husband and I came back from our holiday in Japan. My mind is still swirling with crazy, busy, colourful, noisy, fantastical images. Tokyo is another world filled with lights, sounds and constant sensory input.

In the wonderful world of Sensory Intelligence®, we use the analogy of a tree to depict how people respond to sensory stimuli:

Sensory avoiders are roots,
Sensory neutrals are trunks, and
Sensory seekers are leaves.

As you would have guessed from the title, I am a root. My husband is a trunk. Want to read more about it? Click here. The Japan holiday was his idea, but I am always up for a new adventure so I was very excited to go with. My “rootedness” was not taken fully into account in the planning, but I soon realised I would need some sensory strategies to make the most of this holiday.

Let me paint you a picture: Our luggage didn’t quite make it on time and we had to survive without our belongings for the first 3 days. Thus, on the very first day, straight from the airport, post-32-hours in transit, we headed straight for a clothing store to stock up on essentials. We boarded a train at the airport and climbed out in utter sensory overload/chaos. It was 10am in the morning and the streets were packed – people everywhere, all seeming to know where they are going, moving in every direction. It was raining and we had to run to find an umbrella as our first purchase. We entered the first clothing store we could decipher from the logo (no English!)

The floor we entered was the ladies’ section and I told my husband we will find each other later, as we both went hunting for clothes. What we didn’t realise was that this store had 7 storeys! It sold everything from aircons to massage chairs, to alcohol, to facial products… It wasn’t long before I found myself in an absolute state of overload – as I went up and down the escalator trying to find my husband, a loud, child-like voice was screaming intelligible advertisements over the speakers, there were people everywhere, lights and posters trying to catch my attention, and the hand-luggage backpack on my back was weighing heavily on me. Luckily my husband and I spotted each other passing on the escalators as he was going down and I was going up! We reconnected on the next floor, and there and then I decided I needed a strategy if I were to survive this holiday.

Holiday survival strategy nr 1: Take snacks.
I decided to make sure we took snacks wherever we went. Because we walked a lot (maybe a little more than necessary, trying to figure out the city) we couldn’t really plan our meals as much as I’d have liked. So I made sure we took snacks or stopped to buy a snack every few hours. Eating provides self-regulation through chewing, using the proprioceptive sense. I loved the smells and tastes of the new food and snacking also regulated my blood sugar and gave us an excuse to rest.
Holiday strategy nr 2: Wear comfortable clothes!
This seems very self-explanatory, but I needed to remind myself of this constantly. As a root, my clothes bother me quicker than a trunk or a leaf. In the mornings I might consider wearing something less comfortable but would remind myself that I’m going to wear this for the entire day- moving a lot. So even if it meant that I wore my sneakers and comfy jeans every day, I did this. I had my hair up on most days, as my hair down bothers me quickly. There was enough sensory input in a day, and I didn’t want my clothes to add to that and tip me over the edge. Beautiful outfits and high heels could wait for home again!
Holiday strategy nr 3: Take a break.
This is a strategy we often talk about at Sensory Intelligence® Consulting, but not everyone is aware that we can mould this strategy into anything that suits the moment. When you’re spending an entire day out and about and experiencing new things, you can’t always quickly go home to curl up on your favourite couch for some peace and quiet. I made sure to listen to my own cues of becoming overwhelmed (irritability, inability to focus, etc.) and would immediately make a plan to take a break. I’d speak to my husband and tell him we need to rest before tackling the next shrine or museum. Sometimes we would rest in a park or a coffee shop, other times simply sit down on a step somewhere and catch our breaths for a bit. Our breaks looked different from day to day, but I made sure to be intentional about taking them.

You might think that there are certain places you won’t enjoy when you are more prone to avoid too much stimuli (being a root), but this holiday proved differently. I absolutely loved Tokyo and the rest of Japan and will definitely go back. It is just important to think about your body and sensory thresholds and use self-regulation strategies. Then the world is your oyster!

Do your Sensory Matrix™ to discover your sensory style.