5 Tips to Redesign Your Surroundings and Live Better

Why Your Physical Space Matters More Than You Think

Most of us spend considerable time and energy trying to improve ourselves — building better habits, practicing mindfulness, eating well, exercising regularly. Yet we rarely stop to consider one of the most powerful influences on our daily mood, productivity, and overall happiness: the physical spaces we inhabit every single day.

According to behavioral scientist and University of Virginia engineering professor Leidy Klotz, author of In a Good Place: How the Spaces Where We Live, Work, and Play Can Help Us Thrive, our surroundings are far more than a passive backdrop to our lives. They actively shape our psychological well-being, our sense of identity, the quality of our relationships, and even the memories we carry with us for decades. The good news? By engaging with our spaces more intentionally, we can meaningfully improve the way we live.

Klotz, who has published research in top scientific journals including Nature and Science and has written for outlets like The Washington Post, Scientific American, and Harvard Business Review, brings a rare blend of scientific rigor and practical wisdom to this topic. Here are five transformative tips drawn from his work that can help you redesign your surroundings — and, in doing so, redesign your life.

1. Practice Space Before Screen

In an age of smartphones and constant digital connectivity, most of us are moving through the world without truly seeing it. We walk from room to room, commute through neighborhoods, and sit in beautiful parks — all while staring at a glowing rectangle in our hands. Our screens have become a wall between us and the physical world around us.

Rather than waging an exhausting war against your phone habits, Klotz suggests a smarter strategy: use your screen time as a trigger for spatial awareness. When you notice yourself reaching for your phone — especially first thing in the morning — treat that impulse as a cue to first pause and observe your surroundings.

One of Klotz's friends shared that after reading his book, she began noticing her morning ritual of immediately grabbing her phone upon waking. Instead, she started using that moment as an opportunity to look around her bedroom, notice the light coming through the curtains, and become present in her physical space before diving into the digital world. This small shift had a surprisingly grounding effect on the rest of her day.

The practice doesn't require drastic changes. It simply asks you to build a moment of spatial mindfulness into transitions you're already making. Before you scroll, look up. Notice the room you're in. Notice the light, the textures, the arrangement of objects around you. Over time, this habit rewires your relationship with your environment in profound ways.

2. Design Your Spaces With Intention

Most people furnish and arrange their homes based on convenience, cost, or habit rather than conscious design. A sofa ends up facing the television because that's what sofas do. A desk gets shoved into a corner because that's where the outlet is. But when you begin to think of your space as a tool for well-being, everything changes.

Ask yourself: what do I want to feel in this room? What behaviors do I want to encourage? A living room arranged to face a window rather than just a screen can invite more reflection and natural light. A kitchen organized with healthy foods at eye level and snacks stored out of sight can support better eating habits without requiring constant willpower. Intentional design works with your psychology rather than against it.

Small adjustments — adding a plant, repositioning a chair, decluttering a surface — can shift the emotional atmosphere of a space significantly. You don't need a renovation budget. You need curiosity and a willingness to see your space as something that can be shaped to serve your goals.

3. Let Your Space Reflect Your Identity

Our surroundings are a mirror of who we are — and who we want to become. The objects we display, the colors we choose, the photographs we hang on our walls all send signals, both to visitors and to ourselves, about our values, our history, and our aspirations.

Klotz encourages people to audit their spaces through this lens. Are the things around you reflecting a version of yourself that still resonates? Or are you surrounded by remnants of a past self, a past relationship, or someone else's aesthetic entirely? Surrounding yourself with objects, images, and arrangements that align with your current identity and values can reinforce a stronger, more coherent sense of self.

4. Use Space to Nurture Your Relationships

The design of shared spaces has a direct and measurable impact on the quality of human connection. Research consistently shows that the physical layout of a home or workplace influences how often people interact, how deeply they communicate, and how connected they feel to one another.

Consider your dining table. Is it buried under mail and devices, making family meals feel like an obstacle course? Creating a clear, welcoming table can make shared meals a genuine ritual of connection. Similarly, arranging seating in a living room to encourage face-to-face conversation rather than side-by-side screen watching can shift social dynamics in subtle but powerful ways.

Think about the spaces where your most meaningful conversations have happened. Chances are, those environments had qualities — intimacy, comfort, freedom from distraction — that enabled connection. You can deliberately cultivate those qualities in your own spaces.

5. Honor the Spaces That Hold Your Memories

Places are deeply tied to memory and emotion. The childhood home, the college apartment, the park where you received life-changing news — these spaces live on inside us, shaping how we understand ourselves and our histories. Klotz argues that recognizing this relationship gives us a richer way to engage with both the places we currently inhabit and those we remember.

Honoring meaningful spaces might mean creating photo displays that tell your personal story, revisiting places that hold significance, or simply taking a moment to acknowledge why a particular corner of your home feels comforting. It also means being thoughtful about the new spaces you bring into your life and the memories they might one day hold.

The Bottom Line: Your Space Is a Tool for Thriving

Leidy Klotz's central message is both simple and revolutionary: our physical surroundings are not neutral. They are active participants in our psychological and emotional lives, influencing how we feel, how we connect, and how we remember. By engaging with our spaces more consciously — noticing them, shaping them, and letting them reflect our truest selves — we unlock one of the most accessible and underused tools for living better.

You don't need to hire an interior designer or move to a new city. You need to look up from your screen, look around the room, and ask yourself: is this space helping me thrive?