Organizing your schedule, both personal and professional, is always a challenge. Tools in the digital space let you create to do lists, communicate timelines, and keep track of your scheduling in integrated ways, but sometimes you still need physical reminders to keep you on task. By consistently color coding the different roles in your personal and professional life using both digital and physical tools, managing your lifestyle at a glance becomes much simpler.

Google offers a great online calendar, which, tied to your Google account, lets you create multiple color-coded calendars in a weekly, daily, or monthly view. I like to use this to track my time, both professionally and personally, and have created different calendars to reflect different roles and tasks I deal with from day to day. To be able to quickly spot what I should be doing through the week, I’ve selected color codes for each calendar, often choosing a color pertinent to the task. Outside of the digital space, I bring the same color coding to life by keeping a set of colorful markers and sticky notes around, matching the colors used in my online calendars for consistency.

As a freelance designer, I often work with several different clients at once, and so I like to choose a color to represent each client (often one which matches a color used in their branding). When outlining a project on bristol board as I often do, I might use a colored marker I’ve associated with a client for headings, or quick fills in mock up sketches, to ensure I can easily spot notes for a specific project or task amongst a pile of others. In setting up a calendar to manage tasks for a specific project, I would again choose a color I can easily associate with the client for quick reference of my schedule through the day.

Outside of a professional workflow, color coding can also be useful for managing tasks around your home. For delegating chores to your kids, or for organizing between you and your significant other, have each member of your household pick a favorite color. Use these colors to create color coded Google calendars to outline and share schedules between each other. Match those colors up with sticky notes and whiteboard markers so each member can make their mark in the real world, sharing easily recognizable color coded messages with each other in a shared space.

Color can also be helpful for managing diet or exercise. Schedule your meals and fitness regiment using a bright color in your online calendar. Leave sticky notes for yourself using a matching color on the fridge or on those cookies in the cupboard for a quick reminder (via color association) of your plan for personal well-being.

Adding a splash of color to your organizational workflow helps bring an eye-catching visual component to task management, but it also helps to beautify and personalize the tools we use to organize ourselves. Maintaining consistency is key, as is choosing colors that have meaning to you in the different facets of your life. Simple associations work great, for example using green for finances or red for things that are high priority. As does picking less obvious associations — for example, you might have a favorite supermarket you like to shop at with a bright purple sign, in which case purple might work well as a color for a quick reminder to pick up a loaf of bread on the way home from work.

Remember to keep things simple; if you find a set of sticky notes that only come in a few colors, try to limit the categories used in your calendar to those colors. This will help you stick to a simple system of organization that is easy to maintain, and quick to reference using just a few bright colors to simply outline how you manage your time.

By Sean Rioux. Used in partnership with Apartment Therapy Tech.

Photos: Sean Rioux

1. Embody Chair, Bill Stumpf and Jeff Weber – Wilting while you work? The wrong chair not only sucks the life out of you, but your productivity, too. Enter the Embody Chair with its dynamic system of support that channels your alignment, encourages natural movement, and even helps keep you alert. You’ll be whistling again in no time. Get one at Herman Miller.

2. Grassy Organizer, Thea Yuzyk – Bring the gentle green of summer grass to your desktop with this soft, molded rubber organizer. Its flexible blades will cradle your desktop utensils or even your bathroom doodads. Bonus: no mowing required! Grab one at Umbra.

3. A3 Magnetic Chalkboard – Not all chalkboards have to be dark and stormy affairs. Jot notes, sketch concepts, even affix magnets on this brightly colored steel chalkboard. Comes with a pack of chalk and eraser, and can be mounted portrait or landscape, too. Chalk one up at Domesticity.

4. MIO Nomad Butterfly Screens, Jaime Salm & Roger C. Allen – With a touch of lightweight whimsy, this modular screen system is the perfect way to add colorful, decorative partitions to any space. The 24-module package is made from recycled cardboard and creates 20 square feet of screen. Available in forest green, grass green, and orange. Get one at Module-R.

5. Magis Folding Air Chair (Set of 2), Jasper Morrison – It’s the season of patio parties and backyard barbecues, which suits the durable Air Chair perfectly. Even a wedding is no trouble for this lightweight and colorful switch-hitting chair. Available in beige, green, orange, or white. Fold up a couple at Herman Miller.

6. Topo Daypack – Going somewhere? Take your summer workday out of doors with the Topo Designs Daypack. Great colors, organizer pockets, and a laptop sleeve, all with heavy-duty construction making this a go-anywhere companion. Plus it’s made in the U.S.A. Pack one up at Topo Designs.

Photos: Linked to their sources within text

1. “Alexander Girard” by Todd Oldham A massive and comprehensive monograph of the designer’s career, examining virtually every discipline in his prolific body of work. Written by designer Todd Oldham, who combed the extensive Girard archives and found new treasures and classics alike. Order one at Amazon.

2. Girard Alphabet Blocks Ideal for design aficionados both young and old, these distinctive blocks feature alphabets set in the Alexander Girard font collection from House Industries. Simultaneously a sharp, educational toy and stylish conversation piece, the 28-block set is made from replenishable Michigan-grown basswood with child-safe inks. Get them at House Industries.

3. PLYprints – New Sun Hand screen-printed with water-based inks on sustainably harvested maple plywood panels, the PLYprints are Girard classics. The 14″x14″ panels come ready to hang and will brighten any interior with their eco-friendly style. Get some sun at Modern Seed.

4. Girard Pillows in Retrospective, Red Girard’s vibrant, folk-inspired patterns invigorated the designs of his contemporaries (like the Eameses) while redefining textiles with form-emphasizing patterns and colors. Designed in 1952 for Herman Miller wallpaper, the distinctive Retrospective pattern returns as the perfect accent for any modern interior. Get them at Design Within Reach.

5. Girard Fonts For Girard, typography helped to spell out everything from pattern and fabric design to company rebranding. Presented by House Industries, Girard’s typefaces — Script, Sky, Sansusie, and Slab — are testament to the designer’s innate ability to seamlessly unite form and function, style and usability. Buy them at House Industries.

6. Girard Wooden Dolls Girard’s Wooden Dolls are a unique mix of decorative object and colorful toy. Drawing their aesthetics from Central American, Italian, and Eastern European culture, the dolls were originally created in 1963 for Girard’s Santa Fe home. Get dolled up at Design Within Reach.

*If you’re in New York City before July 1, purchase a Girard Wooden Doll at the Herman Miller Pop-Up Store in SoHo!

Photos: Linked to their sources within text

2. Aurora Display Case, $49.53 per unit 500 colored pencils (available by subscription) become a piece of artwork when you display them in this conversation-starting case. Get it: glb.felissimo.jp

3. BURO Desk Set, $150.00 Reminiscent of wooden building blocks, these desk accessories by London-based DesignWright come in green, purple, or gray. Get it: Lexon

4. Gear Tie, $4.49 and up Put a twist on wrapping up loose ends (like computer cords and ear buds) with these bright organizing solutions. Get it: Nite Ize

5. QABLE, $39.00 These unique cable extensions work especially well when you’re wall-mounting an item that requires a visible power line. Get it: Biegert & Funk

1. M3 Seat/Storage, 165.00 EUR A piece by Mikko Kärkkäinen that works overtime: a bright storage box and a seat combined in one. Get it: finnishdesignshop.com

2. Nelson Swag Leg Desk, $1949.00 Surprising pops of color (orange! spa blue! chartreuse!)help make this desk legendary. Get it: HermanMiller.com

3. Great Balls of Wire, $20.00 Organize wires and cords (and add a little fun) with this award-winning design. Get it: sfmoma.stores.yahoo.net

4. Cammeo Jar One, $46.00 Store everyday supplies within this bone china jar–then secure it with one of six brightly hued rubber bands. Get it: gretelhome.com

5. Round Calendar, $176.00 Not totally practical, but practically a piece of art. Get it: yoox.com

Images linked to their sources within the numbered text

Click on the image to find out more about each office. We’d love to see your office. You can send photos to cerentha_harris@hermanmiller.com.

Photo: Jim Franco: www.jimfranco.com

Talking to Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, co-founder and New York editor of Apartment Therapy, is fascinating. You start to understand why this online community, with its 4 million monthly visitors, is so popular. During the course of the interview Maxwell manages to move seamlessly from a discussion about blogs versus newspapers and his time as a Waldorf teacher to European home offices and what color works best in a living room. Every topic, big or small, is given serious consideration. There is an underlying kindness to Maxwell that permeates the site. As he says “Apartment Therapy isn’t snarky, or edgy or even fast, it’s not the newest latest thing we are covering. The whole goal was to help people with their homes, to get them over the finishing line, most would love help from an interior designer or architect but don’t know where to start.” Apartment Therapy has become a very good place to start.

But, enough from me, here is Maxwell:

On blogs: “My wife is a real magazine reader and there’s so much discussion around the demise of magazines and whether blogs are undermining them. Blogs don’t compete with magazines – we compete with newspapers. You post on a blog and then move onto the next thing, it’s very forward looking, fast. And much closer then to a newspaper model than a magazine model.”

On his years as a Waldorf teacher: “[Those years] very much inform my work – now it’s just a much bigger classroom! After teaching for 5 years at a Waldorf school I could have gone on and taken a new class. But I wanted something else. I wanted to live on a larger plane, schools can be small parochial places. I wanted to be rid of the politics.”

“And I had studied design, my first job out of college was as a designer. And I was still very much interested in design. Waldorf is connected to design right down to the chairs and desk and furniture and the color of the walls through all the grades. Design is central and there is a strong belief that the right design can have a very positive effect.”

“I did home visits and the children who had ‘good’ homes – neat, clean and well organized, did better in my classroom. Not necessarily the smartest – it was the ones with a good home foundation. And I thought a lot about that. I was fascinated with that. Being a teacher you need to live the model life. You have to start where you are.”

On starting Apartment Therapy: “At this time I found myself reading the business section of the newspaper more than any other section. It was that time in America before Bush where there was a real optimism in this country around business – business was creative and practical and honest. I craved that opportunity.”

“So in 2001 I started what turned out to be an early version of Apartment Therapy in the summer and gave myself a year to try it out. If it didn’t work I would go back to teaching.”

“Three weeks later the Twin Towers fell and we lived in downtown NY below 14^th street. We were in the thick of it. The city really transformed itself. Business as usual stopped and for 2-3 months and you felt the extraordinary power of change. People opened their doors to their neighbors.”

“[That new feeling in the city] fit with what I was doing. It was a helping service business. I got to be the connecting tissue and to bring knowledge to people and help them. Very simple. Nobody else was doing it. I’d send an email out once a week to subscribers with things for sale and places for rent. I was also working as an interior designer and it was that work that paid the bills.”

“I couldn’t be everywhere at once. My brother had worked in Silicon Valley for 5 years and told me about these things called blogs – he said it was a great application for what I wanted to do and he was right. He started ‘AT’ with me and then returned to do other work.”

“In 2004 ‘AT’ the blog began. I’d blog in the morning and then work for clients in the afternoon. I liked it. I like blogging a lot – it was easier than dealing with contractors and traveling all over the city to be with clients. Eventually I hired a team of 4 full time staff and with no strong financial plan we started. There were cash flow problems and I had to borrow money but the traffic started to really take off when we went full time. We’ve got 5 sites now and that’s how I wanted it to work – we cover all the home, all of the home.”

On being called “one part interior designer, one part life coach”: “That came from Daily Candy in 2002 – they succinctly named what I was trying to do. I have no problem with it because I’ve felt like I am trying to be a teacher. I am trying to get you to do it better but I don’t give you a fish, I want to teach you to fish.”

“I have a strong conviction that American culture is not helping - it’s hard to find a path to a healthy life within it. I am very conscious about preaching – I used to do it, but you know, some people are just looking for advice on what color to paint a living room. I don’t do direct sermons to an audience anymore. I want to show it rather than say it. Now we model it – my wife and I – we do it ourselves and blog about it.” [Below is a drawing by Maxwell. He made a new year's resolution to draw one image a day and then posted the images on the site.]

“But when I see an opening, someone really looking for something, for an answer, I will go further. Like getting rid of your TV and see how that feels. How does the house feel without a television?”

“[The immediacy of] blogging allows you to try a couple of those approaches during a day – I can get flamed for one story and then move onto something else. I always feel with blogging that you keep moving – fresh donuts, you know.”

On the power of color: “Warm are great for social rooms like a living room. They are expansive and stimulating. Cool is focusing and contracting – good for private rooms. Colors should support those activities – it’s hard in say a rental where the rooms are all white and there’s no change from space to space – that feels deadening. A home office for example should be a cool color.”

On the home office: “Home offices that stand out for me are homey – comfortable and not office-like. Most of the ones I find come from European publications. I like a balance between vintage and organic materials. I like natural textures – wood rather than laminate.” [Below is the blogger's office Maxwell designed for Bloomingdale's Big Window Challenge]

“In America home offices seems to be moving in an ‘Apple’ direction – cleaner machines, less wires – much more minimal. Computers serve as art in the workspace, they are a part of your home – like the clock screen saver you posted about. We’ve got so many devices and Apple really puts them together so smoothly. At home that is really important.”

On working from home: “We do work from home, unfortunately. I don’t have any of the office trappings there. There’s no a dedicated space at home. I work all over the home with my laptop. I’ve got the same bookmarks and drop boxes as the office computer so they work together.”

Ines de la Fressange is one of those women who are very stylish. She was a model and is now a designer and photographer. Her home, an apartment in Paris, is inspiring but what is really interesting is this strong hit of pink she’s chosen for her office.

Color can certainly transform a space but how many of us are brave enough to go pink? We’d love to see what colors you’ve chosen for your work space. Feel free to send us images and once we’ve collected enough we’ll turn them into a slideshow.