Kay Sargent makes the case that your workspace is part of your cognition, not a backdrop to it. 

Kay leads neuroinclusive design at global firm HOK and wrote Designing Neuroinclusive Workplaces (Wiley). 

Her framework — six modalities of work, each needing a higher-stimulation and a lower-stimulation version — gives independent professionals a practical way to set up a home office that supports their best thinking rather than taxing it. 

She also explains the "pureeing problem" that makes open-plan offices fail, why knowing whether you're hyper or hyposensitive changes how you arrange the room, and the hidden energy cost of AI.

She explains her six modalities of work, why each needs a higher-stimulation and a lower-stimulation version, and the pureeing problem that makes open-plan offices fail. 

For anyone working alone from home she offers a starting point: know thyself, test different spots, and protect movement and natural light. 

Kay and Nigel also get into neuroaesthetics, the hidden energy and water cost of AI, and the verification bottleneck where AI generates cheaply but humans still judge what works.

Wisepreneurs explores how experienced independent professionals position accumulated expertise and build sustainable practice.

Mentions and references

Designing Neuroinclusive Workplaces by Kay Sargent (Wiley)

Charles Handy, the Shamrock organisation

HOK; KPMG neuroinclusive headquarters; the Microsoft study of 60,000 workers

How to connect with Kay

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kay-sargent-53b2431

HOK and research: hok.com

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