As of this week, my family has been in our new home for one whole year, and we’re loving it. While we only gained about 300 square feet over the last place, this house FEELS much bigger because it has a huge yard, it has a single story u-shape which means we walk a lot more to get from one end to the other, and it has 5 bedrooms instead of 3. It’s that last part that has been the biggest change for me, because one of those rooms is my own, private, writer’s office and it. is. awesome.
I was reminded of what a difference having an office makes while I was listening to the ProBlogger podcast the other day. The show is about blogging, but he also touches on other life/work balance things, and this particular episode was about How to Overcome the Challenges of Being A Solo Entrepreneur and one of the things they were discussing was how important it is to have a space that you designate as your work area.
The Importance of a Designated Space
The guest on the show, Robert Gerrish, commented:
“It startles me how many people use the third bedroom, the one with the half assembled Ikea furniture and kid’s bikes and all this kind of stuff. They huddle themselves in the corner somewhere or they sit in the kitchen or they sit in the bedroom. Really this is sending, I think, fairly deep signals to our inner selves that this isn’t a real business, this is just something I’m going to do at the kitchen table once I get a bit of time.”
Um… yep. That was pretty much me in a nutshell. For a long time.
Now, I know being a writer is different than being an entrepreneur. Thankfully, we rarely have meetings. We never have to invite anyone into our space if we don’t want to, and we can wear slippers to work if we want to. But what he was saying about creating a work space really hit home:
“Create the right space… Have a decent chair, have a decent desk, have a decent light, get the best computer you can afford. Give yourselves the best chances.”
I couldn’t agree more.
My Writer’s Office
It’s taken me a while to get settled into my writer’s office. As things shifted around after the move, some stuff got put back here that didn’t belong – a TV, boxes of old family photos, a few framed movie posters – stuff that no one knew what to do with, but over time I’ve moved that shit back out to the living room and decided to really treat this space with reverence.
True, the desk can get a little cluttered sometimes, but I love that when I walk through the door I’m here to work. I don’t do anything else in here, so right from the get-go I’m in the right frame of mind.
It’s also a comfortable place and I’ve taken the time to decorate it in a way that makes me happy. I’ve got my elephant lamp, a very pretty metal bell that appeared after the move (I tell the kids I use it to summon the creativity fairies), and an extensive collection of post-it notes. I’ve got my favorite books lined up behind me. I’ve hung my little “Keep Calm and Write On” sign. I even have a little dog bed so the puppy can sleep at my feet. It’s just very cozy.
What does your writing space look like?
Could it maybe use an overhaul?
Hi April,
Yes, I have two daughters. Fourteen and twelve. I’m up around 5:30 so I have about 90 minutes amounting to me, the cats and my work. I’ve discovered that a pot of coffee and a couple of bananas do wonders for story telling. I’m tempted to write a book on food and drink for the imagination. 🙂
I would love to wake up to Hollywood someday. I’m from Western Oregon.
I’d love to wake up to Western Oregon. In fact, I have a dream of someday having a little writing cottage on the coast out by Tillamook. I love it out there. And I start every morning with coffee and bananas too! Let me know if you ever write that book because I would totally buy it. Cheers!
Tillamook is a beautiful town. Come on out and take the drive from the top of the Oregon coast to the south. A bucket list for all.
A coffee and banana fan, I see. I knew I was doing something right!!!!
My ‘writer’s office’ is the kitchen table. I have to sit in a certain spot with the sliding glass door to my right. I do all of my work early in the morning. Summer time is great. The suns coming up and I get to see and hear the world stretching into a new day.
That sounds lovely. My old “office” (on the couch at our old place) had a window overlooking Hollywood. I used to love getting up in the winter when it was still dark and watching the day fall over the city as I wrote. I don’t know if you have kids, but that perfect quiet of the morning before they’re awake is a marvel.