A while back I discussed the “space” in which we write. Today we’re going into the essentials every writer should have. Which includes decor, my favorite part!
Here’s an article about the ergonomics of being a writer and how to outfit your office for comfort.
5 easy steps to organize your office.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t need help setting up an office. I need help keeping it organized.
I have hundreds of little stacks of papers, copies of drafts of books that I wrote ages ago in folders, clipped together, stuffed and scattered everywhere. No, not kidding. It’s scary. I finally decided that I had to put a header with a Title, Page Count and DATE on everything that comes out of my printer. No exceptions. With three cats, a dog, a hubby who can’t help but fiddle with things (and then there’s me…) in my office each day, things tend to move, walk off, fall into the floor and in general become part of the chaos.
- So one goal I have is to go through all those pages, get rid of duplicates (another problem) and give everything a folder. Wish me luck. Deadline: June 30th
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Thanks for posting this! Some time back I got into Feng Shui specifically because my desk was as cluttered and inefficient as my writing was itself at the time! Over time my habits slip, though, and it’s always good to get a reminder that I work best in an ordered environment.
My office is the sofa and a laptop : /
I’m like Lisa. I also relapse. I am generally very organized and neat, but I just get overwhelmed with stuff after awhile. It’s amazing how fast the paper accumulates. I usually spend a day after I finish each book just cleaning my office. I dust, organize all the papers, etc. It’s a great feeling. Unfortunately, a few weeks later the piles of papers have already begun to grow. :wow
Gail, I know exactly what you mean!
That sounds like me too.
I find I have to clean after I finish a book, in order to be ‘decluttered’ for the next.
But it’s amazing how fast the papers/magazines/pictures pile up again…
Now the dusting…that, I’m not so good at
My office is a corner of my bedroom and I get really overhwhelmed by clutter, so it’s usually neat. Sometimes things pile up on the desk, but even that starts bugging me. I can take mess for a day or two (longer when I’m close to deadline) but that’s it.
Funny, because I was a complete slob growing up. Since my divorce I’ve been much neater and I think it’s a need for control since I have so much responsibility as a single mom. Neatness keeps me from feeling overwhelmed.
Isabel
Nicola—what is this thing called “dusting?”
Isabel
Emily, a sofa and laptop are all you need!
Isabel
Well it sure stops the mess. There’s no where to put anything else but me and a cup of coffee.
Mine too, Emily. I recently added a TV tray to hold a drink, but I’m too lazy to set up a “real” office.
Dusting? Organized? :think
I don’t recognize those concepts, unfortunately…
:wall :wall :wall <<<<<<<me and organization I have my own tax biz and after 8 years still not organized I survive year after year muddling along I get the clients done, get them their copies in nice neat folders, might even get some early on in folders to be filed, then poof I get two or three in back to back before work and I hand them their copies and pile up the signature copies they signed. Some are stuck infolders inthe filing cabinet just need alphabetizing and labels attached :lol Now I have stuff from helping my niece in Germany with her English and her Algebra added to the stack lol my desk is so covered I lost my bluetooth headset to the floor earlier :aww :cry But I just am not one to organize I have the wip I am working on stored as The Storm Portal in MS Office and open up the document when I go to write on it. Funny the comment on writing crap up there I went in and erased some stuff I thought was crap lol on what I worte the other night. Now back to the writing board so to speak lol. One more day off and then back to o/t this week. :lol total words so far 10,763
I only officially dust after I’ve finished a book (which means not too often). Usually I just open up the windows and hope the breeze will blow the dust away.
Ah Isabel…a woman after my own heart :hug
Now Gail’s dusting method sounds great…only one problem, I don’t have a window in my office.
And it’s open, without a door.
At the front of the house.
So everyone who enters can see my mess.
But hey, I figure they come to see me, not the dust bunnies, right?
Like my positive self talk?
Yes, I’m very lucky. My office is also at the front of the house, but I have double French doors that close it off from view! And I also have a lot of plants in the room which also help hide the dust. :laugh Thank goodness!!!!
The only problem with having nice windows is that they are distracting. Right now I have birds nesting in a bush just beyond one window, and I see them fluttering around out of the corner of my eye as I work. It’s very tempting to get up and peek at their progress when the writing isn’t going well.