Whether you are blessed with a home office or need to use a portion of another room, you need to organize your freelance writing space so that you are as productive as possible when you write.
A Freelance Writer’s Office and Desk Need to Be Organized!
Some people argue that having a messy desk and office doesn’t affect their productivity. They are wrong.
When you have crap all over the place, you waste time trying to find things, and your brain works a lot more because it constantly sees all this stuff and feels it has to somehow make sense of it — you’re asking your brain to multi-task.
You Must Have a Clean Desk for Your Writing
Besides your computer, you should have only the key materials you need for your current writing project and just a few items you use multiple times throughout the day, such as pens and pencils. (And make sure your desk and chair allow for proper ergonomics when you write.)
When you have finished a project, or are switching to another project, take all the unneeded materials off your desk and store them in their proper places. If you have extraneous items on your desk, and especially materials for another project, your mind will jump between what you should be doing now and what you will be doing later; this is not efficient.
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The Freelance Writer’s Equipment and Supplies
Keep all things you need on a regular basis close at hand on shelves and tables. This includes paper, paper clips, scissors, envelopes, telephone, and the like. Electronic equipment such as printers and fax machines can go on the floor underneath or beside your desk. You want to be able to easily reach all of these, ideally without leaving your chair.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t move. There definitely is a health benefit to having to get up, even for a few seconds, to fetch something across the room: you engage muscles and increase blood flow; the tradeoff is a break in concentration.
Miscellaneous Items
You may also want other things handy. For example, some writers like to listen to CDs or the radio or online services like Pandora or iTunes while they work. If this is you, be careful that it’s truly background music and not something that frequently yanks your attention away from work. The mind can focus on only one thing at a time.
If you share a home with other people, keep drinking water and healthy snacks in your office so you can take care of your thirst and hunger needs without sacrificing valuable writing time with an unexpected conversation with a family member or housemate.
Your Take: Freelance Writer Home Office Organization
How organized is your writing space? What could you do in 5 minutes to improve it? In 30 minutes?
I try to clean up my desk at the end of every week, before I start into the weekend. At that stage it only takes a couple of minutes to organize and throw away some stuff. Otherwise my desk out look the one in the picture in no time and cleaning up would get a pretty big task, which I then would procrastinate and…
I use project folders and put them in my inbox at the start of the day (the ones I plan on working on that day). I put the one I am currently working on in front of me (above my slide-out keyboard and in front of the monitor).
I have an L-shaped desk, so I don’t think having the other folders in my inbox affect me. Out of sight, out of mind. 🙂 I seldom work on only one project all day long so I like having the next one within’s arm reach when I’m ready for it. I file things away at the end of the day.
It’s not to say my desk never gets out of control. But, sooner or later I have to organize or I can’t handle it. Also, I admit my printer is in the corner of my office, but I don’t print a lot and can use the exercise so I think it works there.
Cathy, you have a very good system and very good space management practices. I also work on multiple projects in a day. I pull out what I need for what I’m working on right then, and I’ll put it away when I’m done before I grab the material for the second project.
And it’s important to get up and move, so having the printer across the room is actually good idea, especially if you only need it occasionally.
Every so often I have a clean slate day and put everything away, but my desk always ends up like the one in the picture eventually. I have shelves and drawers but current stuff stays within reach (as well as stuff I haven’t decided where to file.) I can usually find everything, but the chaos eventually gets to me. I can feel another clear out coming on now.
Sharon, many years ago I had a very messy desk, but I’ve found I concentrate much better with a clean desk. If there’s other stuff within eye shot, my mind will keep thinking about it.
I’m glad you’re planning a good cleaning soon!
There is harmony in chaos as an adage goes and I believe this very much. My desk is also very cluttered. I think it still depends on how you’re inclined to do stuff. Which do you work best? In clutter or in order?
-Pretzie
That’s a nice adage, but studies show that people work more efficiently with clean desks and organized offices!
John, my hunch is that some of humanity needs an organized desk and some of us don’t… just saying.
Hmmmm… I’m wondering what your desk looks like Anne!
well, I”m not willing to take a pix for you John… not quite as bad, maybe, as your horrid example… how did you guess? lol
I must have books within eyeshot: dictionaries, style books, my favorite references, the books I am currently reading researching. These are my touchstones.
I can’t work in a bare office space. It’s stultifying. I need diversity, clutter, plants, artifacts, clever toys, pictures, a view out the window at the garden and wildlife beyond.
My characters don’t live in an “efficient” world, and neither do I. Writing time is living time. I’m not worried about marching each project out the door as soon as possible.
I can’t create life in a dead environment.
Thanks for your input Michael. We may actually not be that far apart. I also have my reference books, and several hundred others, on bookshelves that take up one whole wall of my office. I also have pictures of the Southwest and other beautiful places I’ve been on the other walls. And my desk is right in front of the window, which looks out over trees and hills.
And I have a bird feeder right outside the window, five feet from my head. Yes, it’s a distraction, but one I love.
I wonder if our differences over how to use desk space is partly a difference between writing nonfiction and writing fiction?
Hi. I’ve posted a note about this before but I see the problem is still happening so am not sure if you received it, or if you have any ideas what can be done – or if it’s just a problem on my computer and nobody else is experiencing it, but I’m seeing a vertical box next to the text in here, making it difficult to read and even to write comments. It contains a Facebook “like” button, a Tweet button, a G +1 button, and something that says “in Share”.
Is there any way to remove it, or to have it relocated? I’ve never seen this on any other blogs. I’d love to read your blog more, as the previews that come to my email catch my interest, but with that bar in the way, it makes it frustrating.
Hello Steeny. I apologize for the problem you’re experiencing; it affects a very small percentage of visitors, but I know it’s frustrating.
It’s either because you have a low resolution monitor or you’ve made the text in your browser larger than normal. Try holding the “ctrl” key and then hitting the “minus” key, which should make your screen font smaller in your web browser. (That’s how you do it in Windows anyway.)
Cntrl/minus… (click click)…
Golly gee, that did the trick! Thanks, John!
Good — I’m glad you can see everything now!
Oops, now I just realized I failed to check the “notify me of followup comments via e-mail” box, as it was blocked by that bar, but now I see it so I’m posting another comment and will check it now, although I don’t know if that will help get notifications if there is a reply to the above comment or not. 🙂
I’m always fascinated by the clean desk vs messy desk conversation. By nature, I’m somewhat of a clutter-person who tends to stack things (out of sight) to eventually bulk “put away,” but I do not like clutter on my desk. Only time critical sticky notes or current project materials should be on my desk.
…but my preferred work environment is a bit odd anyway. I prefer to face a wall, but with the doorway in site (so no one scares me to death when I’m obliviously working away). The window (if there is one) has to be out of sight. The one I have now is still in my peripheral view, so I shut the blinds while I’m working.
I can’t listen to music or audiobooks while I’m working…too distracting…BUT I do tend to keep the TV on Law and Order reruns. Hearing those reruns in the background is oddly soothing.
I know. Weird. …but it works for me. 🙂
I usually work with the door closed, but as I said in the reply to Michael above, I work right in front of the window, which includes a close-up view of a bird feeder.
I occasionally listen to music, usually classical, but only at a low volume.
My new writing space is blissfully organised. Though I do have the benefit of having been a professional organiser in a past life!
The top tip I would always give my clients when I worked as an organiser was: only keep on your desk the things you need every day. Everything else should be filed, stored, boxed or thrown away. A clear and organised desk = a clear and organised mind!
Your space looks very conducive to productivity Kat!
And we agree on the importance of a clear and organized desk. I’ve found that extraneous stuff on my desk distracts me from my work and makes me less efficient.
I’m sorry but I love my clutter. I think I need it around me but I have no idea why. Whenever my desk is spotlessly clean it’s tough for me to get into my work. When I need something, I always know which pile it’s in, so it doesn’t slow me down really.
Studies say that a clean desk helps you work more efficiently, but doesn’t that just mean it works for the majority of writers? The messy desk works best for me. Once I week, I just push all the piles onto the floor and call it clean (just kidding… I’m not that bad).
Greg, you may be correct and you may actually write more and better with a cluttered desk. Have you really given the clean desk a good try, like for a week or so? It could be that your brain just has to adjust to a new environment.
No John, I really haven’t. You may have a point there. I think I’m attached to my clutter and afraid of getting attached to my new clean desk. That’d mean more work keeping it clean.
Great post John and I agree…however what looks messy to one person’s eye might not be nearly as messy to the person whose desk it is. Everything might be organized and easily retrievable, it might just look messy.
The key thing to me is, does my work space support my work? If not, something needs to change. I’ve found a major connection between being organized and being clear about my mission. When I was unclear about what I was doing here on Earth, what made me feel the most alive and what I was after in life, my desk and work spaces reflected that. Once I got clear about that stuff, it was obvious that some things supported that mission and others did not. The things that did not just fell away.
I think what gets people in trouble here is A. not being clear about what their mission is or B. having a stated mission that really isn’t their actual mission. B. is a recipe for self-sabotaging things like being disorganized. You don’t want to realize your mission because it isn’t actually your mission. It might be the mission you think you should have or the mission you want to have, but if it isn’t yours, if it doesn’t really resonate with your deepest self, a great way to not realize it is just to have a bunch of crap in your way that needs to be sorted out first….
I very rarely include links to my own blog post on other people’s blogs but in this case it’s very apropos, so here’s a link to a post I did a while back about organizing my life, mission and what I learned about this stuff from a therapy-cult group I was involved with in the early 80’s, in case anyone’s curious…
http://geneburnett.blogspot.com/2010/11/youre-so-organized-its-almost-always.html
Gene, I’m intrigued by your analysis of why many people have messy desks and it does make sense. I’ve observed many people who say they want to do something in their lives, but always manage to create obstacles for themselves, physical or psychological.
And that’s a very interesting post you wrote!
Great post, John.
My space is fairly organized. I bought a new desk two years ago and just by doing that, I went through a positive shift in focus and thinking. I eliminated a “hutch” top, which used to catch all the supplies, books, and stray papers. Now I have one surface, and I have it organized so that my daily supplies are in front of me and I have only one small stack of papers beside me. The rest are stored away.
I have this nasty ugly file cabinet beside me — one of those big office ones that are about 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide — and I had a habit of stacking things on top. I bought baskets and organized the stuff on top. What used to sit on my desk or on the floor beside my new desk is now neatly “basketed” on top of this eyesore (which will be replaced this year, I swear).
I clean my desk surface every Friday before shutting down for the weekend. Just putting things in a neat stack and making sure the space in front of the monitor is clean does a lot for the psyche every Monday morning.
Lori, I also often have to create stacks of printed pages or textbooks when I’m working on my higher education projects. Like you, I don’t put them on my desk: I have two shelves in my bookcase I use for just that purpose.
I usually tidy my desk every afternoon/evening when I finish for the day — at the same time I make my to-do list for the next day.
You would like my current office, John, at least the one on campus. It’s totally sterile. Outside of the Old School drafting table I had procured for a standup desk/pairing station, that is. Trying hard to go totally paperless.
I’m interested in how the standing and working is going. I’ve actually considered that, especially given the recent research linking lots of sitting with increased mortality.
Mine is actually much better than it used to be. I’ve been on an organizing kick and my desk was one of the first places I hit! It’s building up a little again, though, so I think I’ll take a few minutes and pick up. Thanks for the reminder!!
Oh, my goodness, no! My workspace does not look anything like that pictures and if it did, I’d probably cry, and therefore get nothing else done.
It can become a bit messy when I’m behind on bills, but for the most part, I try to keep it looking like what you see at this link:
Trying to post a link to a picture of my office space: http://tinyurl.com/myhomeofficespace2
That looks fairly good! And I love the picture of the cat on your monitor.
Thanks. That is one of my old cats, Catsby, who used to flush the toilet with his paw to get himself a fresh bowl from which to drink.
I do a lot of house-sitting in winter, and that often means taking care of cats. They are such intriguing creatures!
I found this article very useful.
It’s something that I’ve started to do on my own recently, purely because I feel overwhelmed by my workload if I don’t. I work with loads of bilingual dictionaries and text books, so I’ve hijacked a little telephone table that I used to use for my makeup to store these things next to my desk so I can reach them easily.
When I get really busy, things tend to get a bit messy, so I think I’ll work a little harder on keeping it under control. Thanks for sharing!
You definitely need to have frequently used books handy. I typically only use those I’m actually working on (textbooks), but I do have a thesaurus on a nearby bookshelf.
Hi John,
Before when I used to work for call centers, we would always impose the “clear desk” policy because it’s true that employees are more productive when they have a clean desk and free of “eye sores”. We normally allow them a maximum of 5 personal items that they can place on their work stations but that’s just about it. I also agree that it helps a lot when you have all the supplies you use on a regular basis very handy. It saves you from the stress of having to find what you need all the time.
I know many companies allow their employees to have pictures of their loved ones on their desks. I think it’s a good idea — it reminds many people why they work and why they need to do a good job.
Hi John,
Well, I don’t even have a desk at the moment 😉 I personally love a clean, sparse environment to work in. But it is kind of hard to maintain.
One thing that makes it more difficult is the stray ideas, clippings, etc. that I ‘may’ want to do something with … don’t want to file them away and forget about them but I often never get around to acting on my original idea…. so the clutter builds.
Also, wink, wink…. I suspect that since you write textbook supplements, there is a bit of the school teacher in your nature. I can see you instructing the class in proper work habits!
Yes Terri, I was once a college instructor!
I keep a specific folder for important clippings. All of my ideas are written in Word documents, and most of those I initially dictated into my digital voice recorder.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. People see putting away stuff right as they use it a waste of time or maybe they are just too lazy. Think of all the productivity you lose by not being organized and knowing exactly where everything is at. I am a total believer that you should take the time between projects to put stuff away and put your full attention into the next project.
Off-topic here, but I notice a lot of people who comment on this blog have a picture of presumably themselves, yet mine doesn’t look remotely like me. How does one get it to show their own picture? I’m with Blogger so maybe it’s a Blogger thing?
Steeny, go to Gravatar.com. That’s where you upload a picture and associate it with an e-mail address. Then when you type in the e-mail address into the comment area of any WordPress blog, your picture will show up beside your comment.
Something occurred to me after reading this post and thinking about being organized and desks and such…I found that once I was clear about my mission and my willingness to realize it, a very simple technique for keeping things organized was thinking of each item of my stuff as “living” somewhere, that is, being in a place that was its home. And then, whenever I used it, I always put it back where it lived. I can’t tell you how many hours of searching for stuff this simple idea has saved me. Whenever possible I never just set things down, I set them down where they live and when I need them again, I go there and there they are! I’m not rigid about it, but practically everything I own, from my keys to batteries to pens to scratch paper to my computer files has a home and I do my best to keep things in their homes. Conversely, a very simple way to get in your own is to just keep setting things down in random places…This becomes more and more crucial as you get older. ;~)
Gene Burnett, that’s how I do it, too. “This thing lives over here” and variants of that are what I say.
Same as, “A place for everything, and everything in its place.”
Gene, I like this “home” concept for every item. I do that for some items, but not others. I think I’ll start using it more.
I have to have my desk organized or it drives me nuts when I’m trying to work. What’s worse is I now share a home office with my husband which means his desk has to be organized as well. He is definitely one that swears by “a messy desk doesn’t hurt my productivity” so I’m the one who has to take a few minutes every morning to tidy things up. 🙂
My partner Stephanie and I have separate offices in our home, but we do have to share the kitchen. I’m definitely more tolerant of a few dishes in the sink than she is!
A thought: perhaps you could separate your writing space from your hubby’s with a curtain or shoji screen?
Love the way you put that – “more tolerant of a few dishes” – I’m thinking it’s a guy thing. My partner seems to be more tolerant of them than me, too. Sure, since it’s me who can’t stand seeing them, it’s me who usually ends up washing ’em! 😛
Great article John,
I have a home office and i agree with all your points. Small interruptions like going downstairs to fetch some drinking water or switching off the TV or music is a real concentration killer. There are a number of other reasons too and in the long run, it hurts quite a lot.
On my desk, I only keep a drinking water bottle, headphone and my laptop, and a bit of snacks. It is clean and contains only those things that i need. Even the snack is for limited use, because it too is an attention stealer.
cheers,
I also keep water in my office — fresh every day. It saves a trip to the kitchen where I can be distracted by all manner of things: food, the view out the window, conversation with others.
John, I found you this morning because I am in the midst of reorganizing my home office. AND attempting to quit the Messy Desk Club. I have for too long taken comfort in the “messy desk = creative mind” reasoning and am determined to de-pile my desk and keep it that way! I don’t have this problem in any other part of the house, so I think there’s a little somethin’ psychological going on here!
Jean, I’m glad you’re canceling your membership in the Messy Desk Club. You’ll be very happy you did, and you’ll be far more productive.
I found that having a clean desk makes me ansy to get work done. There’s something about a clean and organized surface that makes me want to sit down and be super-productive. When things become cluttered, I get overwhelmed and distracted. This extends to the whole office though. It’s so much easier to be productive and motivated in a tidy workspace.
I’m exactly the same way, Ronda. I wonder if there is a medical explanation for that, or if everyone is that way.
Ronda, I also need to have a clean work space in order to reach a high level of productivity. I also need to have any extraneous computer programs closed, especially my browser.
thanks for the information. I particularly think you have written this information for me. i want to say, am now more productive than before, because am more organise.