Regular readers know I am spending the summer (and into October) in gorgeous Kettle Falls, WA. What I may not have mentioned is that we’re living in an RV while building our house here. The house will not be habitable until fall at the earliest.
As you might imagine, RV living can be rather cramped — even for two adults and a 40-lb. Staffordshire bull terrier — especially when we not only live here but run several Web-based business ventures out of the RV.
My workspace is about 4 inches from our bed when I’m sitting at my desk, so I don’t have a lot of space to spread out and consider materials for A Storied Career. I can spread them on the bed, but then I have to move them every night when we retire.
Today I set up an ancillary workspace inside the (very) unfinished house. This is where I will perform “triage” on materials I’m considering for A Storied Career. I love this setup — with the comfy chair (that even has little pockets for my favorite kinds of pens and stapler), the table to spread out the materials, sunlight streaming in, and cool breezes blowing in from the Columbia River.
As I began doing triage in there this morning, I already felt more passionate, fired up, and excited about future blog entries than I did while reviewing materials in the RV. My workspace and tools are exceedingly important to me.
Bloggers, writers, storytellers, practitioners — to what extent does your workspace influence your effectiveness and creativity? Is it uber important like mine is — or does it not really make a big difference to you where you work?
<
I was thinking about your workspace when I read this post on Lifehacker--
http://lifehacker.com/5307420/turn-a-bookshelf-into-a-secret-passage
My favorite it's nice enough (not raining... not too hot... not too cold) to make my workspace outdoors on the deck!
I need to move around. I need quiet time, walking time, and coffee shop/people time (probably in that order.) Light, a breeze, a lake, trees, and birds help my creativity. I can see why you like the space by the window.
I can write almost anywhere. I have even learned to write in malls while waiting for my wife. I have learned to write during a church service. Some of my poems come to me while showering or ironing my shirt for work. Right now I have a beautiful office with windows on 2 sides looking into our backyard. Last weekend we moved my office into what had been our library. Now it is my library-office. My old office has become the guest bedroom again. My wife loves to change the rooms around.
I can also live almost anywhere. The environment does not effect me has much as my wife. She would prefer to live by the ocean. The size of the city also impacts her. The weather impacts her. For me, I usually block all that out. As long as I have a roof over my head, food in my belly and enough money to live on, I am fine.
Those pockets in your chair are great! I enjoyed the lifehack bookcase link, thanks @Liz.
I move around a lot - part of my life is traveling to remote spots around the world. Like you, my work space at home is important. Given the house construction, you probably figured out what items and info you had to have at your fingertips. That's me. I have many clear, velcro-close folders with diff data that lets me be effective and mobile.
Thanks, Liz, Firefly, Nancy, Harley, and Melissa, for these comments.
It's really fun to learn how people feel about their workspaces.
Liz, I love the workspace behind the secret bookcase door.
Harley, you must be easily able to please your wife since you are so undemanding about your environment.
Melissa, with my more mobile lifestyle these days, I'm sure I could learn from your methods.