Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash
January brings a host of resolutions and resolves – the biggest combo is work better and clean stuff. Strangely the work better often comes from cleaning stuff. Having room to work without the mental fatigue of seeing other tasks and duties can make a huge difference in attitude.
David B. Coe describe this dilemma and solution in his Professional Wednesday: Tending to Our Work Space (May 18, 2022). (The direct link is: https://www.davidbcoe.com/2022/05/18/professional-wednesday-tending-to-our-work-space/ – last viewed 12/12/2022)
Between package season for my post office job and tax season for my other day-job, my desk is buried in paperwork and project lists and I don’t know when I will get through it all. There are tasks years old that I still mean to get to someday. My honey-do list to myself.
When I did the yard hole-fill-in last year (see lawn leveling), I got rejuvenated. A task weighing me down was released to the ether. Hope raised and danced the jig for a time.
WRITING EXERCISE
Take two hours (or whatever the project needs) and clean one thing you’ve been meaning to clean. This isn’t a procrastination from writing, but an energy building project. Clean something bothering in the line of sight of your desk. Squeaky wheel – WD-40. Leaky pen – throw it out and replace. One stack of papers that keeps shifting – actually clear it. If it drains energy instead of putting a smile on your face when sitting at your writing desk, fix it.
Just one thing today.
Maybe you need to have one hour of your writing week set aside to maintaining your HAPPY work space. Think about it. If the mess is draining your writing, making it hard to start or to maintain, then something needs doing. Maybe an all out attack like Mr. Coe did over several days (he is a full-time writer, so take that into account on his ability to focus), maybe a happy tree fix once a week.
Comment below on what you did to make your writing space more pleasant to work in this week.
From the Internet hivemind