How to Organize a Writing Space
If you’re a freelance writer struggling with writer’s block, you may need to take a deep look at your writing space. Office organization isn’t on the top of everyone’s priority lists , but there is something to be said for keeping an organized and clutter-free work zone—productivity! Imagine how many hours you can save by not having to flip through piles of papers, or dig through box after box. Imagine how calm you’ll feel if you’re working in a serene environment. Below are simple steps designed to help you unlock your writer’s block by creating a work space that allows creativity and functionality.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Locate a Room
-
1
Pick an office area. Choose an area with no foot traffic. Writing takes a lot of concentration and the smallest distraction can cause you to lose your train of thought, thus increasing the amount of time it takes to write your piece. Choose an area with plenty of lighting, electrical outlets and ventilation.
-
2
Clean the walls. Remove all photos, nails and tape from the walls so that you can add items that enhance an “office” feel. Fill in all holes and touch up the paint.
-
-
3
Install proper lighting. If your current lighting causes you to squint or fidget as you try to find a glare-free zone, it’s time to install new lighting. Poor lighting can cause headaches, impair vision and make it difficult to focus on the work at hand.
-
4
Consider the flooring. If you’re used to using a rolling chair, a plush carpet would be a bad choice as it will begin to fray and tear. Selecting a linoleum floor may be your best bet because it’s easy to clean and care for.
Arrange Furniture
-
5
Arrange your furniture so that you can easily maneuver between spaces. There should be enough space between furniture that you don’t find yourself bumping knees and elbows as you open desk drawers, pull books off shelves or get up from your desk.
-
6
Start arranging your furniture by placing the largest piece of furniture in the room first. Finding a good spot for this piece will make it easy to find spots for the smaller pieces.
-
7
Start with your desk since it’s your primary piece of furniture. Make sure it’s located near plenty of electrical outlets since you’ll need to plug in your computer, printer, phone, fax and desk lamp. There should be plenty of room around your body when you are sitting at your desk that you can move freely.
-
8
Place your filing cabinet next to your desk. Depending on how organized you are, this may be a cabinet that you will refer to more than once throughout the day so keep it accessible. Make sure there is plenty of room to open up the filing cabinet without having to tweak your body or constantly move obstacles from the front of the cabinet.
-
9
Place your bookshelf on the opposite wall, away from your desk. Not only will this balance out the room but it will make it easy to see which shelf contains which book.
-
10
Arrange electronics. The key is to not allow your electronics to take over your writing space. Your computer, printer and telephone should be the main focus on your desk. The rest of your electronic devices should be stored on another table, shelf or stand.
-
11
Hang cork boards. Cork boards are great for keeping track of important things like tickets, calendar events and to-do lists. Place your cork board near your desk but not where it is a constant visual reminder of what you need to accomplish, or it can cause you to feel overwhelmed which can cause writer’s block.
Designate Storage Areas
-
12
Organize your filing cabinet. Your filing cabinet should contain hanging files for bills of the month, receipts received, payments due, invoices and articles. Your articles should be broken up into three parts: not sold, all rights and reprints.
-
13
Organize your bookshelves. Your bookshelves will serve you better if you organize them by theme instead of by height or paperback versus hard back. Place all your marketing books in one section, your grammar books in another and your fiction tools in another. Do the same thing with your resource books, dividing them up by theme: dictionaries, encyclopedias and biographies. You can also use your shelves to store large or medium supplies, just make sure you organize those supplies by categories. For instance, discs, CD cases, printer ink and computer paper could go on one shelf while envelopes, stamps and other shipping supplies could go on another shelf.
-
14
Organize your supplies. If your desk has drawers, use the drawers to hide your pens, pencils, sharpener, ruler, stapler, paper clips, sticky notes, note pads and tape dispenser. If it’s out of sight, it’s less likely to distract you from your work. If, however, your desk doesn’t have drawers and doors, purchase clear plastic bins (roughly $3 to $6 at Wal-Mart) to store your supplies in, then place those bins on your bookshelves.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
To stay organized, spend a minimum of 15 minutes at the end of your day to tidy up your office.
As you read through your mail, make piles: file, trash, read later.
