Anatomy of a desk

the anatomy of a desk

The joy of working from home is you can work from anywhere.  Bed.  The garden.  The local coffee shop when you get bored.   The kitchen table.  The corner of the dining room.  Or a room you call your office.   You might not even have a desk to work on, I know that I am very lucky to have one that is just mine, that doesnt need to be shared with anybody else and that allows me to work in peace and comfort.

Is it important to have your own space if you are working from home?

I am on the second office at home, with a brief spell at the kitchen table in between and only now do I feel settled, that this is my office.   As much as I love working from home it is easy to feel that you never leave it, that you are always switched on, so it has been important for me to carve out a space that I can walk away from.   Whilst also feeling that I am not stuck in a corner staring at a wall, as I was in my first “office at home”.

If space permits I really do think that people working from home should have their own designated space.  Even if that is a corner of the dining room, that table should be viewed as an office space, it shouldn’t be seen as a dumping ground.   I really think that devalues the hard work that is done at that desk, and ultimately the monetary contribution that job makes to the household.  It also sends a clear signal to others in the household that when you are there you are working and disturbances should be kept to a minimum.

Is positioning of your desk important?

We live in a Victorian house so the “front rooms” mirror each other.  Only one has a better view as you can see the end of the drive and people wandering past during the day, all things that are important to me.   So when my dad gave me his old desk that he couldn’t take to their new house I knew I wanted it in the middle of the room, facing the window.   An odd arrangement I grant you, and I am sure the postman thinks I am only doing it so i can spy on him, but it works.   I can look up and see sky, the church, life.

And the bins.   Less said about them the better.

If Feng shui is important to you then you will know that actually you shouldn’t directly face a window but I wanted the view so I tried to incorporate the other Feng shui elements: not facing a wall, not having my back to a door, not flat against a wall, so I think the position now is perfect.

What does the anatomy of a perfect desk look like?

Thank god you asked.  This might not be perfect but right now this is what mine looks like

1  A mucky duck that my in laws sent me this week as a little something for my desk.  He is for cleaning my computer so you can’t see the back of him as he is now FILTHY.

2  My folder with press releases and notes on blog posts I want to write.   In an effort to be organised I keep everything in there.  Not only does it mean I know where everything is, it means I know what I still need to write about if I have been sent something to review.  I am woefully behind.  Sorry if you work in PR and are reading this.

The tray below is work related, boring price lists and other bits and pieces I need to try and sound efficient when a landlord calls me.

3  My Twix.  This is the Twix I was given in Jordan by a mum who had hosted us in the community.  She had relatively little yet insisted on us all leaving with a bar of chocolate.  I shall keep it forever.  In front of it are my two stones from the Azraq camp.

4  Beside it is my soap, made by one of the other mums we met.   Such amazingly talented, warm and generous ladies who I will never forget.

5   Boring but I don’t drink enough water so I am trying to make sure I get through at least two of these every day.

6  My funny clenched fist pen pot.   I don’t know why but it makes me laugh

7  The laptop.  Without which I would be lost.   A Christmas present from my parents, it goes everywhere with me.

8  Who doesn’t love a notebook.  I always have one and am relying on them more and more.  This one has notes, randomly, from previous trips abroad to what we are having for tea this week, to notes made during phone calls.   I couldn’t be without this anymore either

9  This is the bible.   The book in which if it is not written it isn’t happening.  I have always had a diary and this is the current incarnation.   A day to a page and it all goes in.   Things that need to be done, things to post, calls to make, bits of paper that need to be signed and sent back to school, it is all in there.   It does not move from my desk.

And actually nor do I much these days.   But then that could be because I am either having half an hour and a quick catch up on another episode of House of Cards on Netflix (oh my god how good is season 5?!!).

Or daydreaming and staring out of the window.

Which pretty much makes my desk perfect I think.

So there you have it, my anatomy of a desk.   I would love to hear about yours