I thought so.
One of the first things I did after we moved into our apartment was to set up a writing area in our second bedroom. It's a quiet corner filled with essential books, decorated appropriately with poetry and pictures of England, and outfitted with a substantial collection of office supplies as well as a printer (under the desk) and my IKEA chair Jeff (actually Jeff 2; I broke Jeff 1 by leaning too hard on the plastic backrest, then tried to make do with duct tape for a while before admitting I could probably just spring for another $10 chair).
So here's my writing nook:
One of the first things I did after we moved into our apartment was to set up a writing area in our second bedroom. It's a quiet corner filled with essential books, decorated appropriately with poetry and pictures of England, and outfitted with a substantial collection of office supplies as well as a printer (under the desk) and my IKEA chair Jeff (actually Jeff 2; I broke Jeff 1 by leaning too hard on the plastic backrest, then tried to make do with duct tape for a while before admitting I could probably just spring for another $10 chair).
So here's my writing nook:
...and here's where I actually do most of my work:
Not pictured are the stacks of books I often leave on the floor around
the couch and the dishes that usually join me at the coffee table for
lunch. As you can see, I've noted some of the convenient distractions that surround my work area of choice. I could also have pointed out my phone, although it's not much of a distraction because it's a three-year-old non-smart phone, and the big, comfy blanket my sister made for me.
Okay, so it doesn't seem like the most productive way to work, but I actually work better here than at my desk. Not only is the desk a little too high to sit at comfortably with a non-adjustable chair like Jeff, but when sitting on the couch I have more space to spread out my books and papers and I can look out the window once in a while to feel less isolated. Even when I had an office on campus, I rarely worked there outside of office hours because it was too cold and lonely. My ideal place to work is a coffee shop or a busy part of a library, because the background noise and the feeling of having other people around help me to be more focused and motivated. There are coffee shops just a short bike ride in either direction from my apartment, but I don't take advantage of those alternative work spaces as often as I'd like to. (Partly because I can only drink so much tea and hot chocolate. Also because my computer has to stay plugged in (it has no battery) and sit on an upside-down muffin pan (it overheats easily).)
How about you? Do you work best in quiet environments, or do you like background noise? If you work from home, how do you stay focused (I hear that working in a designated area helps, but I've already failed on that front)?
I almost always write at my kitchen table. I have a nice desk set-up in a bedroom, but I almost never use it. Tim also calls our bed my office because I work really well there too actually. That would have been a disaster in the undergrad years, but I'm much more well-rested these days. Godspeed with the work, where ever you're doing it!
ReplyDeleteI also like to write on my bed, which definitely would have been disastrous in undergrad (actually, I'm pretty sure I tried it on several occasions and it WAS a disaster). It's amazing how much more sleep I get now. I'm glad you're more well-rested these days too!
DeleteI rarely do my best work at home. I prefer the library. Far too much of my work is online these days - I do better analog.
ReplyDelete