An Organized Desk

I got tons of things on my task list done on Friday. I counted. Ten things got done! Ten. That's got to be a record, right? 

Okay, it took almost three hours. But after having the kids and the husband home for three snow days, this day home alone was just begging to be productive. It's also been begging for a Hart of Dixie marathon, so that happened, too.

It also helped that my new desk is finally all set up just the way that I like it. I've shown pictures of my new desk recently, but I wanted to share some tips for setting up an at-home work area now that I am fully moved into the space.

TIP: Have a dedicated location for doing your work. It will help you to focus.

I mostly work from home, so I need a central location for all of my stuff. It's amazing how much you get done when you have a dedicated place to work, whether it's household management (like paying bills or calling the insurance company), work (for me, writing my novel or doing legal work), or play (I am going to beat my friend in Germany at Facebook Scrabble someday, even if he does have a perfect SAT score, darn it).

TIP: Keep your bags in an accessible location.

You'll notice that I keep my purse and work bag (for substitute teaching) hanging from my desk. Hiding behind my laptop is a black bag. I have a cold, so I am carrying tissues, water, medicines, cough drops, and the thermometer everywhere I go in the house. It's the first time I've had a cold and not left a trail of mess in my wake.

TIP: If you get sick, make a bag of self-care items and carry it with you.

On the top shelf, I keep a container with paper clips and binder clips, a contraption that has buttons that I press when I lose my keys that makes them beep, my hole punches for my planners, and a picture of my husband.

TIP: It's okay to personalize your desk (say with pictures), but don't go overboard. The space is for working, after all.

On the next shelf, I kept a small container for things that come home and leave with me, like my watch and my keys, a small container for magnetic bookmarks and my to do list stamp, and an ink pen cup.

TIP: Have a home for your keys.

See the wire basket? That's the most brilliant part of my desk set-up. The basket is for things that need to go to other rooms. If I stand up, I empty the basket. I didn't have the desk set-up this way at first, but do you realize how many things end up on a desk that don't belong there? Medicines, nail polish, remote controls.

TIP: Have a dedicated space for things that belong elsewhere, so you can return them to your homes all at once.

The working shelf holds my planners and my laptop, along with a water bottle and my coupon folder.

Notice how my desk allows me to also work at the kitchen table, if I need extra space. It's also in a remote corner of the kitchen, so that I can work quietly, see the television in the living room, or oversee dinner cooking while I work. And the desk closes right up, to hide my mess.

TIP: Don't place your desk in an area so remote that you will never use it. 

My printer and trash can are also right near the desk. And you can't see it, but I have a space on the bottom shelf to hold receipts and paper, plus a magazine rack to use as an in-box/file container.

Now, to get some writing done.

Etcetera.