My office has moved (again) - to the third floor of the house, the loft conversion. It's a move which took place more by 'necessity' than it was by design. That is, my teen decided that despite having commandeered the loft a few years ago (shifting me out), it's a space which has proven too large for her. In teen logic, the larger the room, the more space there is to make a mess - a matter which is in direct correlation with how disillusioned I get and how much I actively wish I didn't ever have to step foot in there again and lay my tired eyes on the debris, or hear the sound of my nagging voice; "Quick! Come look?! I think somebody broke in and vandalised your room! "
So now I work on the third floor of the house, where in my ideal world I can get my head down and get more done. The harsh reality is that the outside world just knows when I am up there, and they start to knock on the door on a frequent basis, knocks which become louder with their impatience as I try to avoid death by falling as I skip down the (stupid) spiral staircase, and charge across the landing to head down yet another flight of stairs. Of course, they also know when I am approximately half way there, and they get ready to make a run for it and hide just before I make a dishevelled appearance at the door! Solution ? I thought about an intercom, but haven't surpassed 'thinking' stages yet.
My office is set up perfectly. I have a large and comfortable desk space, large monitors to work on, Wacom tablet and Cintiq set up and ready to go whenever I need them. In the day I like to have music running in the background, something a bit upbeat to keep my working tempo running along nicely. For every ounce of 'progress' made in the speaker industry, I still love my trusty old Kef's, which are perched nicely on their stands around my office space. I never fail to acknowledge that they do the job far better than any device I've bought and discarded since. If I happen to be working at night I like plenty of light but nothing overwhelming. The spots in the eaves and around the spirals work nicely for this. Filing cabinets and shelves work their magic for 'storage', and conveniently there is somewhere to lounge if I need to read, or watch a movie on my HD monitor (for 'research'... obviously ;-) ).
Yep, it has taken many years to work out what my ideal 'office' set up is. The gadgets and gizmo's I need around me for productivity, how I like my working space to look and feel. The loft ? Has it all!
Why then do I insist on doing the vast majority of my work on the laptop? Furthermore, how come I choose to do that work amongst the everyday hustle and bustle of family life? Dog nipping at me for a walk, child nipping at me for just about everything, TV blaring, dinner burning, phone ringing, SMS pinging, Emails gazinging ... Sigh. Yet here I am at my most comfortable - I say, as I roll my eyes at yet another intrusion and wonder how on earth am I meant to finish this post ?
Still, my uncomfortable nook in the lounge, or the kitchen, or perched on the side of the bath as I hastily jot down something or other, is where I get most of my work done. Don't ask me why, especially don't ask me how! Perhaps it is because I am a natural procrastinator? Maybe I need to feel the 'pressure' in order to actually output anything? It's true, a lot of the blog posts that I produce for other people are borne on a restaurant napkin, the back of my hand, or my trusty smart phone.
I love my office, it is perfect. Perfectly out of sight it seems. Although I do visit it occasionally, for example if designing book jacket covers (because I need the cintiq / wacom tablet), each and every sojourn there leaves me wondering 'why don't I come here more often ? I get along with this room so well !'
Alas it has been said many times, that when writing, blogging, accessing your thoughts, your creativity, find your space, find the place where you are most productive and run with it. 'My office' is a working example of this, because the fact is that my 'office' is really the busiest, most inconvenient and most inconceivable nooks and crannies of my day to day life. It is in those moments my brain is at it's most alert, most productive even... and when it needs down time? There is always the loft, where only the sudden onset of incessant knocking at the door will disturb my 'research' ;-).
