The New Office is Almost Finished...

For years I've said that writing was a dream come true but also terrible in the sense that I spent far too much time sitting. Most of the time I tried to get up and walk around every so often. This was especially helpful when plotting a new book or when I'd written myself into a corner. There's nothing like mindless physical activity (or taking a shower) for getting the words flowing. Still, when I was deep into a book or on a deadline, I would often end up sitting for hours on end, sometimes late into the night. I knew that couldn't be good, but I wasn't very good at taking care of the problem. So, recently I decided to make a change. I'd been writing at the same desk for over 20 years. I liked the desk; I liked my space, even though it was sometimes messy. Here's what it looked like.

Here's what changed.

I got rid of the old $5 Venture (remember Venture?) plastic window blinds that were broken and replaced them with on-sale top down, bottom up shades to let in more light. They were a steal at half price.

I bought a sit/stand desk and a mat, (the mat is because standing can be hard on the back and knees).

I had no drawers, so I bought an inexpensive rolling cart (not too well made and doesn't really roll very well on carpeting, but it's serviceable) and substituted plastic bins (some are from my kitchen!) for drawers.

For the past week, I've been starting my day standing, then I sit for a while, have lunch, go back to standing, then sitting, and so on. I love it. Standing makes it easier for me to move around and I was surprised at how quickly I adjusted to working while on my feet. The mat is big, but it's sturdy, so I can easily lean it against something when I need to switch to sitting.

The cart isn't wonderful, but it's serviceable, and I rarely need to use it, anyway. As long as I have my computer, some pens and paper and a printer, I'm happy. I'm hoping this will also help with creativity, since as I mentioned, movement tends to make me think.

So, that's my experiment...so far.

If you have any great health tips for writers, post them in the comments section. I'd love to hear what other people are doing. (And if you're an author, feel free to promote your book or include a link to your website).

Also, if anyone wants to try this, but isn't ready to go to this extreme, I began by raising my monitor and keyboard using books, boxes and whatever else I could find just to see if this was going to work for me. IKEA also sells a hand crank desk that, at $239, is pretty reasonably priced. I've tried it in the store. It's not bad.

So...back to standing. Wish me luck!

Making Time to Organize

A few weeks ago I decided to organize my office. This is where I stalled. I definitely need to do something about the bookshelves. I also really need to get more writing done. I'm working on two projects at once now, with another on the way, so...maybe I should just pile all the books (and other things) in a box. At least then I wouldn't have to look at it while I work. It's very distracting. Except...there are research books in the mix, quite a few of them (you can't see them all here. There are more shelves to the left). I need those for writing and if I put them in a box...well, that's just not going to happen, is it?

And there you have it. My office is always my downfall when it comes to cleaning. I'm not a horrendously neat person, but I usually manage to get to the main cleaning projects regularly. I can do dishes all day and never mind at all. Beds? No problem. Laundry. I rather like doing laundry. Dusting and vacuuming, not so much, but it gets done, albeit not as often as it should. The office, however, is always a different story. It requires lots of thought, lots of sorting and a will of iron to recycle, donate or toss the things necessary to really clean things up. I try to do it over a period of days, but when something pressing comes up, there goes the plan and I end up only halfway through. By the time I get back to it, I have to start all over again.

I'm not going to ask if you're neater than I am. Most of you must be. But surely everyone has at least one part of cleaning that they like less than others. What's yours?

Have a great day!

Myrna