Last week was a wash for both of my blogs, but I know it’s important to get right back on schedule so here I am. Life has hiccups sometimes, and that’s why I want to make a plan to write ahead so that hiccups don’t result in days without posts. However, that’s out in the future, and for now, I’m just okay with hopping back on the schedule.
While I didn’t have a lot of free writing time last week, I did have brainstorming time at night when I needed to focus my brain for sleep. I kept wondering what I wanted to write about changing careers. I’ve already established that I want to write, and I’m taking my time looking for opportunities. I don’t feel ready to share those experiences yet because I don’t feel like I’ve learned enough. I just kept going around and around trying to figure out what I should focus on, and it occurred to me that I was working on my work-from-home setup. I’m needing to change from a school-based setup to a work-based setup, and I realized that was the beginning of some new posts. How do I create a good work-from-home office setup?
While still finding my writing zone for this blog last year, I did several posts about decluttering because I was in the middle of that. Decluttering came to a grinding halt when I tried a new job with a non-profit. The job didn’t fit the family schedule that I needed so I resigned, and decluttering fell even further behind with the holidays. Here I am again trying to get rid of things. This time, there’s a difference. I have a couple of future goals that I’m working toward, and that makes it easier to know what stays and what goes. The decluttering has begun again!
I am currently working on a setup that will give me a desk to stand at and a desk to sit at. I’m still trying to visualize how I want that arranged because there are too many other things in the way. Hence, I am decluttering. In the not-too-distant future, my living situation will be changing, and I will have more space. However, I don’t want to overcrowd the new living space when it happens. I would rather make it work in this smaller space so that I have more freedom to move in the new, larger space.
My decluttering experience over the last couple of years has helped me ask better questions when I start going through clutter. Everyone has their own reasons for building up clutter which means we all of our own reasons for decluttering as well. My personal decluttering manual is Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K. White. She and I have similar “clutter” personalities. While her methods may not work for you, I do suggest you find a methodology that does work for you. She breaks things down enough that it makes sense to me, and I can tackle a few items at a time. I might not get a lot done each time, but I know that I have dealt with any items that I’ve touched when I use her suggestions. Not sure where to start? How about going to Amazon and searching for decluttering books? Click on your favorite search engine and do the same, or go straight to YouTube and begin there. Whatever you do, just have a basic plan so that you don’t get started and then realize you have a massive mess on your hands when you are ready to stop. That’s why Dana’s ideas work for me.
Here I go! I’m going to be decluttering as much as I can this month to make my office space more work friendly, and I’ll share what I’m learning and doing as I go. For instance, today was the day I sorted through some paperwork that needed to be handled, made a list of tasks and goals for the week, handled emails, took care of some basic chores, and planned tomorrow. As I look around at what still needs to be done, it’s a lot, but I’ve made the first step.
When you’re making that move from assigned desk or office space to one of your own, take time to figure out what setup works for you. I will probably simulate a particular work setup I had in an office because it worked particularly well for me there. In the process, I’ll be deciding what stays and what goes for my current and future workspaces. Make sure your space is comfortable enough that you enjoy showing up to it every day so you can make that work-from-home experience better than working for someone else.
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Inspirational Verses for the Day:
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21, NKJV)
All Things Subject to Change 