Flipping your creativity switch with your work space

My back can’t take the limbo that has been 2025.

Packing, moving, selling my house, new jobs, new rental, new house, trying to keep my freelancing business running, saying goodbye to good friends, making new ones. It’s been a rollercoaster of a year, but I learned so much about myself and my business.

You don’t truly learn what’s important until you decide what to take with you halfway across the country and what to donate, gift, or trash. And besides my husband and my cat, the most important thing to me has been my office.

It was one of the last things I packed up and one of the first things I unpacked, and there is nothing better than ensuring your space is one where you can get stuff done, stay motivated, be inspired and create.

A look back on the past year

We lived out of suitcases for over half the year.

We sorted and sold and donated and trashed whatever we could.

We lived in someone else’s space for months.

After eight months, we are finally in our own home and starting to settle.

I always say the joy of my job is that I can work from anywhere, but is that really true?

Sure, anytime I have a laptop in front of me I can write stories and do research, work on my bookkeeping and make sure I’m getting paid. But these are all short term periods like at an airport or in a coffee shop.

When you’re renting from someone long term, your day-to-day space just doesn’t feel right.

I found a space to work at a kitchen table and chair that wasn’t mine. I unpacked my laptop and had great wi-fi. I always had a pen and highlighter on hand and had full access to my email and word processor.

But it was never my space.

Now with nearly my entire desk set up, I feel like I can breathe, like I can get my work done, find more work to do, and not need to pack everything up at the end of the day.

The things that keep me grounded, encourage me to keep working, and inspire me now have a home.

My photos, awards, and lanyards from numerous conferences proclaiming what I do have a home.

Old pieces of Saskatchewan, new pieces of Yukon, of my husband, my mom, my sister, and my nieces have a home.

My to-do pile, my dream article pile, and the huge stack of research papers that I fully intend to eventually read have a home.

Here is where I can focus. Here is where I can be motivated. Here is where I can breathe.

Going deeper

Our home offices are so much more than what we can see.

Have we created a healthy, comfortable, and convenient space where everything is there to help us learn more, earn more, and achieve more?

A lot of office comforts and healthy lifestyle choices go hand-in-hand.

Do we have a comfortable chair that we can sit in for hours without straining our bodies? Is the lighting sufficient without straining our eyes? Is our desk set up of screen(s), keyboard, and mouse comfortable and ergonomical?

If you’re sitting at your desk wishing for things to be different; whether that is where your desk is in the room, where your screen is on your desk, or where that pile of clutter is that you find yourself constantly reaching around to get to other more important things, invest the time and money to create a comfortable space.

What about from a digital perspective?

Are you far enough away from your screen that you should probably increase the zoom of your word processor so you’re not straining your eyes?

Should you be wearing your glasses you keep forgetting to wear when you know you’re going to be staring at a screen for seven hours of the day?

Hang on while I go do both.

Are the programs or platforms you’re using helping you or hindering you? Are there better options that are worth the time to learn and will be money well invested?

Is your time on social media adding to your ROI in some way or is it a waste of valuable desk time? Is it destressing you as much as you think or just a waste of time in the doom scroll pit?

Is your phone in plain sight because it needs to be? Can you find a spot where you can avoid it if need be but still reach for it when you need it?

I have to deal with my ADHD on top of just trying to get work finished by the end of the day. If I have to wait for anything, I get this waiting problem where I either get lost in the weeds of something else that distracts me, like doom scrolling, or I wait longer than I should for something and get nothing done.

Anything that keeps me on task, like my dayplanner or post-in note reminders, help me battle back against this inconvenient waiting problem.

For convenience sake, what are some things that could add to the convenience of your desk?

Do lists help you plan for the week ahead and get things done?

Does scheduling weekly decluttering sessions keep you fresh and motivated?

What time of the day do you get the most things done and do you stay away from your desk and give yourself a break outside those times?

A proper desk space is not a prison, but somewhere you can escape from when you need to. Rest is just as important as productivity, so make sure to factor in that as well when you’re making your space your own.