My office is one of my most important tools for my business. It is where I do the majority of the work, so it needs to function for me and feel good at the same time. It had not been feeling good to me lately, so I changed it. I emptied the room. Yep, took everything out. Started over. I had three goals in mind… it all started with the chair.
First, I wanted to see outside from my office chair. So, with the room cleared, I took the chair back in and sat in a variety of spots until I found the one I liked. Then I put the desk where it needed to be for the space to work with the office chair. I can now see out my door, out the front of the house to the trees and yard below, and I created more desk space in the process.
Things that were in various stages of need on it’s shelves. Now that those things were out in the nearby bedroom, I could breathe. So, I sorted: stuff to store, stuff to toss, stuff to donate… and I was honest with myself about whether or not I ever really wanted to “do” those things. The shredder was busy. I let go of some stuff that needed to be let go of , things I kept out of some sense of duty rather than need, like 5 years of Franklin Planners in storage binders, the empty planner binder in case I went back to paper, someday, the myriad of books that I hoped to read again someday, the volumes of magazines that had stacked up for months. It took about 6 hours, but that stuff was all dealt with, and the tops of the cherry unit became closet storage.Next, I wanted wall space. I once had a towering cherry wall unit behind my desk that while beautiful, was filled with stuff that I seldom, if ever, used. It was a dust collector, really, and loomed over my head with tasks.
I kept the bottoms in the room and used them for storage and a nice, clean work top. I hung a cork board above them with my vision board and calendar, and some other important things to keep at top of mind. I finally had what I was craving. Open air and wall space. The physical things hanging over my head were gone.
And finally, I wanted space to work but not be at my computer… to read, write, take classes online (watching on my iPad to clear my head from what is on my work machine) and just be. I freed up a corner and in that space I have an old conference room chair and a bench rather than a table, because I am reusing things that we already had in the house. It isn’t cozy yet, but it is getting there. I would love to find a big, soft, comfy chair and ottoman for that corner… but for now it works and gives me a retreat in my space. It makes my heart sing when I begin my day there each day. It was a much needed corner and space for me.
So, as time and the budget allows, I will fix that corner space… it’s sort of funny that the journey is also ending with the chair, that chair. I will be working on blankets and pillows and maybe a few resale shop visits or garage sales to find some things to put there that will fill that space with warmth, comfort, and joy. If I find the perfect snuggle up and read chair, great. If I don’t for a while, then that is okay, too, because it is amazing what just clearing a space does for your heart and soul.
What about you? Do you have a spot you work in when you need inspiration?