Nothing has quite driven home how important personal work space is for a writer more than the last month and a half. I wasn’t happy with my production levels before, but now I feel like I am unable to do anything of value. I went from 2000 words per day on average to around 300 words per day at best.
I still have a desk, if not the most comfortable one, but it is situated right in the middle of everything going on. While the internet connection is still being problematical on my daughter’s homeschooling computer, I also have to share my computer with her. I don’t begrudge her that, but it does limit the amount of time I can actively work on my writing.
When I do have time to work, there is generally a TV, a noisy tablet and at least one conversation going on within five feet of where I am trying to focus. Needless to say it is not the best working condition. Eventually, things will settle out again and I will once more have the private space to dedicate to my work.
If you’ve been putting it off, don’t. Your writing will suffer until you can set something up. Pick a calm location with limited foot traffic. Make sure you have a comfortable chair and enough space to keep a few notes handy while you are writing. Lastly, make sure you have the ability to turn off the internet while you work unless you are doing research. Having an external wireless that can be unplugged and set aside somewhere helps to limit the temptation to turn it back on.
Just this simple place dedicated to comfort, silence and writing will do wonders for your workload. I can’t stress enough just how much this has affected my own writing and just how much it is going to influence your own. Why are you still reading? Go. Get yourself a space set up!
