What Does It Take to Create an Efficient Writer’s Office?

When you decided to become a writer, you probably didn’t think of what you’d need beyond your computer. But it takes more than a computer to make a writer. In fact, while your computer may be the heart of your writer’s office, it’s only one small part.

As anyone who works from home will tell you, there are some serious benefits. You can't beat the commute or the flexibility you have when it comes to structuring your day. But there are also drawbacks. Creating a makeshift office at the kitchen table could mean important documents end up with a coffee ring or worse, go missing.

Working full-time from home means that you’ll be in your office for long periods of time. It shouldn’t be a make-do situation. Thoughtful room design can make all the difference. From task lighting to functional storage, here are a few pointers for setting up an effective home office:

Lighting: Ensure you have both general and task lighting to prevent eyestrain. Ideally, office lighting should illuminate your work space without adding glare to your computer screen.

Ergonomics: Arrange your desk, chair and the computer screen so you're sitting in a neutral position while typing. Avoid any positions that require twisting or leaning forward, as both put a strain on your back. A good adjustable chair is a must. And that adjustment should be more than just up and down.

Cable Management: Computers are great but they and their peripherals require connecting cables—lots of them. Keeping them organized can be a challenge.  Keep control of cables with color-coded ties and clips. Identify each of them by taking an ordinary mailing label and folding it in half over the cable, then printing on it which device the cable connects to your computer. Don't forget to include a charging station for all of your electronic devices. Charging stations with multiple USB sockets are available online. Of course, you can always buy new wireless devices if you're on a broadband Internet network.

Aesthetics: Since you’re going to be spending a lot of your time in your writing space, you’ll want to make sure it looks good. Don’t just put your computer in an existing room, but design the space to make it pleasant in which to work.  Consider the view from your office window. If you don't have the luxury of overlooking a beautiful outdoor space, add decorative touches indoors.

Storage: Integrate functional storage into your office space. Plan for future storage, for if you’re in business for quite a while, you’ll need it. If space is at a premium, go vertical, adding storage boxes and file holders to shelves. Today, you have a wide variety of storage containers and units to choose from. But think out your storage first and don’t succumb to building your office like topsy.

Put Everything in Its P-L-A-C-E - Part 3

In the first two installments of discussing how to organize your office, we looked at organizing your files and books, but if you’ve been working in your office for a longer time, it may be time to take aggressive action against clutter. To clear it of clutter and organize items for easy access and appearance, you’ll need to use the P-L-A-C-E process.

You can start decluttering your office by using the five steps in P-LA-C-E—Purge, Like-with-Like, Access, Contain, and Evaluate.

Purge: First, clear your space of clutter by dumping, donating, or distributing everything you no longer need. Whether you toss the dried-up pens in your desk drawer, clean out old files, toss away outdated research, or donate the books you no longer need, purging can ernpower all your organizing efforts. And you’ll see immediate results. As you get rid of those things that have built up over the years you’ve been in business, you’ll uncover additional storage space that will help to get your office organized.

Like-with-Like: The second step in putting things into place is to organize like things together. It’s amazing how many different places you’ve been storing paper for printing or office supplies like pens and such. The latter seem to grow like Topsy with a mugful here and a small box there.  Not only does grouping help you know where to look, whether you're searching for a file or a pen that works, but placing similar items together also often creates “centers,” one-stop spots with everything you need to complete a task.

Access: Once you have things grouped, placement for easy access is your next priority. Where do you usually use these items? Put them there. Place all items used daily on, in, or near your desk so that you don’t have to go hunting for them. For example, store printing paper next to, above, or under your printer. Perhaps build a small shelf on which to sit your printer, underneath which you can pile several stackable, plastic desk organizers in which to place your printing paper. Allow a separate organizer for each type of paper.  Place file cabinets with recent files close to your desk. You might even want to consider building a new desk area using file cabinets with a hollow-core door placed on top. It’s much cheaper and more efficient than the office furniture sold in office supply stores.

Contain: Containers do double duty from an organizing perspective—they keep like things together, and move things out of sight to clear the landscape and your mind. You can contain things on shelves, in drawers, with bookends or magazine holders, in hanging files, or in baskets, boxes, or closed containers in a variety of materials, shapes, and sizes. Contain within containers by adding dividers to drawers. The more you contain, the better you’ll feel. Don’t opt for expensive containers sold in office supply stores. Instead, check out your local dollar or discount stores. You’ll be amazed at what you can find for a dollar. You might also consider making your own specialized containers from assorted boxes.  Cut on a diagonal, some boxes can work well as magazine holders, and you’ll get two from every box.

Evaluate: After you complete the first four steps of P-L-A-C-E, you’ll need to evaluate your results. Did everything work as planned? Organization is an ongoing process, and organizing can often be improved upon as your needs change or you sharpen your skills. When you evaluate and adjust over time, your organization systems become self-maintaining. A good time to assess your organization is when you change direction or start a new line of writing. Writing books, for example, demands a different type of organization than writing articles or short stories. For one thing, you’ll need more storage for all your notes and drafts. What would have been contained in one manila folder for an article may take one or two or more file boxes for a book. 

Finally, schedule a yearly checkup to help you keep everything working at peak level and up-to-date with your current needs. You might plan this over the holidays in December or even on New Year’s Day.

Next week, we’ll attack your desk. It’s the place where you spend most of your time, so you’ll want to make it as efficient, attractive, and ergonomically comfortable as possible.

On Your Way to Getting Organized - Part 2

Getting organized is a great way to increase productivity. If you’ve created a plan and an Organizing To-Do List, it’s time to get started.

By this time, you should have already begun to assess your file situation. Organizing your files can be a big job, especially if you haven’t done that from the beginning. You’ll want to do a little at a time. Don’t try to completely reorganize your filing system in one fell swoop. It’s best to start by listing the major categories under which you’ll fill your work and notes. If you write fiction, you’ll probably only have two categories—short fiction and novels—plus any other genres you work with. In this system, you’ll want to create a separate subcategory for each book you write since books tend to accumulate a large volume of notes.

If you write non-fiction, then your filing system will be more complex since most non-fiction writers work in several subject categories. You’ll not only have the subject categories, but also article and book categories. And as with fiction, each book will become its own subcategory under books. You may also have research materials—notes, clippings, booklets, etc.—to file.
Creating a filing plan is essential.

Since you’ll be working on our files for some time, let’s turn to organizing your overall office space. As to where to start, you have two choices—begin with the space that will be the easiest to organize or start with the hardest and most frustrating, better known as the “hot spot.” If you choose the latter, you may find it tough going for a while, but once you figure out the solution to the “hot spot,” you’ll find it much easier to continue.

While it’s best to organize things right in your office, you may want to designate a recycling area in which you can immediately put anything that needs to be recycled. This includes paper and cardboard, magazines, old books, plastic and glass, etc. Be sure to gather some sturdy boxes in which you can place these items so you won’t have to repack them later.

Before you begin organizing your office, you should gather containers in which to store like items. Check office supply stores, dollar stores, and discount stores for various types of containers. They come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, so you won’t have any problem finding just the ones you need. Look at the items you have now and figure out what types of containers you’ll need—trays, crates, baskets, drawers, etc. Match the container to the item that will be stored in it. Measure the item(s) and storage space first, then search for the container to fit that space.  Or start with the container, say plastic crates, and build shelves to hold them.

While filing cabinets may seem the logical way to store your files, you’ll never have enough filing cabinet space to hold all your files. Use filing cabinets for only your active files. All others can be stored in filing boxes in your attic or basement or another room.

As a writer, you’ll most likely have a collection of reference books, as well as books you’ve read or are planning to read. Book storage can take up a lot of space. Unlike non-writers who give away or trade books they’ve read as soon as they’re finished, you may want to hold on to more than a few as references or to read again for technique. The number of books to store adds up fast. You can never have too many bookshelves in your office. One small three-shelf unit won’t do. You’ll need floor-to-ceiling units with shelves of various heights to hold all the books in your collection. Plan these out carefully for the most efficiency.

And create a system to organize your books. The Dewey system works for libraries and a modified version can work well for your book collection. In any event, group your books by subject and in alphabetical order. And when you use a book, put it back in its original place. At some point, you may want to create database of your books—first, to help you know if you have a particular book and second, to make it easier to find it.

Next week, I’ll show you how to put everything in its P-L-A-C-E, an acronym for a five-step process to help you unclutter your office, the first step to true organization.

A Room of Your Own

Technology today allows you to write just about anywhere. However, running a successful business requires you to be organized. And as much as the techies keep telling us that computers allow us to have paperless offices, the more paper we seem to accumulate.

You’ll find that you’ll be better equipped to compete in the freelance marketplace if you have your own office. Sure, laptops and tablets allow you to write allow you to write wherever you happen to be and cell phones allow you to conduct interviews and do online research. But being totally mobile doesn’t help you stay organized, especially if like me you focus on non-fiction.

A home office has its advantages. First, there’s no rent to pay. You also don't have to worry about commuting, especially in bad weather. When you're not feeling up to par, you can do filing or paying bills, while still taking it easy. Also, if you’re working at home you may be less likely to catch those nasty viruses. You can also keep up with the news by radio or television if you want. You'll find you can work in whatever degree of casual attire you like. And finally, there's less wear and tear on your car or transportation budget.

Start with your own office, no matter how small it might be—a space entirely yours that’s available to you at any and all times where you do nothing but business tasks. It’s not impossible to freelance without an office, but it’s harder. In fact, you’ll soon realize that having your own office will increase your productivity. Here is the place you can steal away to when the creative urge hits or when you need to concentrate on a particularly difficult project.

You can create an office almost anywhere in your home or apartment. It can be in the corner of a room to start, but soon you’ll find that there’s no way to keep the interruptions from happening. It should be located in a room with a door, preferably one that you can lock from both sides. It’s not a good idea to take over your whole basement, for example, because no one else will be able to use it at the same time. Take a corner and put up two simple walls of framing and plasterboard with a door. Make sure the area has electrical connections and perhaps phone connections. You can do the same in any room in your house. Or take over a small bedroom.

While many homes have more than one computer, some have only one, shared by all the members of the family. This won’t do to freelance. Sure, you might be able to work when children are in school and your spouse is at work, but what if you have a sudden deadline, and someone else is using the computer? It’s best to plan on buying a desktop or laptop of your own, dedicated to your business—one that no one else should use. Remember, computer viruses brought home from school or work can infect your computer as easily as those that infect humans. And you need to protect your work at all times.

Some people need more creature comforts to work effectively than others. How fancy you make your office is up to you. Essentially, you’ll need a desk—not necessarily an actual desk—file cabinets or shelves with file boxes, a comfortable chair besides your desk chair in which you can sit and read over your drafts, and whatever other creature comforts you’d like.

And as mentioned above, using a computer doesn’t eliminate the need for paper files. Over time, these will multiply, and you’ll have to deal with them. As a freelancer, it’s important to keep at least one file folder for each piece you write. If you write books, then you’ll need at least one file folder for each chapter.  Over the years, you’ll discover that boxes of files seem to accumulate faster than you can find a place to store them. So start planning on a storage area for your files from the start.

It’s a lot easier to convince people that you’re a legitimate business today than it was a few years ago. Home offices are quite common since modern technology has enabled many people to work out of their homes. But you’ll probably have to set some ground rules, unless you live and work alone. Make sure your family understands that when you’re in your office, you’re working and should not be disturbed. With a proper office, you’ll also be able to apply for credit, etc., as a bonafide business. And don’t forget to fill out the form for deducting business expenses in your home with your federal and state income tax.

NOTE: If your office looks like the one pictured above, then you're probably not writing. You're only dreaming about being a writer.