Have you heard that you should treat your body as a temple?

Well, that’s all well and good. But there’s one place that needs to be even more respected.

Your desk.

Just like staying away from alcohol and fast food, creating and maintaining a creative, clean and inspiring workstation is easier said than done.

But with the right tools, it’s possible.

Here’s what you need:

1. Plenty of space

The last thing you want is to be constantly fumbling over or searching underneath the junk that sometimes collects. As weird as it may be, my desk is actually a wooden door that has been cut down to fit into the alcove in my bedroom (Thanks Dad!). But that means I have plenty of room to spread my papers and tools out, easily access my keyboard and still have room to spare.

2. A comfy chair and 3. A blanket

Numb butt, sore lower back, slouched shoulders, forward neck… All scary consequences of the wrong chair. Mine looks a little funky – it’s actually a knee chair! – but it does the trick.

Coziness is also a key piece of the comfort needed to settle into your work. My mermaid blanket keeps my legs/feet warm and my arms free. Fuzzy socks also do the trick.

4. Your Favorite Beverage

The only reason that isn’t a glass of wine is because I took these pictures at eight thirty in the morning…

Trick of the trade: Hot beverages get cold really quickly when you’re wrapped up in your writing. A YETI tumbler solves those woes.

5. Writing instruments + post-its

If you didn’t know about my OCD, color-coordinating tendencies before, you do now. These specific tools usually don’t come in until the revision stage, but you want to make sure they’re always close at hand. Curious what the colors mean? Find out here.

6. The world’s greatest notebook

 

My biggest pet peeve about most notebooks? The inability to move pages around.

Enter: Levenger Circa.

With these notebooks, you can remove and replace pages whenever, wherever, and however you want. In the middle of a big revision? Print out your work in progress, use the Levenger hole punch, add some Circa discs… and voila! You have a semi-bound book, and you can move, delete, or add scenes as often as you’d like.

7. A little bit of whimsy

Candles, twinkle lights, flowers… Whatever stokes your creativity!

I chose to install two parallel cork boards on either side of my desk to fill with pictures and inspirational quotes. That way, whenever I am having a moment of weakness or self-doubt, all I have to do is look over and see everyone who is rooting for me.

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Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments below!