Organize Your Writing Desk in Four
Easy Steps
By April Aragam
Copyright © 2007 by April Aragam All Rights Reserved
With all of the papers, books, mail and writing supplies a writer has to
deal with, it would be nice to have an area that is manageable and
attractive at the same time. Can it be done? It surely can. Use the
following tips to help you in your quest to achieve a more organized
writing desk:
1. Make a clean start
The first step to organizing any area well is to clean it out completely
before you start. Take everything off of the desk top (the computer can
stay), out of any drawers and cupboards you may have. Yes, this may make
more of a mess for a bit, but it is well worth it. If you have a shelf
over your desk, attached or not, clean that off too. You'll
need all the space you can get.
2. Designate a space for needed items
Trinkets are cute, but you don't
especially need them on your desk. A photo or two of the family is
probably enough. Before you start putting things back, think about where
things would be best suited. If you use your pens a lot, you want them
right within reach. If you don't
use your dictionary or thesaurus much (or prefer the online version) you
might want to put those books farther away from you. Don't
forget about under your desk; if there is enough room, that could be the
perfect place to store your accordion filer. Before you start putting
things back, ask yourself if you actually use them for your writing
career -- and how much. That will determine if and where you replace
them. If something isn't going to go back into your work area, don't
forget to put it in its proper place.
3. Organizational Tools
The accordion filer was mentioned earlier; these come in very handy for
storing clipped articles, mail, your personal clips, etc. Use a mug
(maybe one your child made for you at school: a functional trinket) to
store your pens, highlighters, pencils, letter opener, etc. Use small,
clear jars to store things such as paper clips. Instead of using scraps
of paper to jot down things you find online or think of while you're
working, have a mini-notebook that you can scribble in. This saves you
the hassle of having to clean up and organize more loose papers later
on. To keep projects separated use colored folders. This comes in
especially handy if you're
doing research for projects.
4. Keep it tidy
To help yourself stay organized at your desk, make it a habit to tidy up
at the end of each work day. Put things back where they belong, and if
you know what you'll
need for the next day, lay it out. If you find that you're
not using something anymore, don't
hesitate to put it someplace else.
When people think of writers they often think of a messy workspace, but
it doesn't
have to be that way. Most of us work better in an organized space. We
don't
have to spend as much time looking for things and can spend more time
working on our craft. |
