David Allen's desk

I saw this posted on the GTD (Getting Things Done) Twitter feed, and loved seeing David Allen's workspace. It shows how simple a desk configuration can be, and I love how it's not completely minimalistic. It actually shares many elements that make up my desk area, down to the inbox and project support vertical file holder, with different aesthetics. Here are the two for comparison. Click an image to see it larger.

Workspace inspiration

I love the blog Unclutterer, and they have a weekly feature called Workspace of the Week that highlights unique or exceptionally well-organized workspaces, usually home offices. I love looking at how real people have organized their workspaces, as opposed to the ultra-perfect spaces you tend to see in magazines. If you are looking for some inspiration for your own workspace, I encourage you to check out their archives.

Screenshot from unclutterer.com

Clearing the decks

My mother-in-law is an artist and she recently sent me photos to illustrate her newly organized studio space. Previously, she had a work space that had a lot of tools and other items always stored on top of it. With the addition of shelves within arm's reach, the stuff has been removed, clearing the surface for her to work. She writes, "Now that the surface is clear, I have so much more energy (and workspace!)."

Before.

After. Shelves in place, work space totally clear!

This is a wonderful achievement, and I'm grateful for her permission to share her experience, and happy that some of her inspiration came from me and this blog.

For many of us, having a clear space on which to work is vital, no matter what type of work it may be. Empty spaces like desk tops, dining room tables, and counters are wonderful places to attack all sorts of projects, but they are also magnets for the detritus from the day to be dumped upon.

Having a regular (small) dump spot that you frequently sort through and clear off is sensible. Keeping a large open space always clear and ready for you to begin to use is imperative to creativity and effectiveness when at work.

Do you have a work space that's currently home to odds, ends and whatnots? Take a few minutes to clear it off, and resist the urge to put anything on there other than your current project. Feel the energy flow through the space and into your mind and hand.

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com. Sign up for Lelah's News, a once-monthly newsletter.

DIY desk, completed

I wrote a few weeks ago about my reasons for wanting to build a new desk for my office in my new apartment. Over the Thanksgiving weekend my dad and my husband and I worked together to cut and build the two bookcases and desk top that make up the desk, then last week I painted it and transported it from our work area to my apartment.

I was so excited to install it, and was momentarily confused when the desktop didn't fit it into the space as planned. It was about two feet too short. Then I realized that when I went back to paint the pieces, I had inadvertently painted the wrong table top piece. There was an eight foot long piece (the correct one) and a shorter one that we had cut the ends off for a different part of the desk, and since I hadn't labeled them, I just picked up the first one, thinking it was the right one.

Oh well. It meant I had to wait another few days before I could go back and paint the correct piece and switch it in for the wrong one. But now the desk is in, it looks great and I'm about 80% done with putting away my belongings in the new space.

What's great about the long surface area is that is gives me so much more workspace than before, plus it hides the boxes and bins that I use to contain my files and supplies. The bookcases hold a ton of books, and I have space to stow my camera bag, purse and organizing work kit neatly, which I love. There's more refining I can do, and I have yet to hang a big piece of art on the wall above the desk, but I'm very happy with the results. What do you think?

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com

DIY desk

I have a much bigger space for my desk area in my new place than in my old. The desk I've been using for over five years swims in this space, and I have plastic file boxes just hanging out beside it, looking ugly, that hold the majority of my business papers and office supplies. I also have a lot of books that became homeless when the most of the bookshelves landed in my husband's office, and he decided, quite understandably, that he didn't want a ton of romance novels in his work area. 

I decided I wanted to upgrade my desk and incorporate bookshelves. I've often wanted just a simple large surface for my computer, inbox and printer with some space for writing or other small projects. I sketched a design and ran it by my dad and my brother, who are pretty handy. They also have saws and other tools and a workspace; I have a semester of woodshop under my belt. Granted, that was in 1996, but I think the principles still hold. By the way, practical classes in junior high and high school are not always required, but they are really invaluable, especially for kids who read a lot. Anyway. Here's my sketch of the bookshelves, which will support desk surface. We're going to take a team approach to building this thing when I'm home for Thanksgiving. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com

A year ago: preparing for every day, storing recipes and keeping it together

Here's a recap of what I think are my best posts from around this time last year:

An exhortation to follow one of the primary rules of organizing: keep like items together.

My three-part series on how to organize recipes, from cookbooks to individual loose recipes to digital ones. I still think these are the best ways to go about managing what for my cooks is a losing battle with new recipes coming in all the time. My loose recipes have over time moved from file folders to clear sleeves in a binder, but both work.

Lastly, in the first installment of my preparing for everyday series, I write about what every prepared person should have in their desk drawer.

Creative Commons photo posted to Flickr by cleverclevergirl
Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com

The story of the rubber cement

One of my favorite creative projects is to make collages out of photos and words found in magazines and newspapers. They make great cards since you can personalize them or make them themed. They are also a nice way to reuse reading materials you’ve finished with and give them new life, as well as are easy to make and inexpensive. All you need is some cardboard or paper and glue.

I like to use rubber cement to affix the pieces of my collages because it is fast drying and doesn’t make a big mess. The last time I made a collage, I thought I put the pot of rubber cement in the upper left hand drawer of my desk, where always keep it, but when I went to glue something a few weeks later, it wasn’t there. I spent several minutes looking in each of my desk drawers, then in the art supplies, then in the kitchen drawers. I couldn’t figure out where the rubber cement had gone. I asked the other person who lives in my house. He told me he hadn’t used it or put it anywhere else. I believed him...really! I was frustrated, because I ended up having to tape the thing I wanted to glue.

I didn’t want to buy a new bottle, not so much because of the $1.59 expense, but because I knew I had a bottle and did not want to clutter up my house with a duplicate, since I was sure the one I had misplaced would turn up. I held strong, didn’t buy a replacement, and sure enough, one day I opened the top desk drawer for a paper clip. The orange lettering on the back of the rubber cement bottle suddenly caught my eye. The rubber cement had been put back in the wrong drawer, and I hadn’t ever seen it when I opened up that drawer to look for it. I was relieved, to say the least, and immediately glued the thing I had taped. Much better. But I recalled the lost minutes of my life looking for the thing in the first place. If only I had been present in the moment of putting away the glue and put in its regular drawer, just a few inches to the left of where I tossed it in a hurry to clean up my project mess.

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com

Creativity and organization in the workplace: creative writing

I’ve been writing about how every work place is made up of three basic elements:

1. Work space: consisting of surfaces, fixtures, furniture and walls
2. Storage space: consisting of flexible elements that hold all the necessary tools needed to do the work
3. Stimulating space: consisting of non-functional items that foster creativity and inspiration

Let’s apply this concept to a specific work place, that of a creative writer. In addition to my professional organizing business I also write fiction, so my desk and work area have to do double duty. It is a place where I accomplish the dozens of different kinds of tasks involved in running a home-based business, as well as where I sit to create stories out of my imagination. Here's how I’ve approached the second half of that equation by addressing the three elements of my work space, and how I would begin to advise someone else doing the same type of creative work with their space:

Work Space: Being comfortable and functional is key. You probably don’t need tons of clear table space, but an ergonomic computer set up is essential. So, the basic fixtures will be a table or desk with computer, keyboard and mouse (all-in-one-printer and back up hard drive are also useful). If you have a desktop computer, get one with a large screen (I have a 24 incher). If you have a laptop, invest in a separate fully functional keyboard and two-button mouse with a scroll wheel, which are faster and easier to use than a small laptop keyboard and track pad. A comfortable, ergonomic chair is possibly the most important thing. Get one that is highly adjustable and sturdy. I recommend desk chairs without arms, as they tend to get broken and in the way. Easy access bookshelves are useful for elements two and three. Good lighting cannot be overemphasized. You should have overhead lighting as well as localized desk lighting to provide softer light. Think about your computer screen, windows and glare when planning your lighting scheme. Noise canceling headphones are a great way to seal out the sounds of the world when you want to immerse yourself in your work.

Lots of dictionaries

Storage Space: Writers tend to have a lot of reading material, paper, and writing implements, so places to store loose paper as well as binders and notepads are necessary. Books go on bookshelves. Enclosed desk drawers are a great place to keep empty notebooks and office supplies. File cabinets for drafts, articles, story ideas, interviews, contracts, PR, etc. are essential, though if you like to have notes within your reach or line of sight, then a bulletin board or desktop stacking trays are a good additional option. Dictionary, thesaurus, other reference materials also go in the bookcase. Depending on the amount of research for each book or story a separate box for reference material may be needed. You want to keep your current projects closest to your work area. You will likely have tons of information, bookmarks etc. on your computer as well that should be labeled according to project and backed up frequently on an external hard drive.

Stimulating Space: While people vary in terms of how much busyness they want in their line of sight when they write, I think a pleasant color on the walls, some art and a few favorite books within arm’s length is a good start. If you want to get crazy, you can put some inspiring quotes on a bulletin board, put up some photos of loved ones or yourself doing writerly things like going to conferences, book fairs, signings, and with other authors. I like the idea of drawing or finding a picture that represents to you what your project will look like when it’s done—whether it’s a drawing of you accepting an award, selling your book or an idea for what it looks like when it comes off the press, putting your visualizing into tangible, pictorial form can be very powerful.

Over time, we’ll continue exploring how breaking down the three elements of any work space can help give us a lens through which to improve organization and inspire creativity.

Creative commons photo posted to Flickr by General Wesc

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com

Preparing for every day: Desk drawer

Part of leading an organized life is being prepared for life. Having what you need means not having to spend extra time and money scrambling to be ready for some event—whether the event is planned or unforeseen. The trick here is to be prepared appropriately, trying not to be overprepared (which can cause overspending, clutter and stress) or underprepared (which can cause overspending, clutter and stress). Of course, since, we can never know exactly what the future holds, we just have do our best to hit that sweet spot of preparedness. I’ve written about the things you should do to prepare for an emergency. Here’s a slightly smaller list, the first in series, of things that will help you be better prepared for the eventualities of every day.

This drawer is pretty organized and has a bunch of the recommended items.

The 12 things that should be in every top desk drawer:

• lip balm
• Emery board
• scissors
• binder clips
• pencil sharpener
• ruler
• staples and stapler
• tape and tape dispenser
• scrap paper and Post Its
• glue stick
• calculator
• permanent marker

These are the things we use all the time, need almost every day, and are real time savers when we have them at our fingertips. Trying to keep only those items we use every day will make it easier to find things . I’m sure there are other tools you swear by in your desk drawers. Feel free to add more in the comments.

Creative Commons desk drawer photo posted to flickr by Mickelodeon

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com