Show us your workspace!

Show us your workspace!

Nicola Davie of TidyGirl

[caption id="attachment_15930" align="alignnone" width="300"] Nicky Davie's office[/caption]

At the beginning of lockdown, I was sharing an office workspace with my husband. Then, when our youngest child moved out to get married in the summer, we changed their old bedroom into an office space for my husband! I am very fortunate now to have a lovely space of my own - ready to re-decorate, organise and make mine!

Tilo Flache of ClutterMeister

[caption id="attachment_15932" align="alignnone" width="300"] Tilo Flache works from his dining table[/caption]

A lot of my work is done from home but, as I don't have room for an office, I work in my living room. Since there is only one table here, at first I found it hard to separate work time from free time. I solved the problem by simply sitting at a one side of the table for work, and on the opposite side when it's time to relax. Putting all my work stuff away after work is an additional reminder that the office is closed. I find my mind is much better able to make the switch through these two simple actions.

Lynda Wylie of Tidy Rooms

[caption id="attachment_15934" align="alignnone" width="300"] Lynda Wylie at her desk[/caption]

I've seen all sorts of home working set ups since I've been back in client homes post lockdown. Necessity has produced creativity to establish the best arrangement, and there is a great deal of compromise going on. Our house is no different!

My husband has taken over my home office and after a few weeks’ sofa surfing, I settled on a desk in our living room. I'm out for a few hours every day with clients but, once the kids are back and the after-school TV starts, the headphones go on to zone everyone out! Whilst my work files are all still securely stored in the office, I have moved all the basics to have them at hand.  Plus, I have a great view of the comings and goings on my street which has been great fun as passers-by have been waving at me!

Jane Zhang Rice of Serenity Organising & Decluttering

[caption id="attachment_15935" align="alignnone" width="300"] The office and relaxation room in Jane's house[/caption]

My workspace used to be our upstairs home office. Since both my husband and I work from home now, I have given him the upstairs office (because he needs space for two monitors) and I use the kitchen/diner as my workspace. I also added a few things to the home office in the past months, making it a relaxation room as well as a workspace. The relaxation room is where I do my reading, calligraphy and meditation at weekends.

Most of the time the space works well for both of us, although I now realise I need a space for my printer in the kitchen/diner, which means I need to declutter and make space in one of the kitchen cupboards!

Amanda Manson of Orderly Office and Home

I'm lucky to have a spare room as my office. I use a desk, set of drawers and two shelves of a bookcase for work-related matters. My husband has been home based for more than 20 years but we're lucky to have a separate space for him to work in.

I clear my desk at the end of the week rather than every day, as often I'm mid-way through something and it would take longer to put it all away and bring it out again!  If I go into that room over the weekend it is purely a spare room at that time, not an office.

What works for me?

• A clear distinction between personal paperwork (I keep this behind me) and work paperwork (I keep this on a bookcase and in drawers).
• Creating a layout on the desk that I can stick to, so that I know where to find what I want, when I need it.
• Having a consistent layout creates a habit for the brain with less 'thinking time' and more 'automated actions'.

Laura Williams of OrganisedWell

[caption id="attachment_15937" align="alignnone" width="300"] Laura Williams' desk[/caption]

When I started my business, I worked from the dining table and created an 'office in a box' with all the things I needed for my day-to-day work. It worked really well for a while, and I could pack it away when my working day was done so that we could carry on with family dinner and activities.

Later, however, I wanted my own space to spread out, display images, store more work equipment and have a standing desk, so I targeted our spare room. As many spare rooms do, it had become a space for storage and laundry. My first step was to look through everything, and I found that the things we had stored in there were no longer as important to us as they once were and we felt comfortable giving them up in favour of creating my office. I took photos of some items that held memories and donated, sold and disposed of anything we no longer wanted to keep. I was then able to organise the cupboard space for my work and to store some family items.

There isn't a lot of space, but I have a home for everything, my stand-up desk fits perfectly and I can run workshops and video calls with clients in peace. I'm lucky to have this space because shortly afterwards the rest of my family moved in for lockdown!

Shelly Moss of Kewniek

[caption id="attachment_15938" align="alignnone" width="300"] Shelly Moss's office[/caption]

My husband works from home and so has his own office.  I have a dedicated space which we call my “Harry Potter cupboardâ€