You’re a busy girl with a lot on your plate. What better way to make the most of your day than to spend between four and ten hours organizing and perfecting the place where you never actually do any work? Here are four tips for optimizing your workspace that you never really get around to using for anything remotely productive.
Find a cozy area with bright, natural light that you will avoid when it’s time to get anything done.
Lots of sunlight is ideal for staying cheerful, awake, and focused while you work, though you would actually have to sit at the desk you set up in that nook near the window to reap those rewards. Instead, you’ll wake up and type on your laptop in bed for six hours, illuminated by the blue glow of your laptop as your cozy sunlit corner accumulates dust. Nice try, though!
Get rid of clutter so you could theoretically focus better.
Spend a few hours that you could have spent checking items off your to-do list getting rid of any unnecessary items in your workspace. After all, a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, but what about a desk that you literally never use?
Spend more money than you make in a day at the Container Store.
Once you’ve gotten rid of all the unnecessary items around your workspace, it’s important to spend the same amount of money you would have made working to buy new clutter. Head to the Container Store for desk drawer organizers, paper clips, a cute little trashcan, and, what the hell, a whole closet organization system. Enjoy the feeling of putting your life in order as you strategically place your purchases around your workspace because that’s the last you’ll see of them.
Make an inspiration board for the moments you would feel stuck if you ever actually started.
Surrounding yourself with what inspires you is a good way to keep your creative energy up, or it would, if you were ever at the right vantage point to see the Beyoncé pictures and J.K. Rowling quotes pinned above your desk. Tomorrow morning, when you head out to “get some work done” with your friend at a coffee shop, those creative, motivated women will judge you as you walk out the door.
Now that you’ve optimized your workspace, you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished a major task. Take the day off, and maybe tomorrow, too. You’ve earned it!
