July Home Office Organization Project

I started this home office reorganization project in March. It's now July and I've been working in this "mess in progress" for MONTHS. We're now kicking off the second half of the year... and I'm seriously ready for BIG change.

I thought it would be fun to share with you what I'm changing, what I'm "fixing", and more importantly... WHY, and how those things affect productivity & workflow.

You'll likely get some creative ideas for your own home office, and also learn cool new ways to increase your productivity while working online.

I'll share the actual office changes, but also my methods of Time Management & Productivity as it relates to the day-to-day tasks of running an online business. Including getting focused, creating an Action Plan, organizing your tasks and making sure your priorities get TOP attention.

I'll journal the entire July Home Office Project here along the way. Your input is welcome as I go! I may need some good recommendations for certain things.

There are two reasons I'm rearranging and reorganizing my home office:

First (and this is the big one, the immediate need), because I'm in pain. I've been dealing with a pinched nerve in my upper back and shoulder for weeks on end (6 weeks now!).

Imagine sticking your tongue to a battery. You know that "tinge" you get? Yeah - that, x1000, all the way down my left side and my left arm - into my fingers. It's MISERABLE. And yes, I'm seeing my Chiropractor regularly!

Rearranging your workspace, or changing your position frequently, is the best way to avoid RSS (Repetitive Stress Syndrome) such as tendonitis, carpel tunnel, muscle tension, "blackberry thumb", tennis elbow, pinched nerves, etc.

The second BIG reason is simple: for increased productivity and efficiency.

I need to get more done in less time - period. Who doesn't, right? That's going to take an overhaul of my workspace, and more specifically: the way I'm using it.

I don't know about you, but I have ambitious goals for this year - and we're more than halfway through it already. It's time to kick things into HIGH gear!

This post will serve as my "before pictures". Like I said, it's a serious "mess in progress" at the moment. LOL. Isn't that how it always goes, though? It's like cleaning out closets. Somehow I always end up with a bigger mess than I started with.

I'll give you a quick tour as it is now...

I am currently running two PC's and two Mac's. For quite awhile there I was down to one of each. My Dell PC went down, and the comfortable chair I had at that same desk broke. Not because it was a bad chair, but because I used it (A LOT, lol) for years. It died of natural causes. This forced me to have to make a shift in my workspace and move everything to my "Media Desk" - creating chaos in the process...

These two pictures are a "full office view" from two angles:

Behind me is Slim's "dane couch" in my office. To the left is the door leading out to the back deck, and to the right is a door leading into the kitchen. This is the biggest room in my house, the sunroom, which has great natural lighting for photos & videos.

The larger L-shaped desk is my "Media Desk", which is meant for product creation and video editing. This is the desk I took over when the PC at the smaller desk went out. I replaced it, and recently (finally!) got it set up - and ordered a new chair for that desk. So Desk #2 is finally back up & running!

A lot of other things got shifted around in the process, like my continuous lighting kit, the printer, etc. New, in front of the bookshelf in these pictures, is a "photography table" I just set up - which still has to find a spot in the office.

This is where I've been working - and where I'm sitting now:

Often, "organizing" is just a fancy form of procrastination on your priorities. I mean, how much can you really be getting done if your desk is spotless? I wonder! I'm skeptical of those people with a super clean office and streamlined workflow, lol - but probably only because I am NOT one of them.

I have everything I need to accomplish everything I want to do (save more hours in a day! haha)... but it's all in such disarray at the moment that it's hindering my progress & productivity - and my FOCUS.

Creative types are not organized by nature. Fighting that can be a lost cause. I get some of my best work done in what I like to call "organized chaos".

That said, I'm at a point where my workspace is holding me back, rather than letting me focus on my highest priorities. I'm not set up to easily work on the projects I need to jump in and out of when the creative inspiration hits - such as food photography or shooting video...

* It's taking me too much time to "setup", which often means it just gets put off.

My goal for this 2nd half of 2015 is to get organized and streamlined, so I can run my business more easily - and achieve more in less time. The organization is necessary for a "working flow" with my day to day business tasks.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on how organization (or lack of it) affects your productivity and workflow, and your goals for this last half of the year...

Best,