Desk drawers filled with old notepads and sunscreen. A refrigerator with half-consumed drink bottles and miso soup containers. A company name on the front window. And bathroom shelves overflowing with miscellaneous office supplies, hardware pieces, and watered down cleaning supplies.
This is what my husband and his team left behind when they relocated their office 30 miles south to Manhattan. (No offense, guys!)
When I arrived to work this week, to the office I now call my own, I felt itchy. Unfocused. Squirrely. Distracted.
“Why can’t I focus?” I said out loud (to no one).
“Because all I want to do is declutter and purge.”
Ahh.
I crossed out my to-do list and spent the next two days cleaning, sorting, and purging. I scrubbed the old letters off the front window and rearranged furniture. I sprayed the surfaces with lavender cleaner, let in the Hudson River breeze, and lit a candle for good measure.
By obsessively organizing and cleaning, I was making space for my new business.
Even though I have worked in this office all along, the type of work I am doing here has changed. This practice of making space helped me connect to it in a new way. It helped me establish a presence that wasn’t there before.
It’s now the end of my first week. I’m at my desk and the words are flowing. The door is open, the fan is on, surfaces are clear. The frantic keyboard clicks from the writer across the room keep me focused.
Although my vision for how I will use all this uncluttered space is still blurry, I am ready. I can’t wait to see what magic begins to fill it.
Writing prompt
What cobwebs and gum wrappers are getting in the way of your writing?
You feel like you can’t start writing your book until you track down all the notes you’ve been collecting.
Track down the notes.
You can’t get started on your ebook until you can picture the format.
Give yourself one week to figure out the format.
Your computer constantly asks you to update its software, which you can’t do because you’re almost out of room.
Backup, purge, tune up, or upgrade. A writer doesn’t have many expenses. Your computer is worth the investment.
You’re afraid write your story because it’s nonfiction and you’re worried what the other characters involved will think.
Release that fear. Get the first draft down, privately. There will be plenty of time in future drafts to alter identities.
Release what’s holding you back or distracting you or getting in your way.
All of this non-writing related work is part of the writing.
Learn more about making space with this quietly powerful program.
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