(Guest Writer: Daniela McVicker)

Whether you’re a novelist, a freelance blogger, or a copywriter, an adequate work environment can be beneficial. This is why equipping your working room properly before you write can significantly improve the quality of your work.

According to Learn G2, only 60% of work time is spent being productive, with two hours on average being spent on recovering from constant interruptions.

The professional interior design of your working room will thus have a profound impact on your creativity, motivation, as well as productivity to write more. With that, let’s take a look at the tips for writers to equip their working room, as well as reasons to do so in 2020.

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Benefits of Properly Equipping your Working Room

Why should you invest time and resources into the interior design of your working room? As a writer, you will spend a lot of time in this space, and it’s important that you feel comfortable in doing so.

According to the American Psychological Association, writers need to develop a regular schedule, minimize editing while writing, and learn to prioritize in order to write well.

This is easier said than done, however, since an uncomfortable office or guest room will quickly deteriorate a writer’s motivation to sit down and work. Creating an elegant, professional and lifelike working room space, however, can mitigate those difficulties and make it easier to work on what you love.

You can refer to professional writers for reliable writing assistance while you equip your working room in order to make up for the time lost. As such, some of the most important benefits of properly equipping your writer’s working room include:

● Less time spent on insignificant distractions

● Easier task prioritization and time management

● Lowered margin for writing error due to higher focus

● More creative freedom due to a comfortable work environment

● Motivation to spend more time in the working room and write

Tips for Writers to Equip their Working Room

1. Start with the Desk

A writer’s desk is arguably the most important element of their working room. As such, it should be chosen very carefully and with regards to existing furniture and décor of the room.

Choose a desk which can fit all of your professional belongings, including a PC or laptop, notebooks, photographs and such. Drawers are a big plus, as they will allow you to store important items and keep them close-by.

Don’t simply choose 'the best' desk, as such a thing doesn’t exist – it’s all in the eye of the beholder. Indoor furniture is a delicate topic, and it’s highly subjective – choose a desk which speaks to your personality, and you will undoubtedly enjoy working on it.

2. Choose a Comfortable Chair

Your writer’s chair is the second most important element of the working room and for a good reason. It needs to be ergonomic, comfortable, and of good enough quality to last for years to come. Professional chairs come in a variety of furnishings, materials and ergonomic elements such as wheels or hand-holders.

Again, it’s best to choose a chair which suits you personally and not the one that is advertised as 'great'. A good chair will invite you to spend endless hours in front of your laptop or PC and write as much as you feel like.

Alternatively, a poor one will drive you away from the working room and make you despise writing – pick your chair carefully.

3. Proper Lighting Matters

The quality of light in your writing room cannot be overstated. Regardless of whether you work best during the day or at night, lighting plays a pivotal role in your productivity and motivation to do so.

Start by positioning your desk and chair so that they face toward or perpendicularly to a window.

Don’t have the window behind you as it will cause an obstruction in natural light during daytime. For nighttime and extended work sessions, make sure to equip your room with lighting which will provide you with enough light to make it comfortable.

If you squint and can barely see what you are doing in the room, the lighting is poor, and you should reevaluate it.

4. Position an Easy-to-Reach Shelf

Given that you are a writer, you are bound to have literature and publications on writing somewhere in the house. However, you can take advantage of your professional library with smart positioning of an easy-to-reach shelf.

Place a shelf behind you or next to your desk in order to have full access to your writing equipment and books without standing up. This is done to maintain productivity and focus, not as a lazy excuse not to get up and walk.

The shelf should not obstruct light from your desk and should be within arm’s reach from the desk. Doing so will significantly improve your working room’s flow and aura of productivity.

5. Add a Bit of Plant Life

Creating an inviting environment is all about making it feel 'alive' and 'homey'. To do that, you can incorporate some plant life into your writer’s room. Greenery can help liven up your working room and make it more hospitable for an extended stay.

Whether you choose simple cactus plants, a flower pot or a simple decorative plant is up to you. You can even add a bonsai tree to your working room and tend to it during breaks. Choose whichever plant, flower, or miniature fruit tree you identify with and make it a part of your work environment.

6. Keep the Décor under Control

As we’ve mentioned before, your working room should focus on writing-related tasks and not much else. Wall art and paintings can add much-needed comfort to the work environment, but they should not take away your focus.

Simply put, make sure that you keep your décor under control and limit what you put into the office space. Even an unobtrusive accessory can quickly take away from the focus of the room, so keep things utilitarian and writing-oriented as much as possible.

In Summary

When all is said and done, your working room should be comfortable and enable you to do what you do best – write. Any item or piece of furniture which takes away from that goal should be eliminated from the room and moved someplace else.

While this approach may seem 'Spartan', it will ensure that your creativity and energy are focused solely on writing. If the environment feels too sterile or bland, mix things up and add some decorations or change the interior design a bit.

Once you settle for a comfortable design unique to your character, your writing habits will skyrocket as a result.

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Author’s Bio: Daniela McVicker is a freelance writer, blogger, and contributor to Essayguard. She graduated from Durham University and has an MA in psychological science. Her passion is travelling and finding ways to enrich students’ learning experiences.