When it’s time to write a new post or do other work on your site, do you have a dedicated blogging workspace that you prefer? Should you?
A few years ago, I wrote a post about having a dedicated writing space in my home. I still have that space. But more often these days, my true blogging workspace is — more often than not — my recliner.
That dedicated writing space is a desk and desk chair with a traditional desktop computer. It’s a Mac, of course. But over the past few years, I’ve come to rely much more on my laptop — also a Mac — for blogging and other work. It’s more convenient. Laptops have certainly come a long way over the years. My MacBook Air can do really everything my iMac can do.
While writing this post, however, I was able to take advantage of a cool morning to blog on my patio. As you can see in the photo above, even the Collie decided he wanted a cameo. (That’s unusual for him because since moving to a fourth-floor home, I realized he does not like heights.)
Do you need one dedicated blogging workspace?
When I wrote about this topic four years ago, I said having such a place could be a very good thing. First, if you can create something of a work routine, that can help you find the “zone” for productivity. I also said it could serve as a “boundary” for your family. When they see you in that space, they know you’re working.
Even my dog somehow understood that. If I’m in my recliner, he’ll occasionally bring me a toy to throw for him. Sometimes, he likes to play a quick game of tug of war with a stuffed animal. But when I’m at that my desk, he doesn’t ever bother me unless he really, really needs to go out.
But as I sat out on my patio with a nice little breeze blowing, I had no problem composing this post. It was comfortable and despite being outside on a patio, it still felt like a private place. The Collie walked out here a few times to cautiously peer through the banister to look down. Then he’d trot back inside for a little while until the next time he felt adventurous. Just in case, he left a stuffed animal just inside the door as a reminder that he was inside.
I didn’t complete the post on my patio, but I did get a good start on it there.
I’ve written blog posts at restaurants and coffee shops using my trusty iPad. And I’ve even written posts while visiting the folks at their home.
I don’t think you have to limit your options to a single blogging workspace. Instead, I think you should find what works for you.
There’s something more important than where you blog
I think wherever your ideal space (or spaces) may be, it’s more important that you find a place that can remove enough distractions so that you can focus on the writing. Some of us need a little distraction. I find I can’t write in a perfectly silent room. Perhaps that’s because I’ve worked for more than 30 years in television newsrooms. There’s always a little noise (and in some cases a lot of it).
I usually write — and do most everything else around the house — with the television on. I watch a lot of classic TV, so it can be episodes I’ve seen before. But there’s some part of my brain that needs a little distraction. With that pesky part of my brain occupied, I find I can devote other “little gray cells,” as detective Hercule Poirot might say, to the writing task at hand.
Sometimes, I’ll hit a little temporary stop and need to ponder a point. I might even need to get up and walk around or take on a different task for a few minutes. That’s hard to do in a restaurant, but easier to do in your own home.
Some distractions can be very good for a writer. But not all are good. Some distractions just keep you from getting the work done.
No right or wrong answers
One thing I always find interesting about the writing process is that no two writers write the same way. I suspect that has to be true for bloggers as well. Some of us write posts out of order intentionally. Some will spend days just coming up with ideas for posts without fleshing them out.
Once in a while, I’ll spend time going through archives and reading something I wrote a decade ago or more. Opinions change over time. Maybe a changed opinion might be worth a new post.
I might even spend a day reading other sites and not writing a single word. (That is allowed, you know. Some writers who get paid to write don’t necessarily have to write something every single day of their lives.)
You have to figure out what works for you and make the most of that.
It took me a while to find my blogging routine. If I’m honest, it probably took me too long to come up with the right formula.
The point is, I did eventually figure that out.
What works for me might not work 100% for you, and vice versa.
But that’s not what’s important anyway
What’s important is that you find the blogging workspace that works for you. Whether it’s a place with a little noise or a lot of noise, where you can be alone or whether others are around, that’s up to your preferences.
But when you do find a place where you can be the most productive, that’s an important find. That can help you make your blog better. You and your readers win!
