I'm trying to change my relationship with my desk

My physical space determines the kind of creative work I’m able to do. This is both a blessing and a curse.

For example, the moment I sit down at my dinner table with a cup of chai, my mind automatically shifts into journaling mode. I don’t have to make an effort, it just happens. I can write thousands of words from that specific spot in my house.

Sitting in the comfortable chair in my home office, with my 27” monitor and external keyboard, I get in the mood for writing code. I’ve worked from this particular configuration of this particular desk for nearly a decade. It’s so strongly associate with technical work in my mind that I don’t have to try consciously to think about code when I’m in that space. My mind automatically shifts gears and puts me in the mood for programming.

But having these strong associations with certain spaces in my house means it can be difficult to use them for other tasks. I’ve been trying to write short fiction over the last few months, and the only place in my house that’s comfortable enough for long hours of work is my home office. Every time I’m in there, I have to fight the urge to work on a programming side-project or catch up on my programming newsletters.

My house is not large enough for me to set up another desk in a different room. This is all I have. Which means I either change the strong mental association I’ve built with my work desk, or find a more creative solution.

I’ve found one solution that’s kinda been working: instead of changing the location where I write fiction, what if I change my state of mind instead?

I’ve now started getting up early in the morning to write. I wake up, make myself a cup of chai, and start writing. I usually don’t start my day’s work until I’ve had a breakfast and taken a bath, so this is new for my. My mind and body are not in work mode yet. But it helps overcome that strong association I’ve formed with my work desk and programming.

I’ve only been doing this for a few days now, so maybe it’s just the novelty that’s keeping me going, but it’s working so far and I’m not going to question it. I’ve almost finished writing a short story I’ve been struggling to finish for a few months, so that counts for something. Right?

Nothing can save us forever, but a lot of things can save us right now. When my new strategy stops working, I’ll try something else.