Working from home; How I’ve dressed my desk to keep me inspired.

When my Maternity pay finished in March I knew going back to a ‘regular’ job just wasn’t for me. I often thought about giving it all in and starting my own business whilst I was working in IT for a big corporate company but never took the leap. Now though, with the excuse of having just had a baby and wanting to spend as much time with her as physically possible, the end of my Maternity was the perfect opportunity to take the plunge and start my own business. I am very fortunate to be in a position where my income (or lack thereof) isn’t an issue for Steve and I at the moment as we are currently living with my parents whilst we save for a house. I’m very fortunate to be in a period of time in my life where I’m not paying rent and don’t have any bills to speak of that are imperative to keeping a roof over mine and my family’s heads and food in our tummies. Whilst we work our little butts off to save for all of that goodness in the next year or two, I’m able to give my all to looking after my daughter and giving my business idea a good crack.

So far, it’s all working out really well and with a client secured and contract in place (with a few other clients signing a contract on the horizon too) my ideal of working from home and managing my hours around my daughter and lifestyle is working out great for me (whilst still being able to save for the house). Steve and I are so supportive of each others careers and I’m so lucky to have him by my side for this, encouraging me to go after my dream of being a business owner.

One thing about working from home though is trying to not get distracted throughout the day and as focused as I can be, having a space of my own to really knuckle down was imperative to not continue my reign as procrastination queen. I need a fully functioning space to keep focused and being in my bedroom, it was quite tricky at first to see how that would work out and to see how I wouldn’t just turn on Netflix half way through the day (spoiler – I do still sometimes have Netflix on in the background *ooops*). My desk space is something I’ve really worked hard on to ensure I’m at my most focused and motivated throughout the day and so I thought I’d share this with you today. I love interior posts and although I haven’t quite got my own place to decorate just yet, I thought dressing my desk would be a great first post to share.

desk

Dekstop.

My computer is a refurbished iMac from Apple (it was slightly cheaper to buy a refurbished one than it was to buy brand new). As I have an Apple MacBook Air, it made sense for me to pick up an iMac as my desktop so that I could easily transfer work between the two and I could still work on my MacBook whenever I was on the go without any issues. I saved pretty hard for this bad boy as it was something (after some serious thought) I deemed necessary to working on my business. I also had a very generous gift of some money to put towards this from my parents for Christmas last year. I absolutely love it and how easy it is to work from for what I do. The wireless mouse and keyboard are perfect for keeping the desk looking tidy too!

Gadgets.

I have my Amazon Echo Dot on my desk just because it’s a convenient place in our bedroom to have it. It’s really handy having one though as I do like to listen to music throughout the day and I can also tell ‘Alexa’ to pop timers on which really help me with my time keeping on each task. I also have a wireless charging point from Humixx which is super handy for charging my phone whilst I work; the way it allows my phone to be stood vertically or horizontally is perfect because yes sometimes I do catch up on Youtube as I work (guilty as charged). (I completely forgot to take my phone out of the case for this photo btw!!)

Organisation.

I have most of my documents stored in pockets in the main draw of my desk, along with my MacBook and expenses ledger, but I did pick up this handy letter rack from Aldi (how gorgeous is it in copper and black?!) which I love to store my notebooks on. I have a different notebook for each client and also have certain pads for to-do lists etc, so keeping them handy and on my desk is perfect for me (especially since I’m such a neat freak – I hate things being messy and unorganised). I also just have a simple pen pot slightly behind my monitor (which I really should pick up in rose gold) and a gorgeous glass / rose gold trinket box (which is actually engraved with ‘BekyLou’ from Prezzybox) which I keep my credit cards and memory cards in.

deskdesk

Stationery.

I am a self-proclaimed stationery nerd. I love all things stationery including notebooks and pens and I just cannot get enough. As I mentioned before, I like to have a separate notebook for each client to keep everything organised and so for me that means a dreamy stash of stationery (and the best kind of shopping). I have a couple of A4 ring-bound notebooks, a task manager pad and a few A5 notebooks from Cath Kidston as it’s all just so pretty and I’ve also recently purchased a couple of bits from the Old English Company because I love their range of simplistic notebooks and planners! They’re actually a company I wasn’t aware of until recently, but I’ve kind of become obsessed and can’t wait for my order to arrive! I’ve also got a gorgeous Cath Kidston mouse mat too because I just went a bit extra last time I ordered.

Decor.

I honestly never thought I’d be the kind of girl to dress her desk up all pretty, but here I am. I love a few homey touches on my desk and although I don’t have many, I really cherish the few that I do have. The first is a picture of my Grandad and I when I was about 2 or 3 – I’m not entirely sure when it was taken but that doesn’t matter, this man is my absolute world and it’s one of my favourite photos ever. I picked up this ‘love’ photo frame in Asda for £1.50 I think and I love it! Secondly I have my award from the Next Blogger Awards 2015 where I won ‘Best Beauty Blog’ – it’s one of my proudest blogging achievements and it really keeps me motivated with my work whether it be blogging or for my new business! And lastly I have the baby monitor (usually – right now it’s down stairs with my cousin/child minder); not something I’d like to have on the desk, but kind of an essential!

Cork Board.

As you can see I also have a cork board above my desk; let’s be honest here, it’s not the most beautiful cork board in the world, but it does the job for now. On here I have my Results with Lucy Weekly meal & exercise planner (which is an absolute godsend with sticking to a healthy lifestyle and knowing what I’m cooking each night) and a couple of invitations to upcoming birthdays and weddings (evening guest outfit ideas are very much welcome). I also have a few business cards that I’ve designed for local business’ and then just some general notes for work and life. To be honest its hella boring and unsightly and something that I want to try and make look much prettier but so far I haven’t really found a way to do it. That was until I saw that the Old English Company sell enamel pin badges. I’ve already popped a few in my recent order and have my eye on a few more too! They have a competition on at the moment too, to win a collection of their newest enamel pins which is fab! My personal faves have to be the Mama pin and Dream Big pin! I’m also thinking of getting a few cute greetings cards or cool quotes to add to the cork board to try and make it a little prettier, but it is a bit difficult when I use it for work, ha ha!

So there it is! I hope you like what I’ve done with my desk; it’s not the prettiest, but as it’s in our bedroom, I’m sadly at a limit to the space! What things do you have on your desk to help you stay motivated or work better?

 

LIKE THIS? PIN ME!

desk

 

Follow:

12 Comments

  1. May 16, 2018 / 3:28 pm

    Having an office space would make such a difference to my working life! haha xx

  2. May 17, 2018 / 7:51 am

    It is so important to be inspired and motivated when working from home, else I find not much gets done!

  3. May 17, 2018 / 9:02 am

    I think it’s so important to have a dedicated work space x

  4. May 17, 2018 / 4:06 pm

    Having a dedicated space is so important – I wish my desk looked like that. Any blogger would be horrified at my desk!
    Em x
    https://happywiseowl.com/

  5. May 18, 2018 / 7:47 pm

    Luke’s desk is a nightmare in comparison to this and he barley uses it – I might pinch the space and make it pretty! x

  6. Erin
    May 19, 2018 / 10:39 am

    I love your desk so much! I need to do something like this to my space to keep me motivated, stationary and décor definitely helps me too! 🙂

    Erin || MakeErinOver

  7. May 20, 2018 / 5:07 pm

    I love what you’ve done with your desk. I think it’s so important for things to be neat and tidy in order to be productive. I love the copper wire letter holder and that charging point looks so handy too – definitely trying that out!

    http://www.justkatiee.com

  8. May 22, 2018 / 6:04 pm

    Gosh you are so organised and I love your set up – maybe I should finally build my desk haha x

  9. June 18, 2018 / 11:16 am

    I wish I had my own office space, it would definitely make working from home a lot easier to manage! x

  10. August 29, 2018 / 2:00 pm

    Love your workspace! I work from home as well (currently living in the in-laws with my hubby until we can afford to buy a house), and I would love a spot like this! I’d probably be wayyyy more productive than I am now, haha