2020: the year of Zoom University and agony over online classes and sneaky assignments that keep you up at night.
Whether you’re living on-campus or off-campus, you’ve probably tried to build a workspace for yourself that will help you be the most productive that you can be— and not spend hours on TikTok. Maybe.
After the first week of classes, I realized that the workspace I had was not working for me. It forced me to acknowledge that my back was in pain from hunching over my desk and that I was going to have to be way more organized than I have been in the past. I made a list of my goals and tried to find solutions to fix them.
1. Less back pain and eye strain!
My biggest goal for this semester was to ensure that my back, eyes, and neck were not strained because I knew I would be spending over 12 hours at my desk every day.
The solutions I came up with was to attach a small pillow to the back of my chair to help keep my back straight. I already wear prescription glasses, so I decided to add a blue light filter to them so that my eyes were less strained.
Another thing I did was to get a laptop stand and a second monitor for myself. As a graphic design major, I knew that working on a bigger screen is better for me, so I made the choice to get another monitor that attaches to my laptop with a HDMI cable. Doing both of these has helped me keep my neck straight and staring straight at my computer screens instead of hunching over to look at my screens.
2. A clear desk space
The biggest change that I made to my desk was to keep as little things in my workspace area as possible. For the most part, I have my laptop, my monitor, my keyboard and mouse, my phone stand, and a few stationery items on my workspace. I tried my best to eliminate decorative items on my desk that I could not hang up. My desk only has the bare necessities of what I use on a day to day basis.
3. Make lists, sublists, and checklists
For this semester, I decided to focus on being super organized. I have all my classes and deadlines on Google calendar, and I have a planner where I write the due dates and make to-do lists for each day. I also use a page for each week to write down the tasks for my assignments and check them off as I finish them. With that, I also have a weekly sticky note that goes above my computer that I check off with the tasks that I have to do.
4. Ease of Access
For this category, I, basically, have everything I need for each class in my general desk area. My desk drawers are filled with art supplies, books, notebooks, and spare chargers that will help me get my work done.
I also have snacks and water closeby so I can easily get something to eat while I work. I also got myself a phone stand so that I can look at all three of my screens at the same time. Having my phone on a stand has also helped me lower how much time I spend on my phone because I tend to only look at the notifications and not unlock my phone while on camera anymore.
5. Designated spaces
The most significant change in my life that I made this semester was having designated spaces. When I’m at my desk, I only do work and sometimes allow myself a break and watch YouTube while I eat. I cannot see my bed from my desk, which has allowed me not to want to lay in bed during the day. I have also started getting into bed only when I’m sleeping or trying to sleep, which has helped my sleep routine a lot. I also have a fold-up futon in my room, where I read, and I have another space in my room with an armchair and side table where I eat or relax. Having designated spaces has really helped me get in my zone, relax, and be productive all at the same time. It has helped me realize that while I’m living in a small room, separating my space into specific areas has made my room feel bigger. It also helps me get a break from whatever I’m doing because my brain automatically switches to relax mode when I leave my desk for the day.