Study Desk Messy Yet Strangely Comforting

05 dec 2018; 0:33

this…is finals week. [click for hq and to see my ugly in class notes]

I thought it might be interesting to do this so here we go!

So this is a wide vertical shot of my desk. I used the light from the ceiling fan for these pictures but usually I just have the string lights and desk lamp on and maybe the window open but it gets dark so early now so there’s much of a point in having it open. I like having the motivational quotes up and behind the second screen you can see my IB diploma, which I have up because I worked so hard to earn it. Then I have my two bulletin boards and my calendar. I truly cannot recommend having a calendar within your line of sight at your desk enough.

My upper bulletin board is more in homage to my interests and passions than to anything truly practical. You can see I love Jun, Sehun, Jinyoung, Eunwoo, Sungjin, Jin, and Luhan, then my other aesthetic interests are cherry blossoms and feminism, and pink.

My lower bulletin board does have more practical purposes. I have a copy of my class schedule and my goals for the year on it then again it delves into my interests; pretty motivational quotes, pink, idols, and feminist/political pins and nationals pins.

I do have two drawer units under my desk but the metal one mostly has spare notepads and other boring stuff so all my drawer pictures are from the wooden set. This is my top drawer, which holds the remote to the TV and a ton of pens, specifically my EnergelX, Pilot Juice, Dual Tip, and Steadler pens then my mildliners. 

My second drawer is a bit more of a hodgepodge, mostly featuring my post it and index card collections then more random bits and bobs.

My third drawer is still in purpose of my absurd stationery collection. In the pink and cardboard boxes I have colored pencils and then more pens/highlighters. I have such a big problem.

My fourth drawer is mostly dedicated to my washi tape collection, there’s more in the floral box, too. Then I have my flexible binder notebooks and my old iPod and an extra set of muji pens. 

My bottom drawer holds spare mildliners, a laptop stand, steadler fine liner set, external hard drive, spare supples and important papers. 

Beyond my desk, I have some shelves where right now I’m storing my current textbooks on the lower one with my book stand and planner for next year. The upper level has old textbooks or other large books with my model brain.

Next to my desk is the guest bed. Our house is too small for the desk to fit in my room and for a larger bed to fit in the guest room. 

The final element of my study space is my kpop collections. I have no shame.

I decided to write about this topic because I firmly believe that a cleaned and organized workspace is so important for increasing your attention and keeping you focused.

When I was in my lasts years of high school my bedroom was such a mess and there were tons of objects and books and papers all over my desk I could barely see what was under. For this main reason, I was always using the kitchen table, which is quite practical if you’re living alone but absolutely not if you still live with your parents!

That’s why I decided to change things up when I started uni! Here is a list of what I actually did : 

Step 1 - The cleaning :

De-clutter: minimalists favorite word! Even if I’m not a real one, I promise you that getting rid of unused and old stuff will really help you getting more space for that « abundance » you want in your life ; in other terms, ask yourself this question : will that old box full of stuff you don’t use anymore help you to be more successful? If not, throw it away!

Switch it up! : sometimes you just need to change the actual organization of your desk and/or your whole bedroom! Why not put your bed where your desk is? You’ll get a whole new vision of your bedroom/workspace and you’ll actually feel more motivated and spend more time in it!

Clean : yes. Take all your stuff off of your desk and deeply clean it! You have no idea of how much little germs live up there! Make sure you also clean your computer keypad. You’ll thank me later. Note that this one can be combined with the de-cluttering point.

Once you’ve thrown away some useless stuff and once your desk is all cleaned up and smells fresh again, you can start thinking about decoration  :D

Step 2 - The decor :

This is by far my favorite part. Yes, you can re-decorate your workspace with little money, and no, you don’t need to buy fancy stuff just because it’ll look good on your tumblr. Remember : less is more.

Style it as you want it, choose what makes you feel happy! Here are a few examples of what you can buy/create/recycle :  

Lightning. SO. IMPORTANT. First, you need a good lamp for when you study in the dark. Then, you can add for example light strings or other kinds of decorative lightning just to get you in the warm&cozy kind of vibe :)

Storage and organizers. Choose in function of what you need and what feels best for you! You can use desk organizers, wall racks, etc. A good investment would also be a chest drawer for you to store all the stuff you don’t need immediately. For example, I bought one of these at IKEA and in there I put all the pencils and stationery I don’t use, old chargers, tickets, sticky-notes, etc. I think it can also help you de-cluttering your desk so you have much more space on it!

Candles. Super cozy and relaxing. Did you know that when you study with a certain smell around you and then you smell it again in another situation you actually remember what you learned previously? It’s the same principle as when you smell a certain odor and it reminds you of some old memories!

Plants. They look cute but also give you this kind of « zen » vibe that I personally love! If like me you aren’t a born-to-be botanist, I would suggest for you to get succulents or cactuses or even those fake plants they sell at IKEA, they actually look pretty realistic ahah

A vision board. Vision boards are a great way to keep you inspired and motivated! Search for pics and quotes that you like and that inspire you on the web, print them and hang them on ! You can find tons of ideas of DIY inspiration boards on Pinterest :)  For example, I put my vision board on the wall just upon my desk so I can actually see it every time i’m studying! Vision boards are a really great tool if you’re practicing law of attraction too!

So that’s it! I hope it helped :) You can also tell me what you like to do when organizing your desk/workspace! 

Have a nice day, 

100 days of productivity: day 25 (November 8th 2018)

• 10/23/2018 •

HOW TO CREATE A MINDFUL STUDY SPACE

so i see a lot of pictures of gorgeous study spaces on tumblr and they’re all perfect. but for those of us who are a bit messier, more disorganised, creating a study space that’s so pretty and picturesque might feel a bit unrealistic. but fear not! for i am here to give you a quick guide on how to create a study space that is organised and mindful. 

define: mindful means being fully aware of your surroundings and avoiding going autopilot. but it also suggests an idea of tranquillity and thoughtfulness. by a mindful study space, then, i mean creating an environment that fosters productivity, promotes thoughtfulness and creativity, and does not distract you from your work. everything should have a place, and everything has a purpose.

things that you might need:

some basic filing accessories, for pieces of paper and notebooks. magazine holders are good for notebooks, ring-binders and files, and you might want to get a paper-tray if you have lots of lose paper lying around. try cheap ones from Ikea, or some nicer ones from Muji. you could even make some from cereal boxes.

a way to store pens and pencils. there are loads of stationery organisers on amazon, or you could use glass jars, or mugs. 

some postcards, or photos, for an inspiration wall. i have found zazzle to be a great resource, and there are loads of sites that gives you free photo prints. i also recommend printing off a calendar.

perhaps a cute little plant! i obviously highly recommend a succulent. i get mine from local gardening stores.

or some nice tealights! they make me feel calm.

a glass of water, or something else to drink. but not soda. if your desk is nice, you might want a coaster.

what you need to do:

take everything off your desk. literally everything. pick up every notebook, every scrap of paper, and put it on the floor. keep going until your desk is completely empty. then, divide the pile up between work and stuff. so a hand out from a lecture will go in the ‘work’ pile, and a stapler would go in the ‘stuff’ pile.

clean your desk. get a rag and some washing up liquid and wipe down your desk. i was amazed by all the dust and grime there was on mine. it was gross.

create your inspiration wall. i would say do this now rather than later, because your desk should be clear so you don’t need to worry about knocking everything over. don’t worry about it looking perfect - this is meant to be for your eyes only. you can find inspiration on pinterest or tumblr.

sort through all your ‘stuff’. pick up each thing in turn, and ask it three questions: do you make me more creative? do you make me more productive? and do you make me feel inspired? if it answers yes to any of them, then it has earned a place on top of your desk. if not, then it needs to find a new home. only things that are related directly to your work should be on your desk - not even a hair brush. they’re just distractions.

organise the ‘stuff’ that is now on your desk. how you do this is completely up to you. but bear in mind that we are trying to create a mindful environment. keep everything organised, and purposefully think about the reason that you make each choice. so i put my favourite pens in glass jars, so i can move them closer to me when i’m studying. i put my other pens and pencils in a desk organizer, so they’re all in the same place. 

organise your ‘work’ carefully and give it a deliberate home. put the same subjects together. how you do this is completely up to you. 

tldr: the basic principle behind this post is that you should clean and de-clutter your desk, and only have things that you actually need on it to study. in so doing, you can create a study space that encourages productivity, and stops you from getting distracted.

coming soon in my MINDFUL series:

how to revise mindfully

how to study mindfully

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”

11/09/2018

Let the “shopping for University” begins!