「 Between Theory & Practice 」

This project started about 2 years ago where I wanted to have an optimized space to study but also to work from. I believe that having an optimized and proper workspace is a key that would make me feel comfortable at home and less reliant on coffee shops that have increasingly been too crowded to work from. This is why after studying elements of what makes a cafe feel comfortable and sometimes cozy to work from, I picked up a few things or two.

In the past, I believed in the idea of Fengshui when it came to interior design. It was something I believed in for quite a while especially after understanding the reasoning behind every placement of our furniture. It sort of worked in my tiny room before, where its layout was optimal for the placement that aligns with the Fengshui theory.

So basically, when you have a desk, you should be putting it in a commanding position. This means, you have to place the desk in the center of the room where you can see every entrance and windows of the area. You should also never place the chair behind any doors and should always place it against the wall. It's that simple but you can also go to more details by adding elements that fits you personally. I won't go deep here but let's say we go by the basic and most common theory out there.

Now, since I am in a different place, I still follow that same principle and place the desk in the center of my study room. Now, here’s the problem. The room isn’t as tiny as the place I used to live in. There are many big windows surrounding the room and placing the desk in the center makes it feel like I am entering a huge space. While it’s great according to Fengshui, I kept feeling something wasn’t right.

With the desk placed on the center and all the open windows, I get distracted fairly easily. There are cats coming in and out of the room, some visual clutters from outside of my windows and even just that sense of losing a visual anchor.

Perhaps, this isn’t right according to a fengshui, but now that I moved my desk as you see below, It feels more anchored. There’s a wall that helps me focus on my task and a window next to me which is actually more optimal.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been moving my desk, latching on to the feng shui principle. In the end, I ended up spending less time inside my study room. I kept feeling like when I sit down, I see too much visual clutter and it was hard for me to be anchored into a certain view. This is what prompted me to re-arrange and look into my old notes on Building A Proper Workspace.

One thing I’ve noticed from my past notes is that I have this desk facing the wall and I remembered having to be so comfortable in it that I barely left the tiny room. I have a love and hate situation with the room considering how tiny it was but I love how my desk was the place I spent most time on and I was more focused working from there compared to if I were going to some random cafe or coffee shop.

The desk facing the wall was something I’ve always felt comfortable with. It helps me focus and anchored especially when I am needing a lot less distraction.

You might wonder how I stayed productive working from a cafe or outside. The thing is that, back in the day I’ve realized all the work I did from outside wasn’t the thinking one. It was always often the mundane things such as some administrative task or simply replying to messages or inquiries. Meanwhile, the actual work has always been inside my workspace, where I spend most of the time and with very minimal distraction. However, there are certain cafes that definitely make me focus because their space was actually designed in a cubicle-like environment where there is minimal visual clutter.

I suppose, this is what makes sense for most people, to actually have a workspace that they really like. For me, it isn’t simple. I like facing the wall type of situation but I wanted to know why I prefer that way compared to other ways of designing a space. So, I explored and experimented and eventually, finding my own why and something that’s non-negotiable when it comes to a desk placement.

However, there’s one thing I learned that when a desk faces the wall, you should have more room to breathe and ensure that the room is big enough to accommodate more activities. In a tiny room, a desk facing the wall can feel too cramped and can make you feel like you’re living in a mini prison. So, even for me, this type of seating arrangement would have been different if the room is small.

Now that I finally have my own ideal space, I am getting a lot closer to actually build a proper workspace. Since the room isn’t the problem now, it’s mostly extra furnishing and some installment of extra power socket. And I’ve come a long way from my first one and as you can see, there are some differences in my past and current space.

You can also read my previous note on this here : Building A Proper Workspace Part II