Priming My Workspace

Separation of concerns. In the tech world, that phrase generally refers to the design principle of separating a complex system into more manageable parts. However, ever since I started working from home, I have started seeing it in other places outside of my codebase.

When I worked in an office, I found it really easy to keep my space clean and organized. In hindsight that was because that space was dedicated to my job only. It was easier to disconnect from that headspace once I was done with my work because the work was literally in a different location. But now that my workspace is also in my home, I find it harder to keep that separation, which could be a concern.

Some aspects are easy to keep distinct. I have a work computer and a personal one, and they do not overlap. Granted, both of them are on top of my desk, so I have to keep experimenting with different layouts to accommodate both. Other aspects are not so easy. For example, my pile of notes and sticky notes covering my desk. I find myself constantly shifting and adjusting things from one side to the other to make room for whatever I’m doing. And no matter how many times I go through and organize it better, new items seem to creep in or materialize back. But, I guess that is more of a reflection of my style of working. If I don’t have a tidy space (both physically and mentally), I tend to feel overwhelmed, even if my to-do list is only two items long.

Who knows, maybe finding a happy middle ground like splitting my desk space in half will improve my environment. Or, in time, I could get a completely separate desk to be a mini-work island in the sea of my home space (though if I do, I’m definitely going to get a standing desk). I could start small by having two different colored sticky notes, one for home and one for work.

Until then, I will continue to check my posture, set my Pomodoro timer to make sure I take mental breaks, and keep tweaking my workspace to fit my lifestyle. Sure, it’s not as easy to have my space separated in black and white, but now I am able to discover a whole new set of colors to bring to my environment. For now, I just need to put down some primer first. That reminds me – I should probably get around to painting my walls.