Let structure set you free with a tidy workspace

Let Structure Set You Free

How I changed to a tidy workspace and why

As the title of this post says, let structure set you free. There’s so much in those five words and I don’t remember who first said them, but I’m glad they did. Something I’ve believed for a long time but hadn’t fully applied it to life. It’s like putting your finger on the shutter button, framing up the shot after crafting the light and styling…. But you never actually take the picture. All the other effort is for nought.

After reading “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying” by Marie Kondo, we decided to fully implement the purge and apply the structure we always wanted and craved. Some of you may find parts of her techniques a bit hokey, a bit out there. I tells ya, it freakin works. I can’t tell you how much better I feel now that we live in a joyful, clutter free, tidy workspace, which just happens to be our home.

It took us 6 days, far longer than we’d thought it would. I took 6 or 7 car loads to charity shops and recycling centres, and did it ever feel good to clear out stuff no longer serving us. Our home studio got a bit of a revamp with a good tidy and clean, with a new trestle table we’ve been using to shoot on. Of course with a trestle table I can sit here, as I am, writing a post. Then we can switch up the table top for whatever other surfaces we want to use for a shoot.

JTP-Tidy Workspace-7138

The JTP workstation Let Structure Set You Free

The home food photography studio for Jonathan Thompson Photography and Wilde Orchard

 

 

I’ll let you read the book if you’re interested, but the quick, quick version is this. You start with your clothes. Then onto books. Next is papers and paperwork. Followed by personal items. You ask yourself, does this bring me joy? If not, let it go. It’s actually much easier than you think. What you surround yourself with should make you feel very grateful and pleased. That’s much easier if you love whatever you have in your life. One of the key points to this is, you must do the tidying in one hit. Not a bit here and there, that doesn’t work. I know, I’ve tried it so many times I can’t count. How about you? Do you struggle with stuff strangling your life?

So the new look JTP and Salted Mint HQ is a much happier, calmer, clearer place to be. We find it so much nicer to live and work here. Everything has it’s place now. I love it! My office has to have been the biggest sigh of relief. It’s such a nice space now, not perfect, but sooooo much better. This thinking has even spread to organising each day. Our projects and plans are laid out on our iCal and an organisational tool called Asana. Each evening I plan what the following day will bring. Because we love what we do, we go to sleep excited for the next full day of fun.

The JTP workstation Let Structure Set You Free

The JTP workstation Let Structure Set You Free

The JTP workstation Let Structure Set You Free

The editing workspace at Jonathan Thompson Photography. Let Structure Set You Free

Maximised small shelving and organise your work life. Let Structure set You Free

Maximised small shelving and organise your work life. Let Structure set You Free

 

 

Let structure set you free. It’s so much more than just tidying up but this is where we’ve properly begun that journey. It’s working too. I’ve gotten much, much more accomplished since we did this. For a week after I would walk around the house, taking in deep breaths, like a weight had been lifted off me. Game changer! One of the real beauties is you never need to do a big tidy again. As long as you put things back where they belong, and everything has a place, there’s just the routine cleaning to do. I can handle that. Now if I can find a spray on coating to use in the bathroom, so I don’t have to actually scrub it again, that would be good. There’s always the option to hire a cleaner….

There you have it, if a bit brief. If you want to get that freeing feeling of an organised and tidy home or workspace, buy this book and do what she says. It’ll shift everything a huge amount in the right direction. If you do or already have, I’d love to hear from you, tell me how you got your  structure back.

Thanks for stopping by, hope to see you again soon.

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