furniture

I disassembled my desk before Christmas. I took it down so that we could put up our dining room table, which has been living under our bed for the past few years. Some of my desk is up in the loft; some of it is leaning against our bedroom wall. The contents are stashed in various places around the house where hopefully they won't make too much mess. My computer is propped up on a bookcase; when I write, I put my keyboard on my lap and rest my feet on my husband's biographies of Nico and Bob Dylan.

This isn't particularly good for my back or my eyesight, but it's worse for my thinking. I can't put my hands on anything I need without searching for it. Likewise, I can't concentrate on one thing for more than half an hour or so. I start something, get up to find what I need, and then come back to my desk and start something else. I've been multitasking for most of January so far. Some people can multitask effectively, but me, I end up only completing half a job.

For example, I've been writing this blog post since last Saturday, and now it's three days late.

That's the down side of not having a desk. The up side is, we now have a table.

A dining table is great. Having a dining table means we no longer eat huddled on the sofa or crowded round the coffee table. It means we sit as a family and talk to each other whilst at eye level to each other. As a result, we linger more over our meals, talk longer. It's a place where my son can do his homework while I do some admin at the same time. It's where my husband and son can set up building projects on the weekends. It means I can invite people round for meals (I invited people round for meals before this anyway, but it means I can invite them and they no longer have to be afraid of spilling their meal onto their lap).

Work-wise, this simple rearrangement of furniture has been difficult. Life-wise, it's been nothing short of wonderful. It's extraordinary how your daily habits can change from a simple movement of furniture.

Fortunately, we're moving house soon (if the gods are willing), to a place where I can have a desk and a dining table, so I won't have to sacrifice my career and my posture for a harmonious family life for much longer.

Where do you work? Have you had to make sacrifices to have this place, or have you reached a happy solution?