Your writing environment is affecting the quality of your writing

Where do you write?

Over the years I have talked to many writers and listened to hundreds of writers interviewed and one of the most striking differences between their routines is where they choose to write. 

Here are a few popular choices:

• A desk in a dedicated office space
• A desk in a communal room, such as a bedroom or living room
• The dining table
• In bed
• On the sofa
• In a cafe or local coffee shop
• A library

Are any of these your favourite place to write?

Why does it matter?

You might be wondering what difference it makes. Why does it matter where you write?

Well there are several reasons, some which are reasonably obvious, some perhaps less so. Let me talk you through a few:

Distractions

This might seem obvious but everyone copes differently with distractions. Some people work better when surrounded by activity, others need complete peace and no disturbance. Workout what suits you.

• Noise – Perhaps you love being in a cafe but you need noise cancelling headphones so you aren’t distracted by conversations around you. Maybe you need to be in a quiet, secluded room where you can fully focus on your writing.

• Interruptions – There are so many ways to be distracted these days. It may be that your phone is always pinging in notifications, that the door is always being knocked with deliveries, you may have pets that come and sit with you while you write and aren’t always as helpful as they could be. How do you cope with these interruptions? What can you do to minimise them? Put your phone on silent, or leave it in another room, if that’s an option? Put a sign on the door asking that parcels are left somewhere safe, while you work? Did you know that it takes up to 25minutes to get back to the task you were doing after an interruption  and on average 15 minutes to return to the same level of concentration? (https://hr.berkeley.edu/grow/grow-your-community/wisdom-caf%C3%A9-wednesday/impact-interruptions)

• Clutter – can be incredibly distracting. If you are working on a dining table and there are breakfast pots that still need clearing away from the morning, a pile of paperwork that you need to get to etc even notes for other work projects around you on your desk, can all be an attention pull. Try to clear your writing space before you start. It is always better to spend five minutes getting niggling jobs out of the way before you begin, than to have them distracting you while you try to write. 

Physical Comfort

This is a big issue and needs to be broken down into many elements. 

• Seating position makes a huge difference to your writing. If your desk, or your screen, is the wrong height you won’t be able to write for long without noticing neck and back pain, which is incredibly distracting. Equally if your chair is uncomfortable or not providing enough support you will, over time, struggle with lower back pain. This always worries me when I learn that a writer does all their writing on the sofa, or in bed.  Obviously for some people it is a physical need, but if you are able to sit upright, please do. Your body will thank you in the future.

• Temperature of the room you are in can make a difference to your comfort, and anything which affects your comfort level, will necessarily impact your writing and how engrossed you are able to become in your work. Make sure you have heaters, fans, blankets etc in the are you choose to work in.

• Lighting in the space you choose to work has a bigger impact on attention for some people than others. If you are at all light sensitive then working in an environment with UV lights will be almost impossible. Equally if the lighting isn’t bright enough then you will be straining your eyes. The right lighting can be a game changer for writers. 

It isn’t always about big changes. Putting your laptop on a pile of books, sitting in a different chair, using a table lamp of fairy lights rather than an over head light… these small changes can all have a huge impact. 

Why do these impact the quality of your writing?

This isn’t just about being distracted by pains and lighting, there are physiological reasons that your writing environment can impact the quality of your work. When you sit bunched up on a sofa or in bed your digestive system can’t work efficiently, and this may cause issues which can either distract you or even take physical resources away from your brain, (blood is redirected to your stomach when you are struggling to digest or process your food).

The same is true for your lungs. When you squash your lungs by slouching, you don’t get as much oxygen into your body, without oxygen your brain doesn’t function as effectively and you will tire more quickly. 

This isn’t just about aesthetics and curating a social media worthy writing space, this is about making sure your body and brain are supported as you write. We can spend hundreds of hours writing every month, make sure you are being as efficient as possible, and giving yourself the best chance to produce your best work.

Where do you write? Have any of these points made you realise you need to make some changes to your writing environment?

Read about my recent struggles with my writing environment in this Substack article.

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