A new year is well underway, and I’m back at the writing desk. Truth be told, I never really left it—I just upgraded, relocated, and decorated.

Upgrade

Wee! Standing is fun! Well, not really…

Thanks to Santa Claus, I can join the ranks of the noble writers, like Dickens, Kierkegaard, and Hemingway, who stood while they wrote.  I’m now the proud owner of a Varidesk. It’s a table top surface that I can raise and lower, depending on the posture I want to work in. I try to cycle between standing and sitting in half-hour shifts.

Getting used to the new postures has been slow but steady. It’s not easy giving up a hard-core sitting habit. The body has to adjust, but already I’ve found I do miss not having this flexibility at work. After making some adjustments to get my screen height just right (very important if you don’t want to end up at the physio), I’m settled in.

As most of us know, sitting for long periods can be harmful to good health. Researchers have linked a sedentary lifestyle to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and a shortened lifespan. If office workers sit for an average of five hours and forty minutes a day, just imagine how long a hardworking writer sits! And while suffering for one’s art is admirable, dying for it is probably going too far.

Relocate

Bye-bye old friend…

My second-hand corner desk in my home office is falling apart, so I’m afraid it won’t support my Varidesk, which weighs in at almost 24 kilos or 52 pounds). I’ve temporarily shifted to the kitchen where I’ve commandeered the old breakfast table to use as a desk surface. I thought I would hate this locale, what with the hubbub and traffic and constant visual reminders of household chores, but it’s worked out fine. I’ll move back to my little scriptorium once I find the gumption to dismantle my old desk.

Even Huckleberry the canine muse is happy with this arrangement.  The move from under one desk to the other hasn’t bothered him in the least. The kitchen floor is nice and cool on these sweltering summer days.

Decorate

Surrounding myself with a jungle of greenery inspires me. My old desk had plenty of space for my plants, which was my favourite feature. Well, I am happy to report my new desk accommodates my need for green. My daughters gave me a couple lovely vases to display blossoms from my garden. At the moment, my dahlias are going off! Every morning I snip a couple buds to freshen my test tube bud vases.

Hello, Gorgeous!

And how about this rose! I swear its beauty makes me swoon. It’s an Avon, which has a spicy perfume. All this beauty to inspire my writing and yours. Enjoy Ali’s Desk-Cam and some floral inspiration. While you’re here, check the drop-down menu above for updates on my latest book. There’s something new there… (Wink, wink!)

Happy writing, reading, gardening—whatever makes you happiest.