Your Creative Workspace Should Make It Easier to Create

I’ve realized that one of the easiest ways to make creative work feel harder than it needs to be is to ignore the space you’re trying to create in. Not because you need a Pinterest-perfect office, but because when your work requires you to constantly move between writing, designing, planning, editing, researching, and figuring out what needs to happen next, your workspace can either support that process or add another layer of friction to it.

Mine is actually pretty simple. I work with a laptop, a tablet, and a third screen, with a small whiteboard nearby for the things I need to see without opening another tab. My calendar lives in Goodnotes, and so does my journal. That’s pretty much the system, and one of my favorite things about it is that almost all of it can move with me.

I love a beautiful office, but I also know how I actually work. Sometimes I want to sit at a desk. Sometimes I want to work somewhere else in the house. Sometimes I’m traveling. Sometimes I just need a change of scenery because I’ve been staring at the same wall for too long. Instead of building a system that only works when I’m sitting in one specific place, I’ve ended up with a setup that’s incredibly portable.

My laptop is the main workspace, my tablet gives me another surface when I need it, and the third screen gives me enough room to spread things out without turning my laptop into a graveyard of tiny windows. Goodnotes holds the things I would otherwise have scattered across physical planners and notebooks, while the little whiteboard catches whatever needs to stay directly in front of me. Everything has a job, but almost nothing is tied to the room itself.

I think that matters because there are already enough decisions involved in creative work. What are we making? What needs to go out today? Which idea is actually worth pursuing? What needs revisions? What can wait? What has to happen before something else can happen? I don't want to add Where did I write that down? or Which screen was that on? to the list.

A good workspace gives your brain fewer things to keep track of. My calendar has a home. My journaling has a home. The quick thought I need to remember has a home. And when I need more visual space, I have it. It’s not complicated, which is probably exactly why it works.

And then there's Luna's office.

Luna’s office is gorgeous gorgeous. It’s the version of a workspace that makes you want to turn on the lights, make an iced coffee, sit down, and suddenly become the kind of person who has her entire life together. Multiple screens, beautiful lighting, a dedicated desk, everything arranged exactly where it belongs, and a space that transitions from a bright daytime workspace into this ridiculously cozy nighttime setup.

And I love that for her, because her workspace serves her life. Mine serves mine.

That’s really the point. The best workspace isn't necessarily the prettiest one. There’s something tempting about seeing someone else's office and immediately thinking, I need that. And sometimes you do need the monitor. Sometimes you need better lighting. Sometimes you need the desk organizer or the whiteboard or the chair that doesn't make you regret having a spine. But sometimes the thing worth copying isn't the product. It's the reason it's there.

What slows you down when you sit down to work? What do you constantly have to go looking for? What information do you need visible? What do you use every single day? Do you need your workspace to stay put, or do you need to be able to throw half of it in a bag and leave?

Those answers should design the workspace.

I think we talk a lot about creative systems at Savant because systems create room for the interesting part, and your workspace is part of that system. Mine happens to be small, digital, and portable. Luna's is a whole mood. Both work because they're built around the person using them.

So before you redesign your office because somebody else's desk looked incredible on Pinterest, start smaller: What would make it easier for you to sit down and create today?

Start there.

You can make it gorgeous afterward.