Five Things On My Desk

Years ago I wrote about the five things you’d find on my desk. I realised recently that none of those things are on my desk any longer! So I thought I’d update the post and tell you what you’d find if you were ever unfortunate enough to visit my little office.

Mug of Coffee

First things first. I can’t function without drinks! Back in the day it would have been a mug of Yorkshire Tea on my desk, but since I caught covid a few years ago I can no longer stand the taste of any tea, which is a tragedy. I really miss it!

I lost all sense of taste for weeks, and when it came back I was sooo looking forward to that brew. I couldn’t believe how bad it tasted. I persevered and even went so far as to try other brands of tea (!) but to no avail.

Nowadays I drink black coffee, which is nowhere near as bad as I’d thought it would be. And just to be on the safe side (and to my daughter’s disgust) it’s decaf. I know!

I also have a bottle of flavoured water and at least two cans of caffeine free Pepsi Max on the desk, too (other brands of soft drink are available). It’s important to drink a lot, and, if nothing else, all those trips to the loo give me time to think!

Stationery

There’s always stationery on my desk, and usually at least three notebooks on the go. I dream of a tidy, uncluttered desk, but it never seems to happen. I recently had my office redecorated and for a short while it looked immaculate. You should see it now!

I must have a tidy up again, but there never seems to be enough space for everything. I always have a desk jotter to hand because you never know when you’ll need to make notes, and my to-do list is essential. I do love to tick things off. So satisfying!

As for the accounts book… I keep meaning to fill that in every week but I can forget for weeks at a time, then it’s one mad scrabble to get it all down. *Sigh*. I must get more organised.

Storage

Storage is essential because, even though I have a cupboard and a drawer in my desk, plus two cupboards and three drawers in a sideboard opposite my desk, I still don’t have enough room to put everything out of sight! In these drawers are extra pens, spare rolls of Sellotape, staples, batteries, receipts, drawing pins and goodness knows what else. I don’t know how bad my desk would look if I didn’t have it. It’s bad enough already!

Computer

I wouldn’t get very far without this, would I? After years of being a devoted Windows/PC girl, I finally caved and bought an iMac early this year. So many writers rave about them, and since my Windows 10 PC was coming to the end of its life (it was so slow I could have written faster in fountain pen) and I was shopping around for a replacement, I thought, why not?

Well, I’ll tell you why not. A few years ago I’d bought myself a MacBook Air. It was rose gold, and so pretty that I couldn’t stop stroking it. But when it came to actually using it… Aarrgghh!

I tried, I really did, but I hated it. I ended up selling it and vowed never to look at any Apple products again. Well, apart from my iPhone, which I love, naturally. But then I saw this iMac, and it was pink, and looked so beautiful. And the devil on my shoulder (aka Jessica Redland) and her little accomplice (aka Eliza J Scott) kept insisting I’d love it and that I shouldn’t waste money on another PC when, quite obviously, the pretty pink iMac and I were meant to be together.

So I got it. It was a steep learning curve, for sure, but nowhere near as bad as I’d thought it would be, and I have to say that now I wouldn’t be without it. I much prefer it to my old PC and hope I never have to go back to Windows. So there you go!

Sound Equipment

This is a very new addition to my desk. It’s a microphone stand with microphone and all the bits and pieces I need to make my new podcast with Helen Phifer. It looked really complicated when I opened the box and I thought I’d never understand how it went together. To be honest, I still don’t. The Husband set it up for me. I really wanted it to go behind the desk and angle it towards me, but unfortunately the way my desk’s constructed meant it wasn’t possible, so it had to go at the front. Luckily it’s very flexible and I can just push it away when I’m not using it, and pack the headphones and cables away in a cupboard. I feel very professional now! (Excuse the mess on my desk but, to be honest, it’s always like this. Spot the crumbs!)

So there you are. That’s what’s currently on my desk. What's on yours, if you have one?

Have a great week!