Sometimes when trying to be productive or particularly creative, I run a little exercise to help me focus and calm down. It doesn’t take more than a couple minutes.
Let’s do this:
- Sit back and relax. Find a comfy, quiet spot that doesn’t have distractions
- Close your eyes, try to clear your mind. If you have a particular meditation you like to use for this, go for it.
- Visualize and enter your workshop.
There you go. I intentionally leave the 3rd step vague, the real key to the workshop is to not be prompted and visualizing what you consider to be your productive space.
When you went to your workshop what did you picture? I really think the first image that pops into your head tells you quite a bit about the kind of environment you prefer to be productive. If you didn’t have a clear image, sit and think about it longer. Really get into the rich details of a place in your mind you can go to.
I’m going to describe my workshop, but do the exercise yourself before you read about mine! You want you to have a natural, unbiased vision of the workshop that is best for you!
My Workshop
My workshop is an old, dusty farm shed.
It’s about 30’x15′, with a large garage door sized opening at one end. It’s sturdy, but time and the weather have taken it’s toll on the building’s appearance. The framing is pine logs and the walls are aged, grey wooden slat boards. There are work benches surrounding the wall, as well as an old work table in the middle, sitting on a dirt floor. It’s quiet, only the subtle noises of birds and the slight breeze outside. Various hand tools are mounted on the walls (using nails in framing, or the occasional pegboard). While not perfect, everything has a place and it organized to get things done. Through the door I can see a green field with the blue and white snow capped rocky mountains in the distance, a very slight breeze outside swaying the grass in the fields.
I think it goes back to summers I spent on my time growing up here in Montana. My family always had some sort of shop, barn, or shed that we did work in. Some summers I would spend all day in our “shop” just messing around, trying to fix things, breaking stuff or exploring my Grandma’s farm buildings, looking for cool things to tinker with.
Tell Me About Yours
Now it’s time for you to describe your workshop! Leave a comment or hit me up on social media so that I know what kind of place puts your mind at ease.