Creating a Beautiful Home Workspace with Quynh Vu

Sometimes at the Endpaper Blog we get the unique opportunity to offer a platform to creative journallers from around the world. We’ve recently partnered with Quynh Vu – a multitalented artist and bullet journaller who specializes in brush lettering and modern calligraphy. You may remember Quynh from her Instagram account @caliquynhletters or her previous hand lettering and planning tutorials here on the Endpaper Blog. You can also check out her new home decor and lifestyle account @oursandiegohome.

Today we’re excited to welcome Quynh back to the Endpaper Blog to share her tips for creating a beautiful and inspiring home workspace.

---

How to Create a Beautiful Home Workspace

Desk Essentials:

1. Notebook
2. Pencil case
3. Document folder
4. Pens or pencils
5. Laptop

With many of us working from home for over a year now, it is important to recognize some things that we can do to make our workspace more inviting for enhanced creativity and productivity. Filling your workspace with tools and favorite things will make your workspace more desirable and welcoming. Having the ability to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic is honestly an incredible professional privilege that we want to show gratitude for.

While many of us are working at home, most people may not have a private office for their dedicated workspace. Many people may have a kitchen corner or a desk in their bedroom where they are working from. Because many of our meetings are virtual and our cameras may be on, having a professional workspace is even more important now than ever before.

Today we will be discussing steps on how we set up your home workspace for success.

Step 1: Cleaning Up

Let’s start by removing clutter or objects that are not necessary to have during your workday. When deciding what stays and what goes, ask yourself if having that object visible during your workday will enhance your productivity or if it could potentially distract you.

Things to remove:

1. Mail – Let’s put mail somewhere else, so that you do not feel tempted to sort it during meetings or work hours
2. Keys – Put them near your purse, wallet or somewhere else
3. Magazines – Store these somewhere else so that you can enjoy them after work
4. Clutter – Remove things that you do not want in sight during meetings
   1. Extra clothes
   2. Jackets
   3. Laundry baskets
   4. Toys
   5. Food
5. Noise – Turning off the television or radio during meetings will help minimize distractions

Step 2: Identifying Your Needs

Determine which essentials you need to have in order to maintain a productive workspace. This can vary depending on the work that you do. If you are an artist, you may need brushes, paints and paper in your space. If you are working in finance, you may want to have a manual or online calculator accessible for quick math computations.

Things to keep:

1. Chargers for phone and laptop – Keep these close by so that you do not have to go looking for them throughout the day
2. Writing utensils – pens, pencils, highlighters
3. Laptop/desktop – for work and meetings
4. Notebook – to take notes, brainstorm and plan out your day
5. Desktop storage – pencil case to organize writing instruments, document folders to keep paperwork together
6. Water bottle and coffee – to stay hydrated and alert
7. Headphones – to listen to meetings

Step 3: Making it Fun

While identifying what essential tools you need during the workday is an important part of your workspace planning, it is also important to recognize how you can make your space more enjoyable and welcoming.

Personalization:

1. Family photo – to remind yourself of your family that you are working hard to support
2. Scented candle – to make the space more welcoming
3. Small plant – nice to look at and produces oxygen for stress relief, focus and enhanced productivity
4. Desk stationery – picking out beautiful stamps, notebooks, folders and organizers will make your space gorgeous to look at and highly functional
5. Pens – pick out your favorite fountain pen or choose pens with different color inks, experiment with brush pens and highlighters

Above are some easy steps to create a welcoming workspace that will draw you in and motivate you to conquer your daily goals. Keep things nearby that will help you focus. Put clutter and other distractors out of sight so that you do not feel compelled to sort and manage household chores during work time. Putting your full attention towards work during the workday will allow you to stay efficient and in turn, you can better focus your time in the evenings towards your family, hobbies and leisure.

Making a beautiful workspace will make you feel happy to go to work each day, even if work is just down the hall or in the corner of a busy room of your home.

---

Join Quynh on Instagram!

For a chance to have your home office workspace with Paperblanks notebook and stationery featured feel free to tag @caliquynhletters, @oursandiegohome and @paperblanks using #oursandiegohome and #peopleofpaperblanks.

Send Quynh an email at quynh.vu@compass.com so that you can be included in complimentary VIP benefits, such as brush lettering and drawing tutorials that will be sent out each month.