Welcome to My Dark Place

Step into my office.

Because today is Favorite Things Friday, I've decided to give you a quick tour of one of my all-time favorites. Introducing my desk . . . where the magic happens.


Photo by me: my office essentials--water, phone, calculator, random drawing of Christopher Walken on my white board

Never to be outdone by a doctor's office, I keep a full stack on hand at all times:


Photo by me: have you seen anything more attractive?


Want a home office? Here are 5 important points to consider:

1. Stock your office space with the items you need so that precious office time isn't spent running around the house looking for scissors or pens (or candy).

2. Don't have an extra room for your office? Look for space under the stairs, in a walk-in closet, in the garage. (My first home office was in the laundry room.)

3. Remember the golden rule: You can mount a shelf just about anywhere.

4. The more you enjoy your office, the easier it will be to return. Make it a pleasant space.

5. You can make a desk out of anything. A door or old countertop material placed over saw horses is sufficient.

Nothing says, "Bliss" like a home office. Enjoy!

4 Tips in 4 Minutes

Photo by AngryJulieMonday

Happy Monday! From my desk, I bring you a clip from Today that rounds out today's junk drawer nicely . . .

What do microwaves, vases, shards, and stains have in common?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Answer: a new cleaning strategy

Paper Weight

Photo by rocknroll_guitar

The scary monster that lived under my bed as a child has turned into paper.

That's right. I find paper everywhere in my house. It's the beast I am always trying to tame. As a full-time writer and editor, paper is my permanent co-worker. It follows me to work, sits with me at dinner, and stares at me from my night stand when I'm trying to sleep.

I hate that I have not gone digital. 64 percent of people supposedly do their banking online while I run around the house swatting at floating pages.

One week, I printed so many pages for a project that I came home one afternoon and planted a tree.

Sometimes I think the tree knows it was used.

So this is my new plan. I have chosen Friday--the day we focus on our office space--to be my paper management day. On Fridays, I will take a walk through my house, identify any and all paper that threatens my sanity, and I will file, recycle, or store.

Your days are numbered, Paper.

Bubsy and Other Embarassing Words

Photo by Randy Pertiet

It's something your great grandparents never dealt with.

(No, I'm not referring to talk shows, Halloween decorations, or cleaning the bathroom.)

I'm talking about passwords--those pesky little names or numbers you must accumulate to protect everything from your bank account to your business e-mail and everything in between.

In honor of Friday being the day we focus on the office, here are some tips for keeping yourself safe:

1. Don't use the same password for every site. Reason goes to show that if someone figures out your favorite child or song, they'll unlock your entire life.

2. Be careful what you write down. If you must write down your passwords, do so cryptically enough that someone else's discovery of your list won't mean your entire life is destroyed. (i.e., Avoid writing MY LIST OF PASSWORDS at the top of the page. And never put this list on the fridge.)

3. Keep it to yourself. Change your passwords from time to time, and never, EVER tell untrustworthies what they are. If you do need to enlist the help of someone who receives your password (such as the "trustworthy IT guy") change it as soon as possible.

Here is a great strategy for creating passwords and keeping 'em straight:

Choose a password that pleases you: 1970Bubsy and then add the first word of each site in front of it to keep the password unique for each site. So your bank account might be Bank1970Bubsy and your church prayer list might be Church1970Bubsy and your e-mail might be ... you get the point.

Someday, we'll exchange our little phrases for biometrics, and our great grandchildren will have a hay day discussing what their ancestors did for safety. Until then, stay safe.

Let It Flow

Read about this chart at howtogetfocused.com

I get in the upwards of 100 e-mail a day.

Between my day job, writing projects, and personal coorespondence, I do a lot of e-mail reading. When you weed out the SPAM, unsolicited, or unwanted e-mail, that takes my number down to ... oh ... 99. So I am learning every day how to hone the skills involved in thoughtful, quick review. I love to linger on one response to the neglect of all the rest.

Here is a helpful chart that I discovered today. Hopefully it will resonate with some of you.

Keep it simple.