The Gritty Virtual Assistant

Here’s an article I wrote and published today in “The Portable Business™.” If you’d like to subscribe, go here:

Aesthetics are very important to me. The space in which I work has a a very powerful effect on my sense of well-being and I love to be surrounded by things that are beautiful, fun and practical all at the same time. Form + function, don’t you know!

1. So here is my desk area:

I adore my L-shaped glass desk. It’s the CEO series from Dania and it’s huge with workspace for miles. It isn’t the most practical thing because you have to dust it much more often, but I absolutely love the beauty of it. Plus, in a smaller office space such as mine, it helps open the room up and reduces the feeling of crowding a large desk in a small room normally gives.

I also have the separately purchased ergonomic keyboard tray that slides out in front of the computer. With the amount of time I spend on the keyboard, this is critical to wrist health!

I have a rolling filing cabinet under my desk.

This is great for keeping tickler files and other things you need on a daily basis at your fingertips.

This is my latest pen holder:

As you can see, it’s not technically a pen holder at all. I don’t like typical office organization tools; they’re so boring and humdrum. I like to find interesting and unusual holders and things at antique stores and yard sales. This latest holder was actually a Dollar Store find. I like the Asian-style flavor and it certainly holds more than the typical pen holder.

My corner cabinet:

2. I love my zebra chair!

It’s stylish, fun and practical. I have never liked high-backed office chairs with arms. Even in my corporate days, people thought I was crazy to be turning my nose up at the expensive executive chairs I was given in favor of something much easier to move around in. I can’t stand those dang chair arms getting in my way.

3. This is one of my filing areas:

I have a very sturdy Hon two-drawer lateral file. I prefer lateral files because a) they take up less floor space by using space along the wall instead; b) they offer greater filing capacity; and c) contents are much easier to file and access than in front-loaded drawers.

I like to use colorful binders for documents and manuals I refer to frequently. They add visual interest and style to the room. On the top shelf, you can see that I like to use glass vases to hold my creative supplies.

The small vase holding my Sharpie collection is actually a glass candle holder I got from Target. I’ve also found interestingly patterned and textured holders from Toilet & Bath departments, LOL.

4. This is my basket of small electronics accessories:

I found this gorgeous double-walled basket at a yard sale last summer for $1. This where I keep all my extra cords and chargers. It’s practical while adding beauty to the room. I use ziplock bags to keep things organized.

All the cords and plugs and accessories for my cell phone go in one bag. All those for my digital recorder go in another. All those for my camera go in another, and so forth. Then I mark the baggies with a Sharpie so I know which bag goes to what.

5. “The Wave” by Hokusai is one of my favorite classics.

I have this awkward space underneath my office window. I couldn’t figure out what to do with it for the longest time because the baseboard heater always threw a wrench in the works. When I came across this panoramic poster online, I knew it would be perfect visual interest for that area. I took it to my local craft store where I had it Color-Plaked which adds this clear, durable texturized coating over the top of the particle-board mounted piece. The way they do the wall-mounting in the back (they call it Color-Float) is ingenious. I couldn’t begin to describe it, but it makes the piece stand out from the wall for a really interesting effect.

6. I use split tubing to organize computer and electrical cords.

This is a great way to disguise those ugly cables and cords. Since my desk is glass, I have nothing on which to screw in any kind of cable organizer so this is perfect. I got mine at Home Depot where you can get one pkg of 8′ split tubing for a mere $2.99. Cords are easily tucked into the tubing with your fingers. The tubing is also easily cut with scissors so you can measure out precise lengths.

7. I have a badass surround-sound computer speaker system which is great for listening to music, movies and business teleseminars.

8. This is my vision board:

I created my board so that it could be used as a permanent art piece as well as a vision board. It hangs on the wall in front of where I sit at the computer so that I look at it each and every day. What I did was take three cork panels and glue them to a piece of cut particle board. I then painted the entire thing in a pretty plum color and had the frame shop screw-in the hanging wire. Voila! I use clear pushpins on my cut-outs so whenever I want to update my board with new intentions, I just swap things out.

9. This is my printer:

I recently switched to an all-in-one printer/copier/scanner so I could free up more desk space. I love the sleek, all-black coloring as well. I really don’t know much about which brands are better than others when it comes to printers, but I’m very happy with this HP Photosmart Plus and I have to say, HP has some fan-freaking-tastic customer support.

10. This is my glass whiteboard:

I could not live without this thing, seriously. Whenever an idea flits through my head, I can swivel around in my chair and capture it instantly. I use it for my to-do lists, too. I save on so much paper and once I complete something, I simply wipe it away. I recently found a magentic glass whiteboard vendor in California and am so stoked! They are very expensive (the size I’m getting is a bit over $700), but to me well worth it. Shipping would cost an extra $600+ so we’re making a roadtrip out of it down to San Fransisco to pick it up ourselves.

Resource: Craigslist is awesome for finding great deals on office furniture, equipment and supplies. I got my practically new, perfect condition Hon lateral file drawers that way for $50 from a company going out of business. They would have cost well over $300 brand new. The whole reuse/recycle/repurpose mentality really appeals to me, and if you ever want something that is mail-order only, pop in a search of Craigslist and you just might be able to pick it up locally without the wait.

PS: Email me a pic of your office space and I’ll share it here on my blog with your name/business and a link back to your website!