On August 27th of last year, I published the first post at A Better Desk. What started with the need to write, combined with a visit to a Japanese stationary store, quickly resulted in a full-fledged nerdy hobby. I never imagined that I would pass the 50 post mark, nor did I think that I'd be here a year later, planning for the next phase of my geeky experiment. I've loved discovering the friendly pen and paper community, reviewing awesome pens and stationary, and sending 54 little creations out into the world. Every minute has been a blast.
I've dedicated the last year to finding the right analog tools for the job, but choosing the right tools is the smallest piece of the puzzle. It's easy to fixate on choosing the right pen and paper, but it's much harder to develop the strategies and habits required to get the work done. It's when pen finally meets paper that the real magic happens, and I feel myself wanting to dive deeper into this topic. There's nothing wrong with just being a pen and stationary review blog, but I'm ready to take the next step. I turned to the analog world to find clarity and focus, but I've talked about these topics very little. I look at my about page, what I wanted my blog to be in the beginning, and I can't help but feel that I've barely scratched the surface:
Why A Better Desk? Having a better desk means more than using expensive apps, fancy pens, and a complicated paperless workflow. Sometimes it means reflecting on why we work the way we do and why we spend so much time worrying about the things that we can't control. It also means learning how to work with others and understanding that, deep down, we are all still in grade school. Like any geek, I'm fascinated by all of the accessories of a productive work life, but I'm even more interested in examining my own stupid lizard brain and figuring out how to work around it to get the work done.
So where does A Better Desk go from here? If you've enjoyed the reviews, don't panic, because those aren't going away. I still plan on covering my pen and paper exploits, and I haven't even begun to review many of the items that have made it to my daily arsenal. That said, I'm ready to grow, and I hope that you're ready to grow with me. To those of you who have tuned in this year, thank you. And I truly mean THANK YOU. I started this project on a whim and never imagined that I'd receive as much support as I have from this amazing community. I hope that this is just the start of our journey together.