It can be hard when your office is a room in the family home. In my case it’s the room next to our bedroom, so sometimes it can be so tempting to just head to the right and dive under the covers. Working from home is NOT as easy as you’d think. Besides having the ability to work alone, you must have drive.

Make your space more friendly and less like work!

A couple weeks back Caron came home with about 3 or 4 bunches of flowers (must be a popular girl ), so I asked her if I could have a bunch to put on my desk. After-all the desk in the kitchen was a bit crowded and I hate overcrowded spaces. The male readers are probably saying, how sissy of you to want flowers on your desk. But get this… I love gardening and flowers so why not bring it into my space? The beauty, the colors and the reminder of my garden… those flowers added a sense of peace on hectic days.

Over the years I’ve come to realize that it’s very comforting when I surround myself with things that make me happy. Things that brings out emotions or memories of happy times. I’ve even gone as far as to put up images of things I’d like to have, so I can see what my goals are. Kinda materialistic? Who cares, I work hard and I deserve some material stuff

Most of us usually have pictures of our children, wife etc on our desk or desktop background and that’s great,  but I’ve gone a bit further.

After Caron and Tehya’s recent trip to the Mexican Riviera, they brought back a mini version of one of those local blanket things. Though I didn’t go with them, it still reminded me of what they did. I saw the beaches, the ruins at Tulum, the resort they stayed at, the food they ate, the street scenes in Playa del Carmen. Amazing pictures. That blanket now sits on my chair…

I drink tea in a different exotic Caribbean destination every day. Nothing beats daydreaming if not for just a couple minutes on a cold winter day about lounging on Darkwood beach In Antigua. Caron collects mugs whenever we travel (she just started collecting shot glasses, since we’re running out of room in the kitchen for mugs) so I’ve decided to put them to use. As I enjoy my tea, I glimpse at the cup and it takes me back to the location where they were purchased… St Lucia, St Maarten, USVI, Aruba..etc.

This morning I felt like reliving our trip to Barbados last year, so I grabbed the Barbados mug and enjoyed a wonderful cup of tea. An excellent way to start a gloomy, rainy and humid day.

Besides the blanket, mugs and pictures of what I’d like to enjoy… I also have a stuff from my trip to the world cup in Germany, Tehya’s trip to NY city and for the longest while I had the girls soccer book/schedule on my desk, since it reminded me of our weekly games during the summer. I looked forward to going to the games with a  cup of Tim Hortons in hand and 4 beautiful girls at my side (when we could convince Kieana to join us).

Surround yourself with things that brings out happy emotions and you’ll beat any work at home stress or boredom.