Stable workplaces and processes for freelancers.
By: Zoran Spirkovski
Tags: Writing, Woodworking, Stability, Design, Freelance

Stable workplaces and processes for freelancers.

Photo by Barn Images on Unsplash

Digital work has made us unaware of principles that I believe translate into creative work, even if most of it is done on a computer. You don’t recognize the fact that you need to have your computer places on a firm and stable surface, you take it for granted.

Laptops further complicate the process by making them extremely mobile and compact, making it easy for us to find a stable surface.

But we never really think about how important stable surfaces are, or at least I didn’t until I started woodworking.

Initially, I thought that any old table would do the trick, but I was completely wrong. So much so, that I’ve dedicated time, energy, and resources to design my own workbench so that I can further pursue this skillset.

Here it is:

The design is not finished yet. There are many things that I do not like in the version that I’m showing you, specifically that I have no knowledge of the best way to join the leg braces on the same level, and I need to replicate the same just below the desktop.

I also find it challenging to come up with a solution that will enable me to make sure that the surface is stable and acts as one whole. Usually, this would be done with clamps, but I’ve been hesitant to invest in them.

However, writing about it now, it’s certainly a worthwhile investment, especially if I want to make bigger things.

The workbench also doesn’t have many of the extremely useful additional tools such as vices, bench dogs, and probably many other things that I’m completely unaware of.

What does this have to do with digital creative work?

I know that the connection between woodworking and writing is very far away, but there is a connection that I can see and would like to talk about.

Stability.

In woodworking, you need a stable hand and workbench.

In writing, you need a stable mind, process, and environment.

Even though they are completely different, this small discovery leads me to many more questions.

Could great work be done from a place of no stability?

Could (and should) we try to tame creativity, or is that a fool’s errand?

Could creativity actually benefit from stable processes?

Like it or not, we all have a process through which we observe the world and think about concepts and ideas. I’ve never been one to think about things in the same way, but after looking a bit deeper I’ve discovered that somehow, someway I’ve developed a thinking paradigm for myself that I find extremely useful.

I always ask myself, what is the purpose?

At heart, I’m a designer. I love to solve problems and to think about solutions. To improve, to innovate. And the hidden stability (or training) in my habit to seek the purpose of things has been incredibly useful for my work.

What gives you stability in your work? Or if you don’t believe stability to be valuable towards your results, what is?

About this blog

Zoran is a professional freelance writer and journalist, and pursues many hobbies in graphic design, woodworking, psychology, sports, sales, negotiation, pretty much a bottomless pit of interests.

Right now he is dedicating time to improve his writing to a remarkable level, and for this reason, he stopped accepting new client assignments, focusing only on clearing out the backlog of projects that have accumulated over time.

He’s working on rebranding into a more specific type of writer and is still figuring things out. Join him on his journey as he blogs about it right here on Medium. Click on that “Follow” button to keep in touch.