Feng Shui for Writers — Even If You Think It’s Hooey

3 quick ways to improve your workspace energy and boost your productivity

What is Feng Shui and why should I care about it as a writer?

Well, fellow wordsmith, as a trained professional Feng Shui consultant in a previous life, I shall tell you. Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese* art and philosophy that believes you can improve your life by improving the energy flow of your home or office. (*Actually, every culture has their own form of Feng Shui and the original one started in India. It’s called Vastu Shastra.)

Literally translated, Feng Shui means “Wind and Water.” So, 5,000 years ago, when the farmers in China were deciding where to plant their crops, they wanted a spot where the water flowed to them and where they would be protected from the wind to have a bountiful harvest.

Feng Shui is about letting your environment help you be more productive; achieving optimal health and success. Think about it, if your room is messy and there’s crap everywhere and it’s dirty or dark or smelly, do you feel productive? No, of course you don’t. Can you get much done? No, you cannot.

Think about it, if your room is messy and there’s crap everywhere and it’s dirty or dark or smelly, do you feel productive? No, of course you don’t.

On the other hand, if your space is clean and clear and there’s just the right music playing and enough light to see well and it smells of your favorite flower and it’s full of things you love to look at, you work better. Ok? So, that’s what we’re talking about here.

1. Your Desk

Nobody should put baby — or your desk — in the corner!

Please, dear writer of creative thoughts and sage advice, please stop staring at a wall. As a writer, and most likely, a freelancer, you are the CEO of you. Act like it. Face your desk into the room like a boss. (I’m assuming you have a desk here but, if you don’t, you really should. At least something — a table, a chair, hopefully not your bed — that signifies your official work space.)

The rules of Feng Shui say it is best, when sitting at a desk, to face into the room so you can see the door. The door represents opportunity and you want to greet opportunity head on, don’t you? You want to look it in the eye and say, “Welcome! Have a seat. Let’s chat.”

The door represents opportunity and you want to greet opportunity head on, don’t you? You want to look it in the eye and say, “Welcome! Have a seat. Let’s chat.”

I know it’s also nice to look out the window. Good for the soul and inspiration. But, according to Feng Shui, it’s better to have the window to the side of you, if you can swing that with your space. If you really want to see the window view when it’s behind you, put a little mirror on your desk so you can see the reflection of the outdoors if/when you look up from your computer screen.

On that note, if you absolutely MUST face your desk to a wall because of the constraints of your room, you can also put a mirror on your desk so you can see what’s coming from behind you and into the room.

Here’s another reason: Feng Shui says it is not advantageous to be surprised while you are working — like someone coming into the room without warning. (And I know that’s happening to you more these days because, well, the pandemic.)

That unexpected entrance startles you. And being startled throws you off your game, even just for a little bit. And what if that little bit just happened to be when you were about to finally get to the point you’d been searching your brain for all day. Yikes. That would not be productive, now would it?

So, face your desk into the room, opposite the door as far from the door as you can get. Kitty cornered, on an angle, is best, if possible. Do it. Now. You know you want to try it.

Doesn’t that feel better? It’s like when you’re sitting in a restaurant (you remember doing that, don’t you?) and there’s a booth seat against the wall or a chair facing the table but away from the door. Which seat do you take if you’re the first to arrive? The booth seat. That’s because it just feels better to see what’s coming your way. Let’s make it so that you meet what’s coming head on.

2. Your Lighting

It’s no coincidence light bulbs represent ideas, is it?

Now, lighting in Feng Shui is one of the quickest ways to change the energy. Light IS energy. And it takes energy to write, am I right? Lamps, overhead lighting, candles, it matters not. Heck, wear your headlamp even.

Using any light source will, quite literally, shed some light on the situation for you. I mean, maybe you prefer writing by the light of your screen alone but that’s really just not good for your eyes, ya know?

If you have enough sunlight streaming through your window, fine. That counts. I mean, the sun is the original light source, right? So artificial light is just trying to be the sun.

Other than the obvious placement of shining light where you write or work or read or most need to see, you can place a lamp you like the look of where you can see it when you stop to think of your next sentence. Also, light just brightens the mood of the room.

The real Feng Shui of it is, if there’s an area of your life where you feel stuck — like what to write about next — or you can’t quite see clearly, put a light in your space. And, for goodness sake, turn it on. That simple act ignites energy in your space. Thank you, Edison and Tesla. So go turn the lights on. I’ll wait.

And, for goodness sake, turn it on. That simple act ignites energy in your space. Thank you, Edison and Tesla.

(If you want to get brownie points with this Feng Shui stuff, you can use the diagram of the bagua to figure out exactly where in your space, or on your desk, to place the light. The bagua is the like a compass in Feng Shui and it helps you map out where each area of your life resides in your home.)

3. Your Stuff

Don’t keep that tchotchke from Aunt Sarah on your desk — she’s not coming over!

When I used to do Feng Shui consultations in people’s homes, I’d ask them if there was anything in their home they didn’t like. If you don’t like something you own, every time you look at it, you will remember why you don’t like it. And you will feel some kind of, “Ugh” feeling. And that “ugh” feeling will stay with you and then it will sneak into your writing and you could end up with “ugh” writing.

On the other hand, if you like, or even love, everything around you, you get an ooey gooey feeling every time you look at your stuff and that ooey gooey feeling will go into your work and you just might write better. What if I’m right?

Inevitably, there were things all over the house my clients were keeping and displaying that were gifts from people they love. But they didn’t love the gifts. They were keeping them around in case the gift giver were to pop by and not see it displayed proudly on the mantle. Well, guess what, that is not a good excuse anymore. Because no one is coming over. Thank you, COVID-19.

Honestly, it never was a good excuse anyway. Here’s the thing, every single object in your space has an energy to it. From the material it’s made of to where it came from to who gave it to you. And energy is a tricky little bugger. It’s everywhere. And it affects you even if you think it doesn’t. Even if you think all of this Feng Shui stuff is hooey, it’s affecting you. Right now.

Here’s the thing, every single object in your space has an energy to it. And it affects you even if you think it doesn’t. Even if you think all of this Feng Shui stuff is hooey, it’s affecting you. Right now.

So, go collect 3 things in your space, on your desk, in your room that you don’t like. (You can Marie Kondo it, if you like.) Put them in a box to recycle them, send them back to your aunt or give them to someone who might actually like them. You will be happy you did. And, look, you inadvertently cleared some clutter — also very good Feng Shui. Now you can get on with this writing stuff.

In conclusion, if you move your desk, turn on the lights, and love your stuff, you’ll be more productive.

That’s it for now. We didn’t even touch base on plants or color (both very good things for Feng Shui) but, for now, face your desk into the room, shine some light, and surround yourself with things you love. You will write better.

And, when you write better, you will be/feel more productive. And, when you’re more productive, you could make more money. You get the snowball thing happening here, right? Go forth, dear writer, grab the energy by the horns and make it work for you.

And, please, let me know if moving your desk magically brought you new or more clients, clicks or cover stories — I’ve seen it happen.