How do you label space?
For years I have called the personal space I have in at home my “studio”. What others might call a spare bedroom was my special space for creative endeavors. This designated square-footage served as a place for artistic projects, writing and designing public programs, but principally it served my need for playful exploration regardless of the number of times I re-organized it, or even moved homes. What is curious to me is that I recently noticed my vocabulary around this nesting place – I have referred to it more and more often lately as my “office”.
When I took a leave of absence from government work last summer to pursue my studies and set up my coaching practice, I very deliberately dismantled the cubicle that had been my assigned work-space in a public building and brought home all my personal belongings. Why on earth did I shift the title of the space with me? As I set up this new space that I use daily for my creative writing, studies and coaching calls, I intentionally did not move in a desk, I did not hang bookshelves nor whiteboards; this space has a round wood table, textured plants, bright artwork and inspiring belongings. It is my place to experiment, explore and wonder. This room is so much more than an office for commercial transactions – it is a place of playful interaction: some amazing conversations and serendipitous things happen here!
So as I come back to paying attention to my vocabulary this week, I am very intentionally choosing to call my space something that has an open-ended sense about it: a studio. This is where I dream and dare beyond conventional business mindset and where I invite the unexpected to materialize – it is a place where both messes and miracles have space to co-exist. Come on in!
How do you define your space and what labels could you change-up to better reflect who you are and what you do?