If Your Space Could Talk, What Would It Say?
Would it whisper, “You’re killing it, boss, keep going”? Or would it scream, “Help me, I’m drowning in tangled cords and the slow death of ambition”?
If it’s the latter—congratulations. Not only are you basically my roommate, you’re also overdue for a tune-up. Not a Pinterest-perfect, beige-on-beige, “live laugh love” tune-up, but a real one. The kind where you reclaim your turf, reset the vibe, and remember that your space is supposed to work for you, not the other way around.
Your environment is a co-conspirator. It can either sabotage you with chaos and low-key shame, or it can hype you up, hold you steady, and remind you that you’ve got this. Whether we’re talking about your apartment, your home office, or that corner of your studio that somehow turned into a shrine for half-dead plants and unopened mail—spaces carry energy. They’re not neutral. And the good news is, you get to shape that energy.
So here’s the real talk: productivity and comfort aren’t one-time projects. They’re long-term relationships. They change as you change. You don’t need perfection, but you do deserve a space that supports your weird, brilliant, overbooked, ambitious, tired, hopeful, chaotic life. Let’s get into it.
Step 1: Identify the Trouble Zones (A.K.A. The Chaos Corners)
Every home and every workspace has them. The chair that’s no longer a chair but The Pile™. The countertop that doubles as a permanent graveyard for junk mail and mystery mugs. The desk drawer that only shuts if you karate-chop it. The digital equivalent is that “misc” folder on your desktop full of files you swear you’ll organize someday.
Here’s the trick: you don’t need to fix them all right now, but you do need to call them out. Stop pretending they don’t exist. Name them. Circle them in metaphorical red ink. If you’re feeling spicy, slap Post-it notes on them that say things like “You thought you could hide from me?”
When I finally looked around my bedroom, I realized my personal Chaos Corner was embarrassingly concentrated around my side of the bed. A queen-sized mattress surrounded by a clutter perimeter that could rival the trenches. Mostly crafts, stacks of books, random notes, that mug I kept insisting was “still in use”… ugh the mugs! The vibe collapsed in that six-foot radius, and it didn’t matter how nice the rest of the room looked—if that zone was wrecked, everything else felt wrecked too.
In your workspace, this could be the inbox with 2,472 unread messages or the Slack channels you’ve muted into oblivion. Call them out. Don’t hide. They’ll only rot stronger in the shadows.
Step 2: The Three-Minute Rule
Here’s a rule that can single-handedly change your relationship with your space: if something takes less than three minutes to deal with, do it immediately.
That sweater on the floor? Ninety seconds. The empty coffee cup that’s been orbiting your laptop like it’s part of the décor? Thirty seconds. Dragging that one rogue file into the right folder on your desktop? Ten seconds.
It’s not about becoming hyper-productive; it’s about being kind to your future self. Because let’s be honest: you’ve already got a thousand things competing for your brain space. Why leave low-hanging clutter to turn into a mountain? Imagine walking into your studio tomorrow and seeing a desk that’s already clear, a sink that’s already empty, a project bin that’s already prepped. Future you will want to kiss present you square on the mouth.
The three-minute rule is a micro-ritual, a muscle you build. It’s not glamorous. Nobody is posting reels about rinsing dishes right away. But that little bit of immediate action pays off tenfold in saved energy, lowered stress, and vibes that feel intentional instead of accidental.
Step 3: Build Your Pleasure Zones
Not every square inch of your space should scream discipline. That’s no fun. Some zones should seduce you into wanting to be there.
This is where you get intentional about joy. Maybe it’s a reading nook with a blanket that feels like a hug. Maybe it’s a desk scented with your favourite candle and stacked with pens that don’t suck. Maybe it’s a corner in your studio where your craft supplies are always within arm’s reach for midnight inspiration bursts.
In a workspace, pleasure zones are about making your desk or studio feel less like a punishment chamber and more like a creativity portal. Put the playlist on, let yourself have the silly sticker-covered notebook, make sure your chair is actually comfortable (no, really—stop punishing your spine like it owes you money). Add one object that makes you grin every time you see it.
My desk has a ceramic frog wearing a crown. It doesn’t help me meet deadlines, but it keeps me laughing at the absurdity of it all. Sometimes that’s the real productivity hack: making the space somewhere you want to linger.
Step 4: Banish the Vibe Killers
Let’s talk about the vampires of your environment. Fluorescent lighting that makes you look like a crime suspect. Extension cords tangled like spaghetti. That one weird smell that’s been haunting your hallway. They don’t just ruin aesthetics—they kill energy.
Start small. Swap overhead lights for warm lamps. Hide cords in sleeves or run them neatly along the wall. Bring in a plant, a rug, or a print that makes you feel like you belong to yourself again. The point isn’t perfection—it’s subtracting the little things that slowly drain you.
In your workspace, this could be muting the Slack channel that’s a constant chaos stream, or unsubscribing from newsletters that make your inbox feel like an avalanche. Vibe killers don’t only live in physical rooms—they creep into digital ones too. Delete, mute, unsubscribe. Clear the noise.
What you want is a baseline: a space that doesn’t sabotage you before you even start. You deserve an environment where the default setting is possibility, not dread.
Step 5: Set Your “Scene” for the Day
Think of your life like a film set: every day needs a stage. You wouldn’t shoot a rom-com in a horror set, and you can’t do deep creative work in a room that feels like a landfill.
Working-from-home day? Clear your desk, refill the water bottle, line up your to-do list. Rest day? Blankets, snacks, and a Do Not Disturb sign hanging metaphorically (or literally) on your door. Big presentation day? Adjust the background, check the lighting, cue the playlist that makes you feel like a badass.
This isn’t about faking perfection—it’s about creating conditions that align with your intentions. The act of setting a scene tells your brain: this is what we’re doing now. It’s ritual. It’s theatre. It’s self-direction.
The beauty of scene-setting is that it’s temporary. You can reset it tomorrow for something else. The point is flexibility: your space adapts to your day, not the other way around.
Step 6: Keep It Low-Maintenance Hot
Here’s your permission slip: you don’t need a weekly home-magazine spread. You just need to keep your space “ready enough.”
That means if a friend drops by, you don’t panic. If inspiration hits, you can spread your project out without tripping over old clutter. If you have to jump into a Zoom meeting, you don’t look like you’re broadcasting from a bunker.
Low-maintenance hot is the middle ground between chaos and obsessive perfection. It’s the sweet spot where your environment is functional, alive, and forgiving. The laundry might not be folded, but it’s not rotting in the corner. The desk might not be curated, but it’s clear enough to start something new.
Your goal is to feel like your space matches the life you’re actually living—not the fantasy life, not the disaster life, but the real, messy, creative, ambitious one.
Final Word: Your Space is a Co-Star
Bottom line: your home and workspace aren’t static backdrops. They’re co-stars. Treat them accordingly. They set mood, influence plot, and steal scenes when you’re not looking.
This doesn’t mean your space has to be fancy. It means it has to be intentional. Give it personality. Give it boundaries. Let it support you, but make sure it listens when you say, “We’re getting sh*t done now.”
You deserve spaces that feel alive, supportive, and a little bit mischievous. Spaces that keep you grounded without holding you back. Spaces that whisper, “Yeah, you can handle this.”
And if all else fails, remember: every Chaos Corner can be tamed. One Post-it, one three-minute fix, one tiny frog prince at a time.
Pitch us your weirdest idea. Write, rant, draw, protest, publish.
Join the New Girl Army and support our writers via the Patreon link in their bios. We’re building a magazine from the margins — and we mean it when we say it’s yours, too.
→ Subscribe to The Edit
→ Submit Your Work
→ Follow @shezinemagazine
AXO (she/her) is a multidisciplinary creator, editor, and builder of feminist media ecosystems based in Toronto. She is the founder of She Zine Mag, Side Project Distro, BBLGM Club, and several other projects under the AXO&Co umbrella — each rooted in DIY culture, creative rebellion, and community care. Her work explores the intersection of craft, technology, and consciousness, with an emphasis on handmade ethics, neurodivergent creativity, and the politics of making. She is an advocate for accessible creativity and the power of small-scale cultural production to spark social change. Her practice merges punk, print, and digital media while refusing to separate the emotional from the practical. Above all, her work invites others to build creative lives that are thoughtful, defiant, and deeply handmade.
