Kim Avery Coaching

A Coach’s Home Office – A Sneak Peak Into My Work Space

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Good time management, a smooth work flow and on-going organization are necessities for any successful entrepreneur. While reading self-help books about these things always interests me, much of what I’ve learned has come from watching others.

If that is your learning style as well, I thought I would share some of the things that work for me in my home office.  And I hope you will take time in the comment section to share a few of the things that work for you.

My Home Office

I spend a lot of time in my home office.  A LOT of time. So, I am always in the process of refining my environment. It’s important to me that this one room be functional, efficient AND a place I love.

Deskandphone

Connected to the Outside World

Since I spend countless hours in this single room, first and foremost, I want to feel connected to the outside world – both human and divine.

Divine

Being able to visually drink in nature keeps me connected with God all day long. I do that in two ways.

First, through the large picture window over my desk. Unfortunately, the house didn’t come with this window.

Undeterred, I hired someone to knock a hole in the outside wall to install one. Then I hung up two bird feeders, and now I get to watch the squirrels and birds chase each other all day long.

Secondly, there is a door right next to my desk leading to a small outdoor patio. (Thankfully, the house DID come with this). During small breaks between clients, I love to step outside, breathe in the fresh air and have a short conversation with God.

Human

The other way I stay connected is through technology. My beloved iMac keeps the internet world at my fingertips and my Jabra cordless headset (worth every penny I paid for it – and that was a lot of pennies) allows for coaching conversations that change the world.

I spend most of the day sitting at my desk – talking, typing and watching God’s creation.

Taking a Break

Occasionally I get a break in my schedule and then I move to my faithful Lazy Boy which sits just to the left of my desk. It’s a great place to catch up on reading and spend quality time with God.

A magnetic chalkboard hangs right above my Lazy Boy chair. I use it to write out verses that inspire me, hang meaningful pictures and post important reminders.

Chalkboard

filecabinetThe cabinet between my desk and Lazy Boy houses essential office supplies and my secret supply of snacks. (Please don’t tell my family where I keep the chocolate.)

On the other side of my Lazy Boy is a two-drawer file cabinet that holds client files. On top of the cabinet, I keep extra pens and pencils, my Bible, journal and any books I’m currently reading.

Keeping on Track

timerYou may notice the small white timer on top of the cabinet. Not surprisingly, it’s easy for me to lose track of time when I’m engrossed in an interesting project. One of my biggest fears is that I’ll get so distracted I’ll actually forget to call into a class I’m scheduled to teach. To ease my mind, I use that little timer to alert me to the time.

In Person Clients

On the other side of my office, I have a small table and chairs. On the very rare occasions when I see clients in person, that’s where we sit.  The rest of the time it’s a great spot to spread out any projects I’m working on.

bookcases

Essential Reading

Three of my four office walls hold built-in bookcases keeping my most referenced books close at hand. (Being a book-aholic, I also have books stored throughout the rest of the house, attic, storage space and more :)).

WallCalendarPlanning Ahead

A recent purchase that I’m excited about is this laminated one year calendar which I put on the back of my office door.  I haven’t had time to add all my stuff to it yet, but  I’m planning to use it to plot out my different big projects (groups, website changes, programs I’m writing, etc.) to make sure that I don’t overbook myself (a common problem for me.)

Office Mate

BobAnd this is my miniature poodle, Bob. When I don’t have any clients scheduled, he likes to come in and keep me company. Living in such a virtual world, it’s nice to have a non-virtual friend.

How About Your Office

I hope you’ll leave me a comment and let me know what your office looks like and how it works for you.

15 Comments

  1. Cheryl Thomas

    Your office looks awesome. Mine home office isn’t anywhere near as beautiful or enticing, but I always try to work in environments that energize & soothe me.

    • Kim Avery

      Hi Cheryl, Environments have a big impact on me as well. Beauty energizes me and clutter exhausts me.

  2. Mary Lou Caskey

    I am so glad that I was able to see this beautiful office and be one of the in-person clients! I would love to see photos of other offices that people post.

    • Kim Avery

      Hi Mary Lou, I know. It was so much fun having an ‘in-person’ client when we worked together. I’m so glad you were willing to drive over.

  3. Debi

    Thanks for this look into your home! Your office is beautiful and gave me a ton of ideas…first by knocking out a wall to put in a huge picture window!

  4. Laura-Catherine

    Kim, I LOVE your space!!! It’s SO inspiring and open for all kinds of new ideas! Thanks for sharing this with all of us! It’s SO cool to see where you work.

    This post really helped me realize how much the personal stuff means in marketing…you REALLY help me learn from watching you and being on the receiving end. Thanks!

    My office space WAS much more visually appealing until December of 2011. Manna, my TOTALLY cute, tiger stripped kitty arrived in a 5 month old body which contained lots of energy. She’s grown up a lot but still has the nick name of “scamper” for a very good reason…she’s the most agile kitty I’ve met…and, as you know, I’ve met A LOT of kitties.

    Thus my lovely plants and elegant accents are on vacation for a while. BUT, she makes me laugh and keeps me feeling non-virtual a lot! Her most recent stunt was somehow getting herself caught inside one of those brown cord handles on the mid-sized, brown, paper grocery bags.

    She was flopping around the floor with her front end stuck inside and her back end wheeling her body here and there — since her front feet were in the bag with zero traction. SO funny………. When she’s tired out, she sleeps on top of my printer…

    • Kim Avery

      Hi Laura-Catherine,

      I’m so glad you enjoyed the ‘tour.’ You had me laughing out loud as you described Scamper’s antics :). You’ve made a wise decision to put off decorating the office so that Scamper can have free reign. She sounds like a delightful office mate :).

  5. Cheryl Cope

    Love the windows!! Love the book shelves!! Great ideas, thanks for sharing!

  6. Kinsey

    oh wow! it’s quite dreamy – especially the window. so inviting and soothing. well done!

    • Kim Avery

      Thanks, Kinsey. Someday you’ll have to come visit in person 🙂

  7. Summer Alexander

    Wow Kim! Your office looks like something right off of HGTV! Thank you so much for sharing, very inspiring.

  8. Frances

    Kim

    The window in front of the desk… YES! I want to do this so bad. I too have a home office in which I spend the majority of my day.
    Thank you for sharing and the inspiration!!

    • Kim Avery

      Hi Frances,

      What do you love about your office?

      • Frances

        Kim.
        I recently purchased a stand up desk and it’s amazing. It gives me the option to stand or sit throughout the day.
        I to have a door that goes out to our deck and overlooks the back yard. I have my candles and essential oils and puppies by my side. 😊

        • Kim Avery

          Beautiful. I wish I could see a picture. Maybe you could post one on Facebook and tag me??