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There are things I do which, when others find out about them, seem really weird – even though to me they seem totally normal.

Having a lap tray office is one of them.

Working anywhere

When the internet got excited about the rise of the digital nomad, I could see the appeal of the freedom of working from anywhere. But I have always maintained that my “anywhere” is really just my living room, with a couple of cats.

Besides, my luggage allowance on a plane wouldn’t cope with even half of my notebooks and planners!

Thus, the lap tray office made its way into my life.

A desk on the sofa

At home, it’s a cushioned tray with a lip. So it’s comfortable on my legs and also keeps my laptop cool.

It’s big enough for letter writing and planning out blog posts on A4 sheets of paper, it holds my bullet journal and my stash of fineliners side by side. Occasionally I even get a kitty helper.

I’ve adapted a roll of non-stick mesh so I can also balance a mug of tea on it at the same time (who can work without tea?!) without endangering my papers.

Crucially, although this might seem like a lot of bother when I could just open my laptop and use it on my lap, it means I can pay a bit more attention to my posture, and still work from my sofa.

Which is a win in my book!

A desk in the car

Lately I’ve also found myself out & about quite a lot – at networking, helping out my Gran and my Mum, and just enjoying not being tethered to a desk. But blog posts and emails don’t write themselves!

And outside of town, there are not very many laptop friendly spaces where I live.

So my lap tray office extends to the car as well now. I dug out my laptop tray which has a slide-out section for a mouse. It now lives under my passenger seat.

I can hop into my passenger seat and do a bit of work in relative comfort between appointments, while waiting to pick someone up or just to avoid driving home and back out again if there’s a shortish gap between things I have to do.

This fluffy idiot came to investigate while I was taking photos and curled herself up happily on the parcel shelf. Obviously, she never does that when it’s time for the vet…

It might be a bit quirky! But my lap tray office has freed me from sitting in one place to work. And it often means I can finish bits & pieces while out and about. Then I can chill out at home with a book. Which is always a win!

What weird quirky things do you have in place to do stuff on the run? (Or is it genuinely just me and everyone else works from their phones these days?!)