What's in my desk? — Angela Goodhart

I am a professional photographer who is developing some online courses, writing another photography book, and publishing a twice monthly newsletter in addition to editing a lot of photoshoots, so I spend a lot of time at my desk! I have a desk riser that sits on my desk and I absolutely love it! Now I can alternate sitting and standing, which is so much healthier than sitting all day.

Telephoto lens timer ($11). I use the Pomodoro method of time blocking to keep me focused, and I love my mechanical telephoto lens timer! It's not available on Amazon right now, but any timer will work for the Pomodoro (even a digital timer on your computer). Check out my post about why the Pomodoro method is awesome!

Precise V7 RT Pilot pens ($17, 12pk). I've tried so many pens, and this is my favorite, even beating out the excellent Paper Mate Ink Joy and the Pilot G-2 07 pens. The ink flows easily from this pen and I can write my morning pages FAST. Plus it doesn't gunk up over time like the other pens do with a lot of use.

Flowers. I always have a small vase on my desk with something from the garden or something I've found on my dog walks. I picked up this vase from a garden show, but any small glass jar or vase will do, like this one. I like to have flowers or a little bit of nature on my desk as I work — it improves my mood and helps me stay on task.

My daily planner pad! I created this a couple of years ago and I still use it. I also have my google calendar and my physical planner too (I'm kind of a planner junkie) but I view this 100-page pad as more of a reminder and it takes up less space than my planner on my desk and I can tear off a sheet and pop it into my wallet if I'm on the go. "My Epic Goals" is for my three top tasks, "My Amazing Day" is for my daily appointments (morning, afternoon, evening), and "My Brilliant Ideas" is a dot grid for jotting down notes, ideas, and doodles.

What's in your ...?

We want to hear about unusual and unusually useful items that you have in your desk, bag, closet, fridge or where ever you keep things. It can be anything really: work bag, pantry shelf, beauty drawer, toolbox, etc. Start by sending an email to claudia@cool-tools.org with a photo of the things in your chosen space (you can use your phone). If you get a reply from us, fill out the form. We’ll pay you $50 if we run your submission in our What’s in my ...? newsletter and blog.