This spring, I changed groups at work but was still sitting at my same desk. Two weeks ago, I moved desks to sit with the rest of my new team. When my director told me that a desk was opening up for me, I'll admit I felt a little bummed because the desk that was coming available was a basic cubicle where a student worker used to sit. The view is pretty different from my former desk, which had a huge window.

I was nervous that I wouldn't like my new environment as much and that it would affect my enjoyment of my job. As it turns out, I'm enjoying my job even more from my new desk! I think a big part of it is that I used to sit in a fairly isolated area and didn't have much interaction with colleagues. Now I can hear people chatting or colleagues stop by to ask a question. Sometimes that question is, "Do you want to go get coffee?" and the answer is always YES, even if it's just to join along for a walk.

I also got a new ginormous Mac desktop and I'm so glad not to have a PC in my life any more. I also got a kneeling chair and really like it. I think I could use more padding for my knees but my lower back feels great. And even though I don't have a window my desk still feels pretty pleasant. I love having a table lamp and I would recommend one for your desk, too. So many people stop by and tell me how nice my desk looks, I think it's the homeyness of the lamp.

I also love having non-generic desk accessories, like my reclaimed wood desk organizer (similar here). And a little greenery is always nice, I've got two plants that I keep on top of my cabinets and I foresee more desk plants in my future. And of course Chris and Dashiell hang out with me from a framed photo.

The other thing that is key to a cozy desk is a snack stash. I keep a box of hot chocolate on hand for afternoon sweet tooth cravings along with instant oatmeal, granola bars, trial mix, and tea. I'm always trying to think of other snacks that I can squirrel away; do you have any good desk snacks? Snacks get me through the work day.

I thought that I might invest some time to spruce up my space even more, like covering the cubicle walls with fabric or big poster prints. But it sounds like there's the possibility that I'll move desks again, this time to a shared corner office where I'd have a huge window again and a standing desk (everyone's been getting them at the university lately). So for now I'll keep my desk the way it is but so far it's been a good change.