Being a video editor sucks every ounce of creativity from us. We must do everything we can to be as imaginative as possible at all times. Proper sleep, nutrition, and health are no-brainers when you’re trying to have your brain work at max capacity. But what about our environment? Having a clean edit bay is absolutely vital to being a creative video professional. Let’s discuss.
Clean Workspace = Spacious Mind
When we’re editing there are infinite versions of the video we are making. Our brains need space to process all our options so we can create our Sacred Timeline.
The physical space around you matters. If you’re constantly bumping your elbows on clutter, that means you are distracted from the task at hand. We need 110% focus (something I haven’t been getting lately…). A clean edit bay frees up your personal “RAM”. This is closely related to decision fatigue.
A Tidy Edit Bay
Having a tidy edit bay makes everything easier. You know where to find X hard drive that has Y project on it. Your headphones are always in the appropriate place. Extra batteries for your mouse or Wacom tablet are stored nearby. You can just … edit.
You don’t have to worry about getting up to find a pen to take notes on notecards because you’re still old school in that way. It’s all just ready to go. Fire up FCPX, Avid, Premiere, Resolve, whatever and just go.
If you’re unfamiliar with Marie Kondo and want to get more in tidying up, she’s a good one to start with. She has a widely popular book and Netflix Show.
Rules for My Edit Bay
My Edit Bay in my home office is the one part of my house that is truly 100% mine. The rest of my suburban townhouse belongs to my wife, toddler, and dog. But my approximately 6-foot wide by 2-foot deep desk is mine.
I know that I always subconsciously procrastinate when my desk is messy. Something deep down knows that sitting down at a messy desk isn’t right. I’m not perfect when it comes to having a clean edit bay. But when I know that I’m procrastinating and all of a sudden I notice that my desk is a mess… a quick cleanup usually gets me in the right frame of mind.
For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.”
Benjamin Franklin
Here’s a tour of my desk:
What does your desk look like? Do you have a clean edit bay or do you edit in a chaotic mess of wires and sticky notes? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Cheers,
Josh
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