People often tell me, “I don’t consider my writing a business. I just write for fun.” Yet, whether writing is a vocation or an avocation for you, treat it as a profession. Ideally, you should have a desk and a filing cabinet dedicated solely to your writing—an entire room is even better! Many writers, however, do not have this luxury.
Also, it is important to have a comfortable chair that adequately supports your back. Writing requires a lot of sitting. Be sure to get up and walk around at least once every hour, and look away from your computer screen every 15 minutes for a moment. The better shape you keep your body in, the sharper your mind will be for creating and editing. Try to work out at least three times a week for 40 minutes to an hour each time. Also be sure to exercise your fingers and flex your hands. Many writers developed carpal tunnel syndrome, and you want to avoid that.
Even if you don’t have an actual office location for your writing, you can still get the job done if you keep things in order. If you don’t have a metal filing cabinet, you can purchase a cardboard one at an office supply store inexpensively. Although you are writing on a computer today, it is still important to keep a hard copy of your work. Computers have a nasty habit of crashing, and often this happens before a person has everything backed up. I also suggest backing up your work on an auxiliary hard drive as well as on an Internet location such as Dropbox or Cloud.