Me & My Desk: Poorna Bell

hot day, cool book

Good morning! This is the fourth instalment of a series called Me & My Desk, which exists because I find other writers’ work routines and work environments fascinating. You can read about Andrew O’Hagan’s desk here, Clover Stroud’s desk here and Emma Gannon’s desk here.

Poorna and I were at the same party in London recently and before realising Poorna Bell was Poorna Bell I had already clocked her excellent outfit and outstanding eye makeup and wondered who she was. She looked so cool and chic.

Imagine my delight when we met properly and it turned out that Poorna was Poorna, whose work I have admired ever since her first book, Chase The Rainbow, a memoir about her late husband, Rob, who took his own life in 2015.

She has also written non-fiction about expectation and meaning, and about being a competitive powerlifter. She is the founder of See My Strong. She can lift twice her bodyweight! It must be amazing to walk about knowing that about yourself.

(I’d be tempted to wordlessly pick up annoying people and stow them away somewhere else, though I suppose they might wriggle in protest - PUT ME DOWN, MADAM - and spoil the effect).

Poorna’s journalism has appeared everywhere from The Times to the iPaper to Grazia. She was UK Executive Editor and Global Lifestyle Head at HuffPo. She’s a consultant, broadcaster and public speaker too.

This Is Fine is her second novel. It is warm, funny, and very wise about family dynamics. It’s a perfect novel for summer, though it’s a book, not a sandal, and ‘for summer’ makes it sound wafty and insubstantial, which it absolutely is not. But it is exactly the thing to read on a sunny day, e.g. this weekend.

(Last year’s summer reading recs here and here, this year’s coming next month).

What is the desk?

The desk is mango wood, from Atkin and Thyme, from whom I've bought several pieces of furniture. It has two long compartments into which I funnel coins, notebooks and various bits of detritus ranging from a weightlifitng medal to a face mask from covid times.

Where is the desk?

I have an open plan living room, and the desk sits in the middle line between the living area and the kitchen. It means I can look out into my very tiny garden, but also have easy access to my fridge.

Originally, I fretted about whether to have the desk here because I had a small dining table and worried whether it would impact my ability to have guests over for dinner. And then I decided work was more important and that any guests of mine would be just as happy having homecooked food on plates perched on their laps. (At least, I haven't heard any grumbles since I changed the set-up).

What do you look out onto?

I look out onto my living room, and into my garden - currently it is summer and there is a rambling rose with thick clusters of coral petals.

How does siting down at the desk make you feel?

It makes me feel focussed and comfortable. It was important to me to have a desk with space underneath - my last desk had drawers that banged against my knees, and for it to feel big enough to hold all of the things I need at hand.

I used to write on the sofa, or on my bed, and I needed to create a set-up that was more attractive than both of those, and I think I have.

When do you write - are there set hours?

I don't do that well with set hours but the morning is my best time. I will always set aside the morning until 12pm, and then my brain melts into a sort of cheese until about 4pm, when I pick up writing again. Evening writing is almost always done while in bed, I cannot work at my desk after 6pm, funnily enough.

The lens cleaner is not messing about

Daily word count, or as the spirit moves you?

It depends on the project. If I have to write a book, then there is a daily word count, and if it's a Substack, then it tends to be less about word count and more about just getting it done. I think writing is beautiful and creative but it is also about discipline and keeping a consistent practice, so it has to be done even when I don't feel like it otherwise I would never get anything finished.

Do you wander to and from the desk, or stay at it until you’re done?

I have a terrible attention span but also I get lost in my work. Sometimes I can be guilty of not moving, but generally, I make myself get up to go for a walk. I don't wander aimlessly though.

Are there pens? Are there notebooks? Are there photos? Are there small weird talismanic items?

There are pens, and several notebooks. One is a gift from a friend that says 'careful or you'll end up in my novel' and it made me laugh so much it had to have permanent residence.

There are tons of photos, in stacks. My childhood photos, photos of my late husband Rob, my old school friends, family - pictures of my niece. I like keeping them close to me.

I've got two notes from other authors that feel Talismanic - one is from Taylor Jenkins Reid, the other is from David Nicholls, who sent me a replacement copy of his book after I told him that lent it to a man I was seeing, who never gave it back. I also have a little stone elephant that Brogan, one of the wonderful people I managed while I was at HuffPost, gave me, after she came back from holiday

Is there a dog or a cat?

Neither, sadly.

Longhand, Scrivener, Word, Pages, something else?

I use a notebook to jot down tasks of the day, MS word for my written work, notes on my phone for random, overly-earnest thoughts. I am terrible at using other apps for my work - I use them once and forget to open them again.

Do you listen to music, and if so what?

I never listen to music while I work, my brain would combust.

Do you use internet-blocking apps like Freedom?

I do not.

Are there desk snacks? Is there desk tea?

There is always a desk tea on the go - Rington's Gold. Failing that, a hot Ribena, and a glass of water. No desk snacks - I incentivise myself to leave the desk in order to get food.

Do you have an ergonomic chair?

No ergonomic chairs because I think they are ugly AF - maybe I will be humbled later in life and require one. For now, I have a fake leather wheelie chair from John Lewis that didn't cost £6K and I'm happy with it.

Do you wear proper clothes and shoes, or e.g. jogging bottoms and socks?

I tend to wear jogging bottoms and socks but I have bought some nice ones - there's a distinction between house slob clothes and what I wear while working. I always do my makeup - not a full face, but some.

Is your phone in the room when you write?

My phone is next to me - when I write I have to cover it with a book or else get distracted.

Do you resent or welcome occasional interruptions by adult humans? If welcome, how many is too many?

I live alone and so it isn't a problem, but sometimes when the door rings and it's a delivery person who needs to deliver something to another flat in the building, and it interrupts my writing flow, it makes me incandescent with rage.

What’s the first thing you do when you leave your desk for the day?

I let out a MASSIVE sigh of relief, then I make a cup of tea and go out into my garden.

Thanks so much to Poorna for doing this. Her book is out in paperback right now - here’s the Bookshop link again, also Waterstones, also Amazon UK. Her Substack is here and actually her most recent post touches on many of the themes of her novel.

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I’ll be back on Saturday morning with a roundup of links.

My house is being photographed today (I’ll tell you about that next week), so I’m off to do last minute cleaning. At 6am! It’s uncivilised. Cleaning is so unbelievably boring. I wish I derived more satisfaction from a super-neat and super-ordered room, but I prefer light mess, so not even.

Still, at least the cleaning gives me an opportunity to quote Linda in The Pursuit of Love yet again:

I think housework is far more tiring and frightening than hunting is, no comparison, and yet after hunting we had eggs for tea and were made to rest for hours, but after housework people expect one to go on just as if nothing special had happened.

Enjoy the sun! Stay hydrated! Please leave this post a ❤️ if you enjoyed it! Thank you!