Little things can make a big difference

I run my business from home, and that means working in a small room which contains all of my work stuff, plus all of my hobby stuff. I confess that it is sometimes very hard to turn away from the gorgeous piles of fabric and the sewing machine, and face the computer screens to do some fairly monotonous administrative work.  Well, I made a couple of little changes yesterday which have made me unreasonably happy, and which I hope will make those computer tasks a little more attractive.

Small stuff, but I am happy to say that these little things do make me happier to sit at the computer.  First of all, I made myself two lovely desktop images of fabric, courtesy of the gorgeous photography of The Workroom, a crafting space in Toronto (which I would love to visit one day!). I chose two of my recent faves - the Wildwood collection by Elizabeth Olwen, and some Nani Iro blue mountains.  Looking at these beautiful colors and patterns really cheers me up.  

Another change I made is with my browser.  I use Chrome, and Chrome allows you to select a theme.  Most of the themes are photographic but there are some by fashion designers and I found this beautiful triangle design by Jack Spade that I love...here's a closeup.

I think this design appeals to me so much right now because I have been doing an online quilting class with Stitched In Color, and the class is all about angled piecing.  One of the quilts I made is based entirely on rows of triangles, and this theme really reminds me of that.  The colors are beautiful too.

So these little changes make it easier for me to look away from the sewing machine and concentrate on the work that must be done (to fund the sewing!). 

Do you have any ways of "tricking" yourself into doing your work or chores?

And thank you for not commenting on my messy desk!  :)