Boss and I have both been working at home the past two weeks, an arrangement we came to after deciding to leave our previous office. Leaving was definitely the best decision to make: the previous space was tiny and had one of the worst internet connections I’ve experienced in the past ten years. Combine that with the fact that our jobs are 99% digital and we’re the perfect ‘work at home’ candidates.

Working from home does have it’s challenges, not the least of which is getting motivated.  I figured it’s a lot like the advice parents are given about their children’s homework: give them a dedicated space to do it. So, I toyed with the idea of going all out to upfit an office for myself in my house. By “all out” I mean spend a bill or two on a desk and some neat desk accessories, plus some office supplies. I know myself well enough to realize that such a spending spree would be more about indulging my love of the office supply store than anything else, though, so I decided it wasn’t the best idea given the current economy.

It’s a good thing, too: Boss signed a lease on a new office last week. Well, that didn’t last very long…

It would appear I wasn’t the only one dealing with the difficulties of staying motivated. Between that and his cats thinking they had upgraded to a full-time live-in servant, Boss was having a hard time keeping focused at home.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Work at home” doesn’t necessarily imply actually being at home when one is working. Perhaps a better phrase would be “office flexibility”. Work from Whole Foods and Monday, Doc Chey’s on Tuesday, a coffee shop on Wednesday, etc. And yes, that would work to an extent. However, there is such a thing as too much mobility. Working from home still gives you a base, a place where your brain shifts from play mode to business mode. Having a hyper mobile office doesn’t offer that same mental shift and can be even harder to get used to.

And I have to say: the new office is pretty darn sweet. It’s bigger, it looks better, and the location is fantastic for this area. Plus with commercial real estate being in somewhat of a slump around here, the lease terms are more than favorable. This new space marks a new stage for our company, and that above all else is why I’m excited about this move.

Now, I just have to get back in the habit of brushing my hair before noon…

Photo Credit: rocketlass

This entry was posted on Monday, January 26th, 2009 at 11:01 am and is filed under Work Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.