The communal office life is becoming more popular, according to this article in The New York Times. And it seems that the reason people are moving towards it is the same reason I did: it gets lonely at home.
Do we expect a more exciting, interactive worklife because it’s necessary, or because that’s what we’re conditioned to expect from the nine-to-five jobs we all take after college? The article cites examples of people who can’t deal with the lack of structure in the work-at-home model, including someone who “enjoys the reassuring cadences of the nine-to-five world.” I get this, as I like to rely heavily on structure, but I also find it a little disappointing.
I got an office for many of the reasons mentioned in the article. I needed separation between work life and home life, and I wanted the comraderie that comes with sharing an office with nine others. But then a funny thing happened. I find that the most productive times of my week are when I leave both venues and take my laptop to a coffeeshop. Comraderie—either live or over IM —is a nice short term pleasure, but as a constant presence, it can seriously cut into productivity.
So, on the one hand, you’ve got the working-at-home life, which leads to boredom and ennui. On the other, you’ve got office life, which leads to distraction. The key, at least as far as I’ve found, is embracing the flexibility of choosing between the two on a daily basis. Being my own boss means being able to decide when I go into the office, when I stay at home to work, and when it’s time to break out of the routine and hit a coffeeshop. It seems obvious, but it took me several months to realize that just because I was paying for space, I didn’t have to use it for eight hours a day. Indeed, I should be used for exactly as many hours as are needed to be most efficient. No less, and certainly no more.
It’s easy to believe that we have to choose between one model or the other—work at home or work at the office. Yet going independent is supposed to allow us to break the shackles of the nine-to-five world. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how many shackles that really entails.
Responses to “Not settling for settling”
January 25th, 2008 at 9:45 am
I’ve always been impressed by your ability to focus at home, Naz. I’ve got a little of the ADD in me, I think, and it’s because of that that I can’t really settle. So instead, I make it part of my routine to break up the routine.
January 24th, 2008 at 10:45 am
I read that article a while back, thought about my own situation and the situation of your communcal office. The reason I’ve been hesitant all this time is the very reason you go to a coffeeshop. Distraction, too many people, noise, etc.
I like working from home, because I do have the discipline but it also allows me the freedom to get together with Andrew or whoever whenever I need to. I like focus and the quiet time. I;m actually really fond of having alone time — we have two cats and a dog so that helps a lot in terms of not feeling lonely. I also take breaks to clean bikes or take a ride or go shoot photos so I consider them my sanity-checkers.
Your mileage may vary indeed.