Still, staring at the same four walls every day is enough to make even the biggest homebody crave a little shake up in the scenery.
When I can I move from one location of the house to another; from bedroom to dining room to living room and back to bedroom again (with an occasional outside at the picnic table for good measure), I can still find myself bored with my surroundings.
I think that’s normal for anyone who works; no matter if you’re telecommuting or making the trek to an office every day. It was the drive to work and being able to go from office back home again that I miss the most from commuting.
Working from home doesn’t offer a lot of scenery breaks unless you make it happen. Switching from room to room is nice (especially when it’s raining and the idea of leaving the house is not in the cards).
Every now and then though, you must change things up. For your sanity, for your productivity and yes, even for networking.
I got the chance to change locations BIG TIME this week. Instead of waking up and taking the three steps from my bed to my desk, I drove 30 plus miles to my hometown and parked my butt at a desk at my favorite library. I used to take the kids to this library when we lived there. I felt so at home there. I recognized librarians I hadn’t seen in seven years and found myself spending at least the first half hour getting reacquainted with the walls, the books, the magazines. I’ve been to libraries in three different counties and this one by far, is my favorite.
It was needed, it was blissful. I felt fulfilled, rejuvenated, and inspired. Though I kept my social networking sites and instant messaging open, I found I didn’t use it as often as I usually do.
My mother in law (bless this woman, really.) offered to take the kids to see a morning movie, some lunch and shopping while I stole some much needed uninterrupted work time.
With the exception of breaking for lunch to meet the kids and my mother in law, I worked for nearly seven hours. I did some much needed reading, copied articles for future reference, and typed until my fingers smiled and giggled back at me.
If you’re working remotely, I highly recommend working REMOTELY. No really, pack up your laptop, a giant tumbler of coffee, some snacks, your latest project or most pressing work, and go someplace that promises quiet and free wifi. Plug in and forget the rest of the world.
You’ll be glad you did.
I am.