I Didn’t Like Working From Home…

Every year, I am given ten work from home days to use as I see fit. However, even though I have been given the option to do so I have rarely used more than a couple out of necessity. I have never been a fan of working from home. This has not been a secret and there are a multitude of reasons for my dislike of this arrangement. What it really comes down to is the simple fact that I am not as productive at home as I am at the office. And that is all about the focus that I lack when there are so many distractions around the house.

However, in the few weeks that we have been in our new home, that stance is beginning to waver and, with the office arrangement that I have, I seem to be maintaining my focus better than I have been in the past. On some days it is even better than at the office. While I don’t believe it is one specific thing that has helped me I do know that it is a much more comfortable arrangement.

In the past, my office has either been upstairs or in the basement far removed from anything else in the house. Theoretically, this seems like a good arrangement but in reality it created, over time, an atmosphere that wasn’t conducive to getting work done. Over time I would use these spaces less and less until they eventually remained relatively unused and my laptop and work documents overtook the kitchen table. It proved to be quite the vicious cycle.

The only time that I had an office on the main floor was in our apartment in Bala Cynwyd. It actually worked well for a little while but because of the odd hours I kept, the close proximity to the bedroom which prevented me from typing too loud, and the maintenance issues that proceeded to drip all over the carpet, this too was a short lived arrangement. Of course, it also didn’t help that my wife and I shared the office space and we have completely different ways of working.

Now we have separate spaces on the main floor of the house. While there is still some work that needs to be done so that I can use the space on a more regular basis (i.e. doors put in so the sound doesn’t travel up the stairs at night and wake up our son), it is already proving to be an excellent place to get things done. I think I have completed more projects in this office over the past month than I did sitting in the basement in our last rental. So, now working from home might not be so bad which is a good thing because the roads might not be as friendly in our current location.

Firearms Friday: More Space

A similarly blank canvas...

When my wife and I first saw what would become our home, we pretty much knew what we were going to do with each of the spaces and rooms. Actually, we found a house with enough room that we had to put some effort into figuring out what each of the rooms would be after we filled the spaces that we knew we needed (this is how our son ended up with two playrooms). Two of the spaces that we were able to immediately figure out were my office (the former formal living room) and my work bench and safe space (the dry and clean unfinished basement).

Let’s just say that I have a very understanding wife. In our former rental I had taken over the basement with a combination office and work area. Now I have more room than I really know what to do with as the basement covers the entire footprint of the house with nothing else down there except the basic equipment (i.e. boiler, well filters, electrical panel, etc). There was already a small work bench tucked in the corner and now that small section is significantly expanded. I might be taking up an eighth of the space and that is pretty spread out.

For the first time I am going to be able to keep the vices, cleaning kits, and tools out and organized. This is a bit of an odd situation for me as I have always needed to put things away at the end of the day with the previous work spaces that I have had. In addition to being more convenient and feeling like it is a more permanent space, it is also much more efficient. With all those items already out and ready to be used, I am able to immediately start working on a project seconds after I open the safe.

Being able to separate my office from my work space is something that I have been looking forward to for some time now. Work is work. It is a completely different atmosphere and mentality. Relaxing at the bench is just that… it is a means to forget things for a little bit and focus on the small projects and working with my hands. Now that we have the space, and the fact that I have an understanding wife, I am able to have those two areas to myself. Hopefully this means that you will be reading about some long overdue updates to a variety of projects that I have mentioned before… at least after I get everything organized.