I just signed a lease agreement for a very small office in a vibrant mixed/used commercial space. š±
Kind of goes against the work from home in your pajamas idea, right?
After years of working from my home office, I āoutgrewāĀ theĀ space. Hereās are my reasons to justify the added expense.
1. My kids are becoming active (and vocal).
Unlike before, I now have two healthy and happy kids (a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old) running and exploring the house.
Not only does that make for some interesting client calls (āuh oh. someoneās missing daddy.ā), the crying often tugs at my attention.
2. Attention is a premium commodity for the seasoned professional.
Maybe Iām set in my ways, but I like dedicated times for deep focus and distraction-free though.
I give my best work to my clients with 3 hours of uninterrupted blocks of time, more productive than the 8-10 hours of onsite customer office visits.
3. Clients only care about the outcome.
My clients care if the analytics that I help to deliver is accurate. Itās an added bonus if we have the capacity to squeeze in a few more features.
Being hyper-efficient allows that possibility.
The takeaway?
This didnāt happen overnight. I believe knowledge workers should be given the opportunity for remote work opportunities so they explore their best modes of working.
After years of working in client offices and my home office, Iāve found a rhythm and balance that works best for me.
1-2 short client visits a month (usually 2 days for each trip) for sprint reviews and planning followed by 2-3 weeks of focused development seems to work.
Maybe that will change later as my business and children grow?
Let me know in the comments how you work best.