I Leave The Office To Get My Work Done

The past month or so I have spent a little less time in the office. Seems like I am getting more done away from the phone than on it.

I know that sounds counterintuitive especially for a recruiter but I have been trying to get away from nonsense phone calls and noise in general.

I need it relatively quiet to get my work done. Yes, I do have CNBC or ESPN on mute as an occasional visual distraction but that’s it. I also have Yahoo! Music playing at a very low level.

Thankfully I am learning I am not alone. I have been mentioning this to friends and colleagues and about 1 out of 10 have been agreeing with me. The other 9 look at me like I am from Mars. Maybe I am, but we have a growing tribe.

You Won’t Find Me in My Office, I’m Working furthers me along that I am not alone:

"What Mr. Judkins is doing is looking for “white space,” a term creeping into the language of work to describe a place where the actual work gets done. Desks suffice for answering phones and filing forms, but when it comes to the creative or introspective aspects of a job, desks can be uninspiring at best, or formidable obstacles at worst.

So we leave those desks. Because we can. We take our laptops and seek shelter (and WiFi) either elsewhere in the building, as Mr. Judkins does, or farther away in libraries and bookstores. "

Lately I have been doing some work from coffee shops, which is odd because I do not drink coffee. But I do like the smell of coffee shops. Weird I know. I go there doing slow times of the day and it is a nice distraction.

I like a little background noise but the constant interruption of people and the phone drives me crazy. Don’t you people, err, those people have anything better to do?

So if you have been calling me wondering why I am not answering and I have been telling you I have been on the phone maybe I have been lying to you. My clients and candidates have long been used to this “nervous tick” of mine so no, it has not hurt business.

Same goes for IM and text messages too. I am busy working and you should be too.

I do march to the beat of a different drummer.

Technorati Tags: Office Space

Comments

[Katie Tierney]

Dude - the Dunn Brothers Coffee in downtown Chaska is my Thursday morning "office." By Thursday, I cannot stare at the chocolate brown walls of my office any longer... I have to GET OUT!!!

-Katie