A Dedicated Space
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Comments posted to this topic are about the item A Dedicated Space
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I'm British so am familiar with the concept of the "gardening" sheds owned by many previous generations of gentlemen. These sheds always contained a comfy chair, a radio (tuned to a station giving the best sports coverage), usually some home brewing equipment (in active use), a few magazines and enough "gardening" equipment to maintain the polite fiction as to their primary purpose.
I have friends who have retreated to their summer house (posh shed). It's basically a relaxing room designed so you can maximize your enjoyment of your garden. It's also usually a hobby room with a power supply and these days access to wifi. Regardless of what you do in these rooms they are low stress environments and incredibly conducive to creative work.
I would dearly love one for an office and hobby room though my garden is small and planning regulations are strict in the UK. At present I work in what was my son's old bedroom. It's about big enough for a bed and a desk but that's all. It's OK, free from distractions both welcome and unwelcome. Not quite the same thing as sitting in the garden working though.
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I've been working from home for 14 months now. Even prior to doing so, I had a dedicated home office (read: Man Cave). It's plenty big, not at all portable. I've got everything close to hand and a furry co-worker who doesn't pull his weight.
You refer to "people that hated being stuck at home with distractions are growing used to the idea" and I think I'm going the opposite direction, a little bit. Because I've been in this situation for a while, it's not COVID related, but I am starting to miss the office interactions and even just the chance to be somewhere else. Collaboration is important. A change of scenery is valuable.
Trying to figure out the world of SQL as marketing consultant for SQL Solutions Group https://sqlsolutionsgroup.com/
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While I do like a space, and do have an office that is mostly mine, I miss interactions as well. My hope is that we get to go back to offices in 2021, and I'm planning on trying to find a way to get to all our offices each year. If they open.
My comment on separation is more a separation from life as we are stuck together now. I've worked from home for 18 years now, and I find this year harder than most, because I don't get any collaboration in person now.
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Steve, this editorial has really fired my imagination! My wife has been talking about something like this for a long time. I've thought of it, as something to do "some day". But, your putting the idea of a home office in context of Coronavirus, with the possibility of this dragging on even longer, has made me realize that maybe doing this sooner would be better.
I've been wanting to work from home (WFH) for many years, but haven't had the opportunity. When we were first ordered to WFH in March, it was a challenge. I moved from couch to kitchen table, every day. Quickly I realized that wasn't going to work, so I cleared an old military desk off that's in the living room. I set up my work laptop with a small TV we have, which has a HDMI port. I connected that to the laptop's docking port and have been using it ever since. That arrangement works. And I do have one big advantage over over people here on SSC. I don't have young children underfoot. And my dog doesn't demand a lot of attention from me. But our home is small. With my work laptop arrangement, there's two desktops and the work laptop that take up about a third of the living room. Plus that old military desk is COLD! I'm sitting here wearing shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, but also wearing fingerless gloves. It's either that or my wrists will ache with the pain of the cold, metal desk. It would be nice to open up the living room space. And my wife has also said that she'd want to use an external dedicated space for her work.
My wife has really favored using Tuff Shed for this dedicated space. (I don't know if Tuff Shed is available outside of the US, so here's a link so you can get an idea.) I'm very curious to know if others on this list, have experience with Tuff Shed dedicated spaces or not? I'd love to know how it went for you.
Steve, the one cautionary note in your editorial is something I've got to consider. The one where your friend found that being out in a dedicated space, away from the rest of their family, was harder than they realized, so they went back into the house. I've adapted well to WFH, but I don't know if that would be a problem for me or not. Its something I've got to think about before I take the leap.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
- David.Poole wrote:
...These sheds always contained a comfy chair, a radio (tuned to a station giving the best sports coverage), usually some home brewing equipment (in active use), a few magazines and enough "gardening" equipment to maintain the polite fiction as to their primary purpose...
This reminds me of a house I used to own. The previous owner had run electricity and a cable TV line out to the shed in the back yard. I'm pretty sure the cable TV wasn't for watching "This Old House" or DIY network.
Where I'm currently at, I do have the luxury of a spare bedroom dedicated to my "office" space, though it's not as nice as Elfstone's:
- Steve Jones - SSC Editor wrote:
While I do like a space, and do have an office that is mostly mine, I miss interactions as well. My hope is that we get to go back to offices in 2021, and I'm planning on trying to find a way to get to all our offices each year. If they open.
My comment on separation is more a separation from life as we are stuck together now. I've worked from home for 18 years now, and I find this year harder than most, because I don't get any collaboration in person now.
FWIW, where I work people don't collaborate. At least not in a way that I expected. People are divided into teams to work on a project, but everyone works alone. Occasionally, but rarely, someone will run into a problem doing something, so they'll ask the other teammates for help. Once that help is given, that's it. Its each person to themselves. I'm not blaming anyone in this. I realize that's just the way the culture has evolved. Its just that in an environment like this, whether you're working in the next cubicle or halfway around the world doesn't matter.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
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Rod, good point, and I should have emphasized this. Working away in an isolated space isn't for everyone, and it's worth experimenting with, or building a space that you'd be willing to use for some other purpose, like perhaps a meditation/painting/drawing/etc. space.
I don't know how I'd feel. I do find it hard to work some days when my wife is gone and I'm completely alone. Sometimes the dogs don't even hang out with me! I have always been able to go to Starbucks/library/etc. to work if I needed some company.
If I had a smaller house, I'd be tempted to try and see. If you have a shed, might be worth cleaning it for a few days, adding temp power, and trying it out for a couple weeks. I've seen some amazing TuffShed setups if you search on pinterest.
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My wife just shared her Pinterest board with me, that she's been saving for a while now, on mini-houses as she puts it. Actually, I think it is going to be fun, to at least consider what might work, looking at different plans, etc.
Rod
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I've thought about that myself. Power is a big issue out here, but I was considering trying to make a zero energy space with solar, a few batteries, etc.
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Working from home offers comfort, but it may hinder the development of your learning skills due to limited contact with colleagues. When we work from home you loose many happy things that may not enjoy alone.
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