Last spring, I bought my first Mac laptop to replace my aging Windows laptop. Mac fans may say the result was predictable: My shiny new MacBook quickly became my primary computer while my desktop PC gathered dust.
That change left me with one problem I hadn’t anticipated, though. My office wouldn’t function as well with a laptop as my primary computer. I had to rethink the whole layout. How did just changing from a desktop PC to a smaller MacBook manage to make my office totally dysfunctional? Read the rest of this entry »
I’m in the process of packing up my home — including my home office — for a move. While moving from one home to another can be stressful, adding in an office move can make things even more complex. You have to worry about making sure you can do all of your work, transitioning to a new work environment and getting everything you need to work in your new home. That’s not even considering everything else involved in actually moving. Read the rest of this entry »
As a web worker, you have the freedom to work from anywhere that has an Internet connection. A coffee shop or a library can make for just as good a workspace as a home office. But workplaces are not created equal. The differences between individual coffee shops can turn one into the perfect place to plant your laptop, while making another an impossible place to get any work done. The trick is learning to recognize what makes the best workspace for you before you buy a cup of coffee and find a chair. Read the rest of this entry »
Later on this year, when my lease expires, I’m going to move to a bigger place with a bigger home office. I’ll be building an office that suits me perfectly. Ideally, I am looking to build an office that has plenty of desk space for me to work on, lots of light, plenty of storage (both shelves and drawers) and I’d like a place to work that looks nice, too.
With that in mind, I’ve been collecting some great workspaces from the web to use as inspiration for when I build mine, and I thought I would share some of them.
7301 Ava Ln’s Minimal Desk and Storage
7301 Ava Ln Workspace
This loft workspace has been put together using some Ikea components, but the end result is nothing like a common Ikea desk. I especially like the large desk, clean lines and the little under-desk storage shelf. The style really suits the loft, too. This probably doesn’t have enough storage for me, though. Read the rest of this entry »
So you thought you’d escaped the cubicle farm when you decided to put down roots in your local coworking community? Think again! The cubicle is back!
At Leeds’ The Round Foundry in the UK, entrepreneurs in the creative and digital industries can opt for traditional serviced office space or a hot-desking plan in a large shared space. Each hot-desker gets a cute lockable ‘pod’, that includes…
- Six large shelves (with file holder tabs!)
- Six power outlets.
- Two Cat-5 sockets.
- A coat/bag hook.
- A motorized, adjustable desk area.
- Um, wheels.
The pods (the model is know as a Macro-1) are actually quite cool, designed by local company Volume Products as part of a range of modular office furniture. Though they appear to be designed for traditional office spaces, they seem to have been adapted well to the Round Foundry’s coworking area.
However is raises some interesting questions about the nature of work environments that coworkers are interested in inhabiting.
Read the rest of this entry »
Last year Conan O’Brian, the NBC late night talk-show host, walked through an Intel campus and made light of the sterile, uninviting cubicle environment that plagues so many ‘traditional’ work spaces we all work in today. To see his funny and spot on critique, check out the clip.
Intel, while being hospitable despite being the targets of Conan’s jokes, took the criticism to heart and is currently testing out a new configuration to their office environment. At three Intel campuses the computing giant is starting a pilot program to foster teamwork and community amongst its workers by integrating a new type of workspace. Described as a living room, the new spaces feature lower cubicle walls, TVs, and smaller and more numerous conference rooms.
Read the rest of this entry »
Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
