It’s been three days now since The Urbane Way went from having a structured office setting at the Urbane Space to loosening up a bit and encouraging employees to work from the location of their choosing. The only person more happy than me about this new arrangement is Mona the bulldog, who’s been getting a lot more face time with her mom.
Perhaps the most compelling reason why this better fits my own personal lifestyle is that I am, in no way, shape or form, a morning person. I actually think my body has been trained to reject the alarm — even after it goes off five-plus times. It doesn’t help that I don’t go to bed as early as I should, but even that aside, I’ve never been someone to happily get up and at ‘em before 11 a.m.
By working from home, I’m able to sleep in a little bit later than I normally would, shower at a leisurely pace, and come downstairs and get started with my day. If I work 10 to 6, that’s OK. If I work 11 to 7, that’s OK, too. Our model is built on results, so as long as I’m hitting my numbers every day and fulfilling my tasks, I’m just fine.
My co-worker Stephanie touched on this topic a couple of weeks ago, but this type of work environment also plays into the type of structure we were both already used to as journalists. While working at the Kalamazoo Gazette, I had stories that were assigned to me every day, stories that came up on the fly, and other editorial-type tasks that had to be completed in an 8-hour shift. No one was there to hold my hand, to ask if I had called all of the necessary sources, or if I had edited my work for errors. I was completely autonomous and expected to take ownership over my own progress throughout the day, because missing a deadline was never an option.
But don’t think for a second that working at home is easy. There are distractions, just like there are in any office setting. If you let your mind wander too much, you start thinking about the laundry sitting in the dryer or the upstairs bedroom that really needs to be vacuumed. It takes a lot of discipline not to act on those distractions, which will prevent you from getting your work done and get you off track in a hurry.
It’s important to remember that there’s still a job to do. And since I happen to like my job, I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize it. So I plan on taking my co-worker Brian’s advice and switching up my scenery from time to time to avoid burnout and to get away from those household distractions. Over time, I think I’ll begin to see a less stressed and more balanced me.
Post by Erica Finley, digital media strategist at The Urbane Way and @Erica_Urbane on Twitter. At The Urbane Way, we specialize in social media marketing and PR and lifestyle branding. How can we help you?
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