The Satellite Office

Work for me always had a venue and that venue was my office. I was lucky enough that for most of my career I had my own with a door that I could shut if I chose to. More than one of those offices had a view, although none as nice as the one at my Satellite Office.

I hadn't planned on making the trip. I had planned on working from the Home location with view of a framed watercolor print of Aspen Mountain. But I woke up cranky or as a friend of mine likes to say ornery.

I looked at the list of projects and papers on my desk and surrounding the floor area and felt inspired to do only one thing. Get in the car and work from the Satellite Office.  After too many days of 90 degree plus heat and confinement to air conditioned rooms, I knew I needed the coolness of an ocean breeze and the sound of waves crashing if I was going to get anything done. But still I stopped myself.

I had writing to get on paper, calls to make and ideas to hatch. And I needed to be sitting in that very expensive chair I bought to prevent back injuries. My corporate life instilled in me that work had to be done in a climate controlled office with no pleasantries involved. Even with the advent of laptops and mobile devices, the environments I worked in frowned on the work at home philosophy. They never quite believed if you were anywhere but the office or with a client you were really working. And the beach? Impossible.

So I sat and stared at the blank screen of my word document for a while before I snapped out of it and remembered. I don't live in that world anymore. I can work wherever I choose to. And I knew where I was choosing today.

If you're wondering what happened next, check out this view.

the view from the satellite office

Armed with good old fashioned paper and pen and my iPhone, I got a lot accomplished at the Satellite Office. There was no wandering in cyberspace or laundry to distract me. Just the sound of an occasional seagull. Yes, the commute is a little longer, but with traffic on my side I can do it in under an hour, plus some of my best creative ideas happen the minute I step out of the house. The trick is to remember them by the time I get back. Or at least  remember to use my Voice Memos app.

Old habits die hard. But eventually they do die.

the office chair