Work Spaces

Writing again on another Monday here. Its about -10 outside this morning, so I've gone from my regular writing space in the dining room and I've migrated upstairs into my work/play room. This is generally not where I type this because the keyboard doesn't lend itself to rapid fire typing, but I'll go for it anyway.



Its interesting to me how the space I work in is often the most important part of any aspect of the situation. The task, my own personal feelings, my readiness for it, all don’t seem to play into it quite as much as the place itself. I don’t just mean the real estate by that, though. Its also has to do with many other factors as well.



When I was at my last job, the space was very cool. exposed rafters at the top floor of a neat old office building. It was very quiet, and it was very relaxing when you finally got working. Obviously this wasn't enough to stop a lot of other issues, but it was nice nonetheless. Interesting to me that for my boss, the office was one of the setbacks to the job because of the look of it: it was very much an attic, but I loved the feel of it. Very much away from people, able to work in silence, and enjoy your day as you work. To her it was terrible because it wasn't an office with hardwood floors and a personal bathroom. I really quite enjoyed it.



I should take a picture of each of my work spaces as an exercise for this post, and I think I will. The space I'm working in right now I use much more for fun creative work with videos, VODS, and Casting. )If you guys want to see my cast work you can check out me and Chris being silly here https://www.youtube.com/user/LimeOfDoom)

"The Nerd Coccoon" Where I do video editing, learning, and gaming. It is often used as a racing simulator.

I have a small porta-garage where I work on my Porsche, often at night, and often in the winter. It's very much a difficult place to work, but it brings out the manhood in me. It's a very raw, simple place to work on something. but Its a great place to really think about the car itself, and not be distracted by other bullshit that a lot of guys have around their garages. Don't get me wrong, a real garage would be a huge boon just because tools are more easily accessible, and not freezing usually makes work go faster, but I think some people make their garages a little TOO comfortable, and don’t ever work on their cars in there. That can be a post for another day when I'm in the mood to talk about cars.



The space I usually write this blog I made out of necessity. Its simply a laptop, a timer, and a cup of coffee all set up on the kitchen table. I  put it there because if Sophia wakes up, I can watch her while I'm writing, which Is pivotal. It really had no other designs except for that. I figured I would migrate up here eventually, anyway. In reality I've found, even after just a week, that its the space I prefer to write this blog in. It reminds me of the past things I've written that have come out well, and motivates me to start again. My god it was cold down there this morning. Its hard when your heater's timer doesn't kick in until an hour after you wake up and are ready to work.

My usual blog workspace: complete with a special treat of Starbucks coffee

I'm wondering how much I could increase my productivity if I changed my space? Each space. Would I be more creative if they were messier? If they were cleaner? what If I removed the computer form the situation for writing, and wrote longhand first and then transcribed? would it create better work? What If I got dressed in a suit and tie before writing this, instead of pajamas? all very interesting things to try. But who knows, maybe they're all bullshit. I know that studies have been done and research had been paid for to prove that X improves productivity and that will make you think faster, but I have a sinking suspicion that it comes down to just shaking things up from time to time.



It's similar to exercise. If you do the same workout routine eery day for a year, you'll feel like the strongest guy alive. You'll get through that workout every day barely breaking a sweat. Then one day your buddy comes and says "hey, lets do my workout today!" you oblige him, because you're essentially the world's fittest man, what could he bring to the table? And you're wrecked. Its too much. because your body is only accustomed to that one workout. you brain gets accustomed to that one space, or that one routine. If you change it up, and then do that same work, things change. Things get better. Maybe they get worse. You'll learn from that terrible work how to make better things. How to create better things. How to think of better things. Who knows, maybe even a better way to make a better workspace.



Its funny to me how every person in the office setting works in the same way. They all seem to hit the same work flow, get coffee at the same time, get stressed at the same times of year, and slack off in unison as well. In food, no two people work the same. People's work flows are completely opposite usually, and they almost always have to be. There's not enough space for everyone to grab the plates at the same time, or to cook that dish, or even to wash the pots at the same time the chef is prepping for a big service. This FORCES TEAMWORK. Its amazing to watch, and anyone who has worked in food can attest to it. You can go into work, hate everyone you work with, and the second it gets busy you all lock into your modes, and work together almost immediately. You start doing what needs to be done and working around others. There's no "well, bob doesn't have that report done yet, guess I'll just browse facebook while I wait.” You work around it, you keep moving and get other things done while you wait. The person whose late knows it, and they pick up the pace and make it right. Its a great dynamic to work on as it teaches you about work flow systems just by being a great one.



It would be interesting to try and create a similar type of work flow for an office environment. or a creative environment. Force that same teamwork and pressure, and see what comes of it. That spontaneity of the food service work flow really does spawn creativity in many ways. New ways to carry plates, new processes to handle more tables at once, new ways to help the guest feel more at home at the restaurant, more welcome. It's all a great dance between front of house and back of house, between teams, within teams, and within yourself as well. Its great, its fast paced, and its over before you know it. Then as you're cleaning up you realize that the same guys you hates just 5 hours before were right next to you the whole time, getting the job done with you as a team. Its something that I've never witnessed in any other field. and I think that many other fields could learn from it.



So how can I FORCE myself into team work like that? is it the time restraints that make it so natural? or is it the desire to serve others well? Is it a "hospitality gene" that only those insane folk in food service have? I'll think more on it.