Comments on: Office Space (but not the hilarious movie)

By: jacki

jacki — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 17:51:09 +0000

I like the way the desk came out and the pictures are great too

By: Alec

Alec — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 10:44:16 +0000

Light, light and more light. If you have colour sensitive work, draw the curtains.
But light is essential for the mental well-being of humans. Highest suicide rates in the world in places like Helsinki. Not enough light in the winter.
Just deciding on some office space myself. Thanks for sharing everybody.
In terms of varied preferences indicated above for home office/real office. Change is sometimes good.
A long time in a home office = one wants real office. A few years in a real office = one wants more time at home.

By: Scott Motte

Scott Motte — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 01:20:23 +0000

I prefer large tables, and open space. In fact, I really enjoy working in libraries.

By: Brian Breslin

Brian Breslin — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 06:05:57 +0000

tlack: where did you look in Miami?

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 15:18:37 +0000

Let me offer another suggestion:
Many studies have shown that just comparing the environment alone in each scenario (at home vs in office) that if you can create an office-like atmosphere @ home not only will you save money but chances are you’re productivity will go up.
Now I’m not saying setup a cubicle in your dedicated office space at home–but I am saying consider a little remodeling in one of your existing rooms to do as such. In the long run it WILL save you time and money.
P.S. if you’re not so concerned about the money and just don’t have the space at home the income spent on an office could be put to good use on another house perhaps.
Just offering up my two cents :)

By: Andreas

Andreas — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 23:02:08 +0000

Shared offices are great for people who start working or enjoy the happiness of do not have to manage a second household (like me).
I don’t have to manage all the little things I had to manage before – paying weekly the cleaning woman ( and looking for a new one if the other was getting too bad), the coffee beans always running out, buying them in a hurry or ask someone to do it…
all that stuff, distracting, annoying – it is really a second household you have to manage in some way.
You should look out for a good appearance of the office rooms – you can’t expect that they will paint the walls and renew the old carpeted floor only because you signed up.
These office space offer(er)s have a half life of about ten to fifteen years. They invest once and hope to get as fast as possible the return on investment.
So be sure to have a quite new office space- they will not change anything the next ten years :)
I only managed to forward my known telephone number to the rather dull number in the office place – clients didn’t have to relearn a new number.
Some Tech- must-haves:
a good (2mbits up) and stable I-net connection (brought to you by the offerer normally with a fix IP for your server ( better than dyndns) a firewall for your own or at least a good router with nat-translation and some rudimentary firewall features ( well, buy one), of course a server with vpn-functionality ( for working from home when the kids are ill or just when you’re under pressure. ( calls can be forwarded or just managed by the office if you don’t want to be disturbed)
Just to mention another point which I guess was not really pointed out:
If you have the possibility, you should take an office not too far away from home – not more than ten minutes or so to drive. (Take the bike in summer) That is really fun. The perfect distance. Otherwise you’re loosing too much time by driving. Half-an-hour to the office and half-an-hour back – one hour lost for your family or just spare time.
Good luck for your search
Andreas

By: Morgan

Morgan — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 22:55:15 +0000

I dream for the day I can have my own office. Being a student sucks

By: tlack

tlack — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 20:39:57 +0000

I got an office pretty early into starting my Web efforts. Here are some things to keep in mind off the top of my head:
* Get a futon. These are comfortable to read a magazine on and sometimes take a nap. I often work 10am to 2am and a comfortable place to snooze can be really helpful.
* Personally, I don’t care about windows. I’m in Miami and having a big window can really drown the room in harsh light. In fact, I was most productive in my previous office which had no view — I would emerge at the end of the day and be puzzled by how dark it was outside. I dunno, gazing sadly out the window wishing you were at the beach does not seem like a great way to get work done.
* A/C shut off times. Here in Miami, most office space in buildings has the electricity paid by the landlord which means to save money they’ll shut off the A/C at 6:01pm if they can get away with it. Ask up front when the A/C is on and off, including weekends. Usually you can “order” additional hours for a ridiculously overinflated price.
* Sharing office space can be great financially but there are potential problems as well. The people we ended up splitting 2,000 square feet had different artistic sensibilities and were neat freaks (I’m messy). I’m headstrong. We had to part ways.
* Smaller offices are probably better if your finances are in doubt. Our first office was super tiny and I still remember how much fun and how productive we were in there.
* For me, having everyone in one room with no partitions — the so-called open plan layout — can get very loud when people are watching funny Flash movies, talking on their cellphones, etc. If it’s just you this shouldn’t be a problem.
* Joel on Software has some good tips about renting office space but I found a few differences renting around here. First, landlords aren’t willing to make expensive renovations for a small amount of space and second, long leases don’t save you as much money as he claims. Then again, New York is a very different place.
Overall having a separate place for working (as opposed to a closet in your house) is a great way to improve your productivity. I’d never go back to working out of my apartment.
Hope this helps.
-t

By: David

David — Sun, 06 Feb 2005 12:43:57 +0000

Simon at #7 said it best.
I would rather wake up in the morning, take a nice shower, grab breakfast, sync up my ipod and actually leave for a physical workspace.
Waking up after a long day at “work” back at your “workplace” really gets de-moralizing after sometime.

By: Curious George

Curious George — Sun, 06 Feb 2005 07:33:28 +0000

Needing an office, ‘eh? How about…
(Tra la la!)
The Treehouse Office!
The best in home and garden office technology, build yours now for the low cost of some wood, nails and… well… a tree! Imagine the bump in productivity when you realize you’re a more than a couple yards off the ground and forgot to build a ladder! Take heed at the ability to block clients, family, and neighbors out simply by tossing a few strategically aimed water balloons over the edge! Imagine being nestled amidst nature, at last able to work unhindered… It’s also easy as pie to leech internet and electricity from your home by stringing a couple extension cords and ethernet cables together. See! It features all the amenities a downtown office has to offer. (There’s also plenty of nearby foliage to choose as a bathroom, if you wish.)
Actually, I’m not kidding. Treehouses have become quite sophisticated. Check into this book and take a look at a good many who have made a treehouse their office.
All you need is a good tree outside your home.
You’ll, of course, lose the socialization aspect of a rented office – the downtown streets, the nearby coffee places. But you’d still have an office outside your home (snow days!), wouldn’t have to pay rent (though perhaps weekly offerings of nuts to squirrel residents), and I’d imagine that at least my productivity would be fantastibly increased.
(And hey, if your home is in a convenient location, you could even host clients there. It’d create a completely unique image for your business, to be sure.)