After spending the last five years working from home, I decided it was time to mix things up and look for a new environment to work from. Ok that is not totally true... if I am to be 100% honest here, my main motivations to work away from home were:
+ I was starting to feel a bit trapped within the walls of my house
+ I was needing a clearly defined separation between my work, study and home life
+ The days would roll by, weekends would come and go, and I started to feel like I was stuck in one long continuous day
+ Conversations with my cats were becoming more and more interesting - was this a sign of madness or was I simply craving more human interaction?
For those of you who have done the whole work from home thing, you will totally understand it has many benefits, but at the same time can become both challenging and stifling.
I was starting to feel like I was lacking structure and also discipline in my life. There were too many blurred edges - for example, weekends were not weekends anymore, and work was way too accessible and I would catch myself after dinner checking on something or answering an email. I was also beginning to allow clients to contact me after hours as if that was ok too. Over time this kind of balance, or should I say imbalance between work and relaxation time started to take it's toll. Throw full time study into the mix and you have the potential recipe for a complete break down.
So when the opportunity to work in the most awesome creative space with Bek and Tim from One Small Room was presented to me, I pounced on it! They recently set up business in a character church hall for their overflowing creative endeavors (interior design / architecture, styling, vintage furniture restoration etc) and were kind enough to offer me a corner to work from all styled up and ready to go!
And the best part, when I leave I can totally leave work there and I now have a more balanced home life. It is incredible what this simple change has done for me. I am even enjoying jumping in the car or jumping on the train with work as the destination. The time and space between home and the hall gives me a moment to clear my head and prepare for the day. So different to walking from the kitchen straight to the desk! I have also discovered that I have so much more free time for study and the things I enjoy the most - like chatting to my furry friends.
It is amazing, and quite possibly the coolest creative space west of the city! More central for client meetings too! So it now seems timely to point out when you will find me in my new work digs ...
Business Hours: Tuesday to Thursday 9 – 5pm
4A William Street, Croydon (by appointment)
Here are a few happy snaps of the amazing collection of vintage goodness also sharing the hall space with us...and yes sometimes I find a little distracting!
Toodle-pip!
