For ages I’ve been going on about the value of being able to work everywhere. And I had 8 months of not being tied down back in 2014. Just me, myself and where ever I wanted to be and work from.
It was glorious to start with. I got into that routine I had the summer before when I took a break from freelancing. I’d get up at the crack of dawn, watch BBC breakfast whilst catching up on social and news. Plan out the day and then do project work from 8am.
Around 10.30-11.30am, all depending on my flow on the day, I’d go for a run down by the River Brent, or a walk around the park. I’d come back and make some lunch. Sometimes I’d eat with D. Other times I’d pop back up and eat in front of the computer. Kitty would normally be by my side, sunning herself just below my office chair. At times she’d be curled up around me in the space at the back of my seat. I’d feel her against me and reach out and stroke her everynow and then. It was lovely. But also lonely. And frustrating.
Before I hired Glimt.it’s first employee and before we had our office at We Work, I spent an enormous amount of time trying to get everyone who were involved with getting Glimt.it off the ground up to date on what was happening on the project. I wanted to make sure that everyone felt engaged, part of it and that it wasn’t just me making decisions. The reality was that this set up nearly broke me. I was the only one working full time on Glimt.it and there is no such thing as being able to hold off on making decision to a few days later, or next week, when you’re getting a startup off the ground. Every day there are decisions to make. Things to plan out and test. Trying to make all of those things happen and worrying over if the team felt involved and motivated stressed me to the extent where I couldn’t sleep. It’s what led me to decide, at the start of 2015, that Glimt.it’s core team needs to be working on Glimt during business hours.
It’s no surprise that this made a huge difference to the business. But it’s also made a massive difference to my and our everyday. I’m a social person that gets inspired and motivated by being around other people, and the people I work with. Coming in and seeing the team puts a big smile on my face. We have a lot of fun and we work brilliantly together, when we’re in the same office and when we’re having remote working days. As much as I am a believer in remote working and flexible working, meeting up regularly and having those day to day chats, in person, are important for morale and for building a spirit of a team that’s in it together. I’m fascinated by teams that purely work remotely and I’m sure that you can accomplish some of the same bond over video chats etc., but a 100% remote working environment isn’t for me.
We’ll never be an either or company but instead we mix in person work with remote work. It allows us to have focused heads down days that energises us and takes the day to day stress out of commuting and days where we meet up in the office/ where ever we work from, have a laugh and do the kind of work that no doubt is easier when you’re in the same room.
Image via Flickr user ZEISS Microscopy
