For about six years, I worked at home using my home office, or a couch or the kitchen table and sometimes even the bed as I pecked away on my laptop. Occasionally, I romanticized the days when I was a staff writer and editor and had co-workers to talk to. But all in all, I loved working from home.
Then, about three years ago, my sister opened her own consulting business and began renting an office. I got office envy. All of a sudden, the prospect of a co-worker—my sister—and a bright, clean place outside of the house became an incredibly appealing possibility. So we found a space together that’s a little less than 400 square feet in a 1920s building that once served as headquarters to a railroad company. With high ceilings, big windows, exposed ductwork, brick walls and vintage marble floors, it’s perfect. While I still work from home from time to time, I love having an office away from home to call my own.
I know we all have our preferred ways of working. But if you’re a writer considering renting an office space, here are my thoughts on why renting an office has been a great move for me.
- Productivity. I’m in a physical office surrounded by other working people doing business. It feels very official and that makes it easier to get into a “time-to-work” headspace, with less procrastinating. When I’m at the office, I’m working. I’m not looking at the laundry piling up or glaring at the cat for making the house stink. While I was never particularly bad about giving in to distractions before, I do love having fewer now.
- Boundaries. I don’t have to feel rude by shutting my husband out if I’m working. I can’t hear the neighbors talking in a high-pitched voice to their dog. I can come here on weekends or work late at night and not feel like I’m missing out on life quite as much. I love my office, its layout, its design, the furniture my sister and I bought for it, the coat rack I assembled. I look forward to coming here.
- A commute. In the days when I worked at different publications, a commute wasn’t a good thing. After working at home for years, I’ve come to love my commute. Granted, it’s only about 1,500 steps from my home to my office, but those are important steps to me. I love having a buffer zone to think or listen to audio books or just enjoy the sunshine as I walk into work. Passing by other people on the street from the start of the day gets me unstuck from the quicksand of my own brain. And coming home at night, it’s nice to clear my head before walking through my door. Bonus: I’m less sedentary throughout the day.
- Networking. Doctors, non-profits, video producers, foundations and others are our neighbors. The office is new, so we’re still meeting people as they move into the 40 offices around us. It’s nice to be around the energy and ideas of other people. Plus, there’s unlimited networking potential.
- It’s cheaper than I thought it would be. Again, I share the office with my sister, but what I pay in rent is less than what I’d pay for an office in a co-op space in Chicago. It costs the same as a small, simple, one-off assignment. Yet, it’s entirely priceless.
- It looks professional. It’s nice to know I can invite clients and colleagues here, rather than meet them at a coffee shop, if the opportunity arises. And there’s this: I love saying “my office.” Because I’m a dork like that.
- Location, location, location. Our office is right by the train and it’s across from Mariano’s supermarket and my gym. I have no excuse to (a) skip working out or (b) eat like crap. There is a salad bar across the street! (We don’t need to get into the $5-glass-of-wine happy hours that are also across the street).