As a pr/marketing consultant, I am often asked about how to find or create the best environment to work in.  I’m no messiah, but I can tell you that what works for one person, may not work for another.  For instance, I know some colleagues that cannot function as well in a home office setting because it may be too distracting, and hey- who doesn’t want to throw in a load of laundry while working on a press release, right?  And then, I know others who can only seem to function in an office setting because it gives them more structure.

For me, I am one of those who can pretty much work anywhere as long as I have the basics:  a quiet environment, and that I’m near an outlet in the case I need more juice for my sassy MacBook.  It always cracks me up when I walk by some coffee shop and I see the annoyed faces of those who are sitting there, trying to get work done.  I mean, come on!  You’re in a coffee shop people.  The business is there to make and sell coffee and guess what, it is not the most zen of environments, especially when some Barrista is whirring up the cappucino machine.

The point being this:  You need to experiment with a few types of environmental settings to see what gets you going, and what will be the atmosphere that will keep you inspired to do what you do.  When I worked in the corporate world, my office was the most “colorful” spot if you will.  No joke.  Co-workers would come to my office for rest, or to vent, sometimes hide, or to just sit and take in the odd beauty that it was.  My office was thee hang out area.  It was properly feng shui’d with original artwork hung on the walls, a few family pictures, as well as properly outfitted with a CD player to quietly play music in the background.  I changed out the light bulbs to something a bit more easier on the eyes, and I had a vase of fresh flowers from the local Farmer’s Market whenever possible.  When I worked in that particular environment, I found that I could get more work done in a day than the average cat.

With the way I work now?  Well, the world is basically my office.  Depending on my mood, and depending on what project I am currently working on, you’ll find me with my laptop working at the beach, or from a park bench, or at times from the living room of my family’s home.  The only caveat there is reminding my Mom that I am actually sitting there working, vs. playing around.  The good thing about that situation though is that when she does see me, face buried into computer for hours, she will bring me snacks;)  That’s better than any coffee shop around!