Kent

I decided to work off-site on Friday -- partly (I admit) to get away from the usual distractions at work (Miss Simon, and the three cats), but also to get off a network for the day.

The network gives me a "convenient" distraction most days: waiting for a Web project to start up? Check a few blogs. Need to grab a few graphics? Well, I'll just go to this Web site.... Ooo, shiny, I should look at this article. Finish a task? Well, I'll just check the Auction House to see how things are selling. Etc, etc. Just disconnecting for a little while was invaluable. I was better able to focus on the job(s) I needed to get done, and just do them. Granted, I was still working on three documents, but it was much more conducive to focus than usual. I really think I need to do it more often, perhaps declare a "Day without network" once a week or so.

It also reminded me of that great Microsoft tool -- "The Off-site". Every once and a while, a group will go off and work "somewhere". It may be at some hotel or other facility (although these are very rare these days, I imagine), at another building on campus (or another campus), or even just in a meeting room for a day. They serve two purposes that I can tell. The first is the above: they tend to be disconnected affairs, where you are supposed to focus on some task. The second is that it breaks up the normal order of things: by being in a different location, you don't fall back on normal behaviours. You don't end up going to the same cafeteria/coffee bar, you don't have all the niceties of your normal work environment, you're forced to talk with people in your group you don't normally talk with. In short, a reset. A fresh seed in your randomizer.

So, my recommendation. Once a month or so, just work somewhere else for a day (assuming you're not a call centre drone or other job where you can't do that), preferably without a network connection. You'll be (hopefully) surprised at how much you can actually get done, and how it may recharge your energies and mind going forward.