What do you need to do your best work?
So here’s a question for you: if you get your best work done in silence and solitude, why are you trying to write that important report in a noisy open plan office?
I’m sure we’ve all done it at some point, even though we know we’ll be fighting a losing battle.
I expect you’re aware what conditions you need to do your best work. Do you do your best thinking walking through the city or sitting in a park? Do you need headphones in an open plan office or are you happy with buzz? Would you rather work in the British Library or in an east London coffee shop?
And if you know where you work best, do you act on it? Because I’m not sure we’re very good at listening to ourselves and what we need. Do we design work lives around that knowledge? Do organisations and employers shape environments and working practices around our personal needs? Are we humanising work?
Pictured above is Second Home in east London, where I had the privilege of working with a client last year. I say ‘privilege’ because that’s what it was. In my twenty six years in the world of work, it was one of the best spaces I’ve worked in. Second Home gave me pretty much all of the ingredients I needed in order to do my best work. Pictured is the ‘hanging gardens’ zone, where digital devices are banned. Why aren’t more employers following Second Home’s lead and creating more human work spaces?
So what are the ingredients you need? What fuels your best work? Here’s what some of you told me on Twitter and LinkedIn:
“A tight deadline, loud music, a dark and distraction-free workspace.” Jeffrey Kalmikoff
“Anything that puts me in a mindset where I feel free, when I genuinely don’t give a f**k what other people think.” Tom Lawton
“A walk around London. Sometimes with a friend, just rambling, both in direction and conversation.” Martijn Sjoorda
“When I work from home I feel I am in the perfect zone. I will have started the day with my kids, not had to fight to get into work and saved energy and time. My house is where I feel grounded so being able to roam in my head is best done from a relaxed state.” Nikki Crumpton
If you work in an organisation, impress on your boss and team what you need to get your best work done. If you work for yourself, you should be more able to design a work life around what works for you. And if you are an employer, can you encourage your workers to get more done, by following their energies?
Work where and how you work best. Get human!
If you’re an entrepreneur, executive or freelancer who needs help re-designing your work life, come on a walk and talk with me (and if you’re not near London, I offer sessions via Skype or FaceTime). Details here.
