My room with a view

In my whole career, I never had an office with a window. Actually, I guess I'm lucky I even had an office. I understand that the new trend is for something called 'collaborative working environments' and 'nomadic' offices. I'm not sure exactly how it all works, but from what I've heard, you come to the office with your computer and just settle into an open work carrel, or gather round a table with co-workers who are collaborating on a project.

I always tried to be progressive and open to change. I tried to be a champion of more electronic communication and computer technology. (When I retired, I had almost no paper files for the last 7 years of my career. Almost all of my old work records consisted of electronic files stored on my computer.) When I traveled for work, I was pretty comfortable setting up a mobile office in my hotel room. As long as I had a good internet connection, I was able to work and be productive.

But back at the headquarters, I did have an office ... with a door ... that locked. I'm not sure how well I would have accepted giving it up for a permanent nomadic existence. I decorated my office with photos and artwork and plaques and other remembrances. Just no window looking outside.

Now I do. After I retired, I re-purposed a spare bedroom into a home office. I hung some of the same artwork. I put in a nice desk. (It's now almost as cluttered as my desk was at the office.) I have a couch where I sit and read sometimes. I bought a turntable and I play some of my old vinyl records while reading. And there's a big window overlooking my backyard.

Occasionally now, I catch myself gazing out the window. It happened the other day. It was damp and chilly and windy. I watched the autumn leaves tumble to the ground (and started thinking about when I'd have to go out and start raking.)

Actually, it was kind of distracting. Maybe I'm lucky I didn't have a window at work. I probably got more done.