Last week I had to go to Kilkenny for the launch of a usability project I am involved in. I got the train before 8am and arrived just after 9am. That was the most complete hour of focus I have had in a long while. I know from trips to Galway, Belfast and Cork over the years, that ‘riding the rails’ always suited my style of work better; earphones on and focus on the screen in front of you.

Back when I first entered the workforce (10+ years ago now, eeek) there was no mobile broadband so I could just get completely enthralled in whatever management information report I had to build.

In saying that, the mobile broadband provider I currently use only seems to allow me to connect when nobody in train moves or breathes, kind of like a Roald Dahl/Alfred Hitchcock/Philip Dick mash-up.

When I am working from a fixed office, I have a set routine;

• Get into work early
• Check mail and review schedule for the day
• Coffee break
• Have a chat with colleagues
• Get some work done (documents, development, reviews and evaluations….normally in 35-40 min blocks if I am lucky)
• Attend some meetings
• Lunch
• Get some more work done
• Attend some more meetings
• React to any emerging problems
• Check mail
• Create schedule for tomorrow

This is more or less standard and I plug away and deliver my items on time where possible. But on that trip to Kilkenny last week, in the hours I spent commuting I got through so much. Instead of completing 60% of what I set out to, I completed near 100%. It really got me thinking, I really do work best out of ‘the office’ , not just my HQ office or even my home office but ALL OFFICES.

In September of last year, a buddy of mine and I were submitting a proposal to an academic institution. We worked exclusively out of McDonalds and I can safely say that it was one of my most productive periods.

I know that larger companies have been trying something different for a while. Take Microsoft Holland as an example. For a start, nobody has a permanent desk – in fact, “no camping” signs adorn the walls throughout. The focus is all around collaboration and employees are encouraged to move around and work in different environments that best suit their activity at any given time – quiet areas for workers that need peace to concentrate on their work, a community area for meetings and interaction, relaxation zones and open refreshment areas that encourage conversation and ad hoc meetings between employees.

I think this change in physical work placement is mirroring a change in work practices. Gartner says that “swarming” is a work style characterized by a “flurry of collective activity by anyone and everyone conceivably available and able to add value. Swarms form quickly, attacking a problem or opportunity and then quickly dissipating. Swarming is an agile response to an observed increase in ad hoc action requirements, as ad hoc activities continue to displace structured, bureaucratic situations.”

I think that moving away from one restrictive central physical hub where us ‘drones’ fly to everyday to deposit our knowledge would definitely suit my mentality better. In fact riding the rails like 21st Century “Digital Hobo” would suit me down to the ground.