Should I get an office? (scroll to bottom to watch video!)
This question is on the mind of almost every beginning or veteran entrepreneur. It’s an important question that should never be taken lightly. But I’ve got a pretty definitive answer.
Why do I come to the office and work, even on Saturdays?
To start, having a place to be creative and pull in all the energy you can use is important for productivity and work in general.
There’s a guy whose videos I watch, Casey Neistat. He’s entertaining, inspiring, and sends a great message, telling people to go be creative, share it with the world, and do something that no one else is doing.
Casey has a family, but every day he goes into his office, this cool industrial spot in Manhattan, and it’s just his room. Guys might automatically understand this on a sort of man cave level, this important and personal space where you can shut the door, close off the world, and be free.
This personal space is where you can recharge and become the most productive self you can be.
Almost every writer will tell you that the best possible shortcut for coming up with good ideas is a bit of solitude and privacy. This idea might sound hippie-dippy, but it really works.
Napoleon Hill wrote about this in his book, Think and Grow Rich. He talks about the idea of the transmutation of energy, where you take the energy of the world, pass it through yourself, and turn it into what you want. It’s a way of harnessing the world around you to complete your own goals.
So let’s just say it straight: having your own personal office space is massively important. The more creative you are, the more that voice inside you wants to be heard, the more you need to respect and honor that part of yourself with enough room to thrive.
So why do I go into the office alone on Saturday? It’s about giving myself the space to create.
I thrive on people. When there are a hundred people around, I get excited. I love being outside, skateboarding to work, passing by thousands of people. The energy is palpable, but it can’t last. It’s not sustainable.
While large crowds might be energizing, they don’t help me come up with great ideas. It’s time spent connecting and building relationships, not cultivating ideas.
My business travels have helped me realize how important it is to have my own private space to retreat to.
Some entrepreneurs don’t want to have their own office, and that’s okay. They can have a space within their home, an office in the garage, or elsewhere. It doesn’t matter what it is; the point is to have your own space where you can go be creative for even just a couple hours a day.
This idea is important to share because a lot of the solutions we’re always looking for, and the progress that we always seek, often comes down to the problem of how to spend time thinking about them. Where do you think about your problems? If you’re trying to craft better systems or use ads more effectively, maybe the kitchen isn’t the best spot to think about it.
I’ve got two important points I want to really sink in:
1. If you change your environment, you can change your thinking process.
Once you’ve found that perfect environment that works best for you, stay in it. Keep it. Make sure to maintain that space going forward as a place of refuge and renewal.
2. Keep that environment solely as a place for work.
Once you have that environment that works for you, whether it’s your garage, home office, a coworking space, or elsewhere, ONLY do good work there. Don’t waste the space on messing around. Don’t spend time relaxing there, browsing social media, or gaming. You don’t want to taint your association with this place as an idea factory.
I really want this concept to hit home with you. This realization was a big deal for me. One of the biggest differences between now and myself 5 years ago is that I spent time in my own office, thinking and solving big picture problems. It can make all the difference for you, too.
See ya,
Carter
It’s very useful for me. Thanks Carter!
@Chung – Glad to hear it!
Great Advice Carter! You are an awesome motivator. God bless you!
I agree, and that’s on my own experience – it’s a useful – howwever basic and even underestimated – not to have blurred lines between workspace and other spaces you might have. It’s a srort of genius loci effect sometimes if you try to focus in a place that’s not been used as a place of work, it just doesn’t happen. And once you step into an office, it’s different – it works then. On behavioural level, unconscious one, an organism adapts to certiain settings.
I’ve been reading your posts related to app marketing from quite a some time and I would say you are incredible advisor who shares solutions for real problems that one can come across while building companies and this article was definitely piece of good advice for me.
Keep rocking!
@Ryan – thanks for reading!
Great I personaly think that way too, thanks for sharing