#ProjectFOW – a journey begins….

#ProjectFOW – a journey that the team from wattsnext are embarking on over the next 12 months to see if the Future of Work is indeed what we think it is going to be – ‘third space’ workplaces, working within your energy zones and in with client requirements.

I ‘officially’ embarked on this expedition about a week ago and already know I am going to need to be smarter in the way I work and how I balance client needs and the needs of my own to see the team and to do simple things like print documents!

An example of my time planning came last week when I finally found a street park in the City (miracle in itself) and knew I had three hours before my space became a clearway.  In the words of the meerkats – SIMPLES!  What I didn’t factor in was the client’s needs outside of our initial meeting which resulted in our meeting running over by one hour and me RUNNING to my car and witnessing the tow truck driver starting to prepare to remove my vehicle!! Luckily I still officially had 60 seconds so I was safe this time!

Planning – planning needs to become a better focus for me (or at least finding a Clearway outside of a 4.00pm deadline)

Wifi has also been interesting but luckily I have a phone with hotspot options and there are also clients that are happy to let me tap into their system when I am working with them.

Then there is the psychological challenge of this adventure; I have worked in one ‘workspace’ for most of my working life!  I get to leave a cup and a water bottle at my desk and adjust my chair so it was ‘just right’!  I could also leave my client files at my desk along with other paraphernalia – no more my friends!  There is also the camaraderie that comes with working with the same people day to day and we are going to have to adjust to ensure that we don’t lose our culture.

To assist this, the CEO has provided us with funky water bottles to ensure we are hydrated, and a fitbit to keep me moving (more on that on my next blog).  I have brought a new bag for work to cater to my transient work day and am getting used to working in different spaces with different chairs and people.  The team aim to have lunch each Friday to keep connected and share our experiences so this is a great step to keep us in touch.

Again, planning will be the key – I need to plan my days more carefully, allow down time to work at ‘a’ desk to catch up on admin and accept that generally no day is going to be the same.  I also will need to make specific time to reach out to various team members to seek and provide encouragement to ensure that we all support each other.

This is all cool for me at the moment but watch this space; I aim to let you know my thoughts for the next twelve months.  I am sure that there is going to be funny stories to share but some frustrations as well, but in the main I am really looking forward to seeing what the next 12 months look like!