Here is my cubicle, where I live.
There is just room enough for me, as I have boxes of old files stacked up in the space where one could potentially squeeze an extra seat in. I have no great desire to sort through and clear them all. Any meetings with colleagues or visitors can take place at nearby cafes, which is probably not a bad thing…
I spend at least 4 hours a day in my cubicle and it is the nerve centre of my working life. It is where all the “execution” happens, where policies are drafted, where presentations are written, where results are processed. It is not however where I generate my ideas. That seems to happen elsewhere, in the car, in the shower, in bed.
Sitting in front of a computer is simply not conducive to deep thinking and idea generation.
It is quite a cluttered cubicle, with a fair amount of paper floating about. So much for a paperless workplace! Sometimes I don’t always practice what I preach…
I never was one for tidying up before guests arrive.
The same 4 walls (or 3 walls and a glass partition), day after day, week after week, month after month. “The daily grind”, ad infinitum. It is quite comforting in a way, protecting me from whatever dangers the outside world might hold. It is easy to become trapped inside, metaphorically if not physically speaking.
I have become quite attached to my cubicle. However there is always the danger of staying too long… One more email to write, one more paper to read, one more phone call to make. It is very difficult to make personal connections when you are cocooned inside your cubicle. I suspect our most important work is done when we finally manage to escape from our cubicles.
I guess I have become a little institutionalised in a way, in my cubicle. It is my comfort zone. Sometimes it’s nice just to sit comfortably. No standing office for me!
I will miss it when I go…
Michael