MY WORKSPACE

The comfort and silence of working from home

My favourite place to work is at my kitchen island with my two Norfolk Terriers (Frodo and Scuttle) at my feet. Light floods into the kitchen and is inspiring even on a grey day. I love the comfort of being at home and the silence, especially when working on strategic projects or writing articles.

Working in the kitchen means that I now get to cook during the time I would have previously been commuting. Engrossing myself in interesting projects with highly talented people is only enhanced by the smell of slow cooked shoulder of lamb.

Every day is different

There is no such thing as a typical working day for me, which is both interesting and challenging. Some days my focus is new business and others it is building the community and spreading the word about the movement. I have found that bringing structure to my days rather than taking each week as it comes has been very helpful, while still allowing me to benefit from all the flexibility that the movement allows.

In search of silence

Believe it or not I have gone back to my youth and frequent the library at least once a week. Libraries have terrific, quiet facilities and there is no pressure to buy yet another cup of tea or coffee.

Changing my workspace to suit my needs

I pick my workspace, kitchen, coffee shop or library depending on the project I am working on and the mood I am in. If I am working on something that requires a lot of thought and writing I am likely to go to the library these days because our neighbours are doing a complete house renovation and drilling is not conducive to delivering an excellent output. If I am feeling a bit isolated I take myself to my favourite local coffee shop, where inevitably I run into people I know for a quick chat.

Workspace essentials

A large glass of Iced Green Tea and music playing in the background on shuffle so that I am always surprised and inspired in different ways by what is playing. I also never go anywhere without my computer or my mobile phone, a bit sad but true, and absolutely critical to getting the job done and done well.

Jane Hunter is a Partner at Huckleberry Partners and a Brand Consultant at Futureproof Marketing. She has managed some of the world’s most prestigious brands, holding a degree in psychology from Princeton University and an MBA from the JL Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. During her twenty year career in marketing she has worked at Quaker Oats, Diageo, E&J Gallo Winery and Little Dish.

Originally published at www.huckleberrypartners.com on March 10, 2016.