A couple weeks ago, while workshifting from a Starbucks in New York City, I decided to take the plunge and try a Hoffacino. You're probably wondering what the heck a Hoffacino is all about, so I'll take a second to fill you in. Chris Hoff, security and cloud guru, came up with this custom Starbucks drink and it's slowly started to develop a following (at least it seems like it according to my twitter timeline).
Here's how you order it:
    Venti Starbucks Doubleshot on ice
    6 shots (espresso)
    3 Splenda
    No classic (syrup)
    Breve
So, what do you think? It sounds a little crazy, right? Well, I can assure you it's not just crazy, but also very delicious. It's not for the faint of heart (ba-dum-cha!) but if you like espresso and a caffeine rush I sincerely recommend you give it a whirl.

The thought had crossed my mind to write a personal blog post about the ordering/drinking experience (like these), but while mulling it over I decided it would be even better to share it with the workshifting community. You guys and gals spend your days at home, in coffee shops, at hotels and countless other places, and I bet you enjoy a higher than average beverage quotient, I know I do.

Without further ado, here are some of my favorite drinks (in no particular order):

-    Water (<10 cals):Sometimes there's nothing better than an ice cold glass of water to quench your thirst, especially in this summer heat. If you're not a big fan of water you can try adding a squeeze of lemon or lime juice or get those powder add-ins to give it a little splash of flavor. You should never forget this fundamental fluid of life; it does wonders for my productivity.

-    Smoothie (400ish cals, varies by ingredients): You might be surprised by how easy it is to make healthy shakes on a regular basis. I've been experimenting with Alton Brown's Buff Smoothie recipe and choosing different fruit combinations with quite pleasant results. I even shared my own Red Bull themed incarnation a few months ago. What's great about the recipe is you prep the night before and just do a quick blend in the morning. I take it on the road with me as a healthy breakfast and it sure beats a donut or bagel.

-    Toffee Nut Java Chip Frappuccino (350-600 cals): Sometimes when I'm on the go and get a craving for a dessert/coffee/chocolate fix, this is the drink I reach for. As with most Frappuccinos, it's high in calories, but you could order it as a Frappuccino Light to make it healthier. The toffee nut syrup is the perfect complement to the chocolate chips and coffee. Once you try it, you'll be hooked.

-    Iced Green Tea (90 cals): It's hard to resist the lure of the Free Wi-Fi at your local Panera and when I'm not in the coffee/soda mood I usually grab for their Iced Green Tea. It's definitely on the sweet side and is more akin to soda (minus the carbonation), but is a nice change of pace.

I'm always interested in new locales and new drinks, so I'd love to hear about your go to drinks.


Photo Credit: John Flinchbaugh

Where you work.
 
I know, I know--a cubicle is a far cry from a jail cell, but there are some similarities.  People who are outside of both are happier.

Telework Research Network reports that 41% of workers who have the option to workshift are "very satisfied" with their jobs, compared to only 27% of those who are office bound.*  And other research suggests that more virtual employees are "engaged" than their peers who work with their entire team present (34% vs. 28%).**

Clothing choices
When you work from home, you can wear what you want--that includes your most embarrassing (and comfortable) pair of sweatpants, something you'd never be caught dead in at work.

This flexibility, along with the other work-life balance benefits of workshifting, can secure your company the best, most talented employees, since 72% of employees say flexible work arrangements would cause them to choose one job over another.***

Driving to work.
 
Spare yourself the bird, please.  Workshifting saves you a headache and could take 10 million cars off the road, if a workshifting policy was in place in the U.S.  It's estimated this policy could also prevent over 95,000 traffic injuries and deaths, save over $11 billion in accident costs, and lower highway maintenance costs almost $2 billion a year.**

Now, let's put the brakes on for that!  Are you in?



I have to give credit where credit is due.  The concept of these graphics comes from Indexed (http://thisisindexed.com/). The ideas, however, were all me--so I'll take the blame for that.
*Lister, Kate. Workshifting Benefits: The Bottom Line. Telework Research Network, 2010.
**Preston, Camille, PhD. Leading Virtual Effectiveness. AIM Leadership, 2010.
***Montero, Phil. Work Unchained: Workshifting and the Competitive Edge of the Anywhere Office.  The Anywhere Office, 2010.
 

One of the terrific things about workshifting is having the option to play music while you work.  I'm not talking about that elevator music businesses pipe in to "improve the customer experience."  I mean the songs you really enjoy, get you moving, block out distractions and keep you productive.

When I worked in a traditional office, music wasn't really allowed.  Discussions about playing music would involve huge conversations about appropriate work music and people's individual tastes.  Some people like hip-hop, some don't.  Many like country, many don't.  And while there are lots of articles about the Mozart effect, after a few plays, people were always looking for something livelier.  (No offense to Wolfgang.)

The other thing that came up in music conversations was making sure music would not create a distraction.  Especially if you're working with things that could hurt you.  For example, when I worked in hotels, many executive chefs didn't allow music in the kitchen.  Not because they were mean or didn't like music, but they were concerned that employees would be focused on music and possibly injure themselves during mise en place.

So when a while back, one of my fave bloggers - Paul Smith at Welcome to the Occupation - wrote a couple of posts titled "Songs about Work" and "Son of Songs about Work", it reminded me that listening to music while I work is one of the best parts of my work day.  And since I'm working from home, no one can really hear it and I can play whatever I want.

As loud as I want.

This morning, I downloaded "Clubbed to Death" by Rob Dougan and thought it might be fun to create our own Workshifting playlist.  Let us know in the comments...

What kind of music are you listening to while workshifting? 

What's your favorite song right now?


Photo Credit: Orcytes

As a workshifter, I work everywhere. I work at home, I work in the car, at a shopping mall, and even in the office. After arriving home from the office recently I realized I left my precious blackberry sitting on my desk. The office is 24 miles from my house.  That's not a quick, turn around and get what I forgot. And it was such a long Monday... I couldn't even face the possibility of driving all the way back just to get my phone. So I buckled down for a night of withdrawal.


Phase 1: Panic
I do admit, I panicked when I realized I didn't have my BlackBerry. It doubled when I realized that if I were to choose sanity, I would not have my phone for the evening. Commence deep breathing techniques. In.... Out. In.... Out. I. Can. Do. This. But what if there's an emergency?

Phase 2: Denial
No one calls me. No really. I never pick up my phone. I don't need my phone. It's just a phone for goodness' sake, Erica!

Phase 3: Depression
I do need it. I don't exist without it. No really. I don't exist. What if someone needs to reach me immediately? What if in my travels tomorrow my car breaks down? What else will I do when stopped in gridlock, how will I get my fix in the Dunkin Donuts parking lot? What will I use to tell the time? I need my BlackBerry. I am nothing without it.

Phase 4: Acceptance
Wait a second... Erica, you still have your laptop. And access to email. The best way to get in touch with you. It'll be a short 13 hours and then my BlackBerry and I will be reunited. And for now, I'll relax with a nice glass of wine and watch mindless television without, for once, my BlackBerry interrupting. I'll just be using my laptop instead ;)

Do you have any withdrawal stories?

Today is a special day around here for the Workshifting team because it's our first birthday!  Yay!  When we launched this project last year we didn't know where it would take us but in the past year we have been fortunate enough to have gained a great group of contributors and a ridiculously awesome community.  

Over the past 12 months we've shared over 200 blog posts (subscribe!), 1,600 tweets (follow us!), hundreds of updates over on Facebook (like us!) and tens of thousands of links in Google.  I've spent some time digging up our most popular content over the past year, just in case you missed some of it.  The nice aspect of workshifting is that though some of this content is a year old, it is still relevant now.  So, here are our top 10 posts, in order of popularity, of the past year:

• Board Room or Bored Room 
• How I Convinced My Boss to Let Me Become a Workshifter
• Don't Be "That Guy" While Workshifting
• What Does Gen Y Want from the Workforce
• Why You Need to Know About the Telecommuter Tax Fairness Act
• Five Things in My Work Bag
• Generation "Y Do I Have to Work from the Office?"
• Lifestyle Design Tips that Rock Stars Can Teach You 
• 7 Considerations for Setting Up a Home Office
• 5 Sites for Better Flights
  

So what's next for Workshifting? Over the next year we're looking forward to adding more contributors (want to become one?), providing more resources, hold a few meetups (hopefully internationally) to meet you, and a few other ideas that are being worked on in a top-secret, undisclosed workshifting location.

Besides what we're already up to, we also want to know how we can be most helpful to you over the next year.  Let us know in the comments below what you want to see from Workshifting in the coming months and years.

We hope that you continue to join us for this ride and thank you for everything over the past year!

Happy birthday workshifters!

Photo Credit: Omer Wazir

It may be a guy thing, but I love spy thrillers. Who hasn't dreamt of being James Bond, Jack Bauer, Mitch Rapp, or Austin Powers?  Today I wanted to share with you The Jason Bourne Guide to Workshifting.  Sure, his methods are sometimes a little difficult to duplicate and he does work alone most of the time, but I think the results speak for themselves.  Here are three universal keys to successful web commuting that we can learn from Jason Bourne a.k.a David Webb.

Have A Go Bag
Never leave home without your gear.  Bourne always has the right tools to complete his mission. Guns? Check. Passports? Check. Currency? Check? Sat Phone? Check.  I like to call them go bags.  Go bags carry the essential equipment we need to get things done while workshifting.  Simplicity is the goal here. Most of the time we don't need as much as we think we do. For a few tips on what to pack, check out what's inside Chris Brogan's work bag and AJ Leon's gear bag. Most software tools we use can be found in the cloud, but having the right hardware will make all the difference.

Blend Into Your Environment
We have all seen him.  You know, the guy who sets up central command in Barnes & Noble. When working from a remote location, fly under the radar.  Bourne blends into his surroundings by adapting his environment. We can do this by mirroring our surroundings.  Leslie Poston does a great job discussing how to do this in her "Don't be that guy" post.

Keep Moving
One thing about Jason is he stays on the move.  Working in multiple locations helps us stay fresh.  Working in the same spot can make us less focused.  Try changing locals from time to time, it will help you be more creative. I have a friend that changes his spot at least twice a day to help him shift mental gears. We all have our favorite spots to set up camp but a change of scenery helps us stay out of ruts and prevents burnout.  

We may never be international men and women of mystery or secret operatives but we can learn to work with the agility and efficiency of a Jason Bourne. What do you do to stay efficient and mobile when working?


Photo Credit: Perry_Marco

Today's post is from Kristin Taylor who works in corporate communications for Citrix Systems and is part of a global virtual team. 

Today we have a guest post from Brent LaSala who is Citrix Online workshifter.

Recently I had the privilege of workshifting with Eric Bensley, a good friend and co-worker at Citrix Online.   As a permanent workshifter based in San Francisco, this was a rare opportunity to assess the dynamics of working from home with a teammate.  Needless to say, there were a few lessons learned.
 
Eric arrived at my apartment Monday morning around 10:30am, just as my alarm was going off... Only kidding, David (my boss), it was more like 7:30am.  We cooked a delicious egg scramble because we're a couple of well-rounded, domesticated gentlemen that function best with high blood sugar levels.  It's not relevant to my post, but let's face it, cooking your own meals is a major workshifting perk that keeps extra change in the piggybank and adipose tissue off your finely sculpted abdomen.
 
The day started out great.  We were energized, excited for the work day, and before long were bouncing (brilliant?) ideas off one another while pounding coffees.  By about lunchtime we noticed a few 'home-dwelling' behaviors/sounds not ideally suited for a prosperous work environment.  A knowing glance of discomfort, coupled with some form of verbal outcry was typically enough to relay a message of disapproval.  Video production is a small hobby of mine, so by about the 4 o'clock hour we were inspired to make the following tutorial on workshifting etiquette, only 'slightly' exaggerated.  Hope you enjoy!

One of the comments on my last post (Is telecommuting good or bad for the environment?) got me thinking about the various different ways we refer to people who don't work in traditional office settings.

It seems as though the number of terms increases almost as quickly as the number of people who enter this type of working arrangement. I started putting together a list of a few of the descriptors that seem to appear most frequently (I'm sure you will have others to add):

• Workshifter
• Mobile worker
• Road warrior
• Digital nomad
• Telecommuter
• Teleworker 
• Home office executive
• Remote worker
• Nomad worker
• Digital worker
• At-home workers
  

While many of the terms are used interchangeably, like "teleworker "and "telecommuter," others clearly have different meanings. Road warrior, for example, is someone who travels extensively for business - much like George Clooney's character in the movie Up in the Air.  A home office executive, on the other hand, would be someone who works exclusively from home. 

The question of terminology of course becomes interesting when trying to measure the number of people who telecommute, how this is changing over time and how it is impacting our culture. Let's say for example, you are trying to measure the impact of Workshifters on something like home office supplies. How can you be sure you are comparing apples to apples when so many people define Workshifters in so many different ways?

How can we even measure the number of people who are telecommuting if we don't have an overarching term or "guidelines" to qualify you for this category?

It appears that the Bureau of Census attempts to count us Workshifters by determining how many people "primarily" work from home. That clearly doesn't encompass someone who is primarily on the road. Shouldn't this type of person be classified as a telecommuter, too? (Note:  I contacted the Census Bureau Public Information Office to learn more details about how they will be counting Workshifters in the 2010 Census, but have not yet heard back as of this posting.)

What do you think? Should there be a set way to classify people who work outside of traditional office environment? Or, is it impossible to reach a consensus on these terms, since the "best" definition of telecommuting most often depends on your own point of reference?

Photo Credit: eshm

Today Zack Grossbart stops by to take a different take on distractions and focus.  Zack is the author of the upcoming book The One Minute Commute and writes over on his blog.  Zack focuses much of his writing on exploring how to build distributed teams using best practices from the high-tech industry.

Everyone knows that distractions make it more difficult to stay focused, but sometimes they make it easier. Have you ever fallen asleep during a long phone meeting? My father (a practicing psychologist) told me how distractions can make it easier to stay focused on the telephone.

When you talk with someone face-to-face you are getting a huge amount of information. Telephone conversations give your brain the audio information, but not the visual information. When it doesn't get the visual information from the conversation it will look for it somewhere else. Give your brain something more to do. Other people can tell when you lose focus on the phone conversation.

Use small distractions to help you stay focused:

• Visual distractions help you focus. Don't watch a movie (that is too distracting), but some low-key Internet browsing can work well.
• Do something with your hands. Play with a desk toy, pass a ball back and forth, knit, anything that you can do mindlessly.
• Walk around. Exercise is good for your brain and movement helps you focus.

Giving yourself small distractions while you are on conference calls will help you stay focused and be more productive.

Do you have a good idea for staying focused on the phone? Post a comment and let other people know.

Photo by: Robert Banh