Is workshifting a more effective work environment than a cubicle farm? Yes.  From an organizational basis are there financial benefits?  Yes.  Are there efficiency benefits?  Yes.  Will employees be more content and empowered with this freedom?  Yes.  There are countless benefits to a workshifting environment, but what about the individual?  What are the benefits for us?  And are we taking full advantage of them?

One of the most fundamental elements of planning any trip is where to stay.  At the moment, I am on a very long trip that, in the end, will span 3 continents and several countries.  Locating and booking affordable accommodations that provide what is important to me can become a pain sometimes.  For the past year, I have leveraged the collective wisdom of both Yelp and Foursquare to assist in these searches.  Below is a quick video post identifying the items I look for in accommodations while on workshifting trip.
 

What are the things you look for when searching for a place to stay?
 

A few years ago this discussion wouldn't be happening. It is (or was) the American Dream to buy a home and pay a boat load for it during the prime years of your life. The years when you are starting a family, have a secure job and could afford the nicely wrapped payments mixed between the two weeks of vacation you were given from your employer. Over the past two years the mindsets of many people (including myself) have changed.

For some, time has become more important than income and material things. Experiences, people and memories serve as souvenirs from a life well lived. No longer were we subject to the white picket fence that meant we had to settle down in one place for as long as possible.

In the workshifting, lifestyle design and internet business world, we are coming to a piece of mind that renting may actually be a better option to this lifestyle. Renting allows us the freedom to move from place to place, traveling the country or the world and putting our saved monies into other investments, or even in experiencing more things. A recent article from Housing Watch notes that "a mere 55% of adults say buying a home is the best investment families can make."

Personally, I still believe in the power of real estate investments. But my mindset in working from home, the beach or the park tells me that 6-12 month rentals are not only freeing mentally, but they can save you a ton of money in the short term to enjoy your time. I am not pretending to be an expert in real estate (I read everything I can get my hands on, but still get confused), but I can see that investing in a home that is depreciating faster than the interest is rising is not a good financial plan for my own future. Much like many of us have made the decision to work location independent, whether for a company or out on our own - we did it to better our situations in life.

A recent article from the LA Times echoes that fact for people in upside down mortgages as proposed by Professor Brent T. White:

Go ahead. Break the chains. Stop paying on your mortgage if you owe more than the house is worth. And most important: Don't feel guilty about it. Don't think you're doing something morally wrong.

Renting may be the answer, but maybe its not. In my own life, I am torn between these 2 worlds. There are benefits and advantages to both. What I want to do is turn the conversation over to the community and see what you think of the situation.  What do you think about the following questions:

• Are you renting or do you own a home?
• Have you thought of foreclosing, a short sale, etc?
• How do you manage your travel and work schedule with your living situation?

Let's learn from each other in this community. To buy or not to buy, that is only part of the question!

Photo Credit: Azhure

Many cubicle employees dream of being able to work from home, either for their current employer or through stretching out on their own as an entrepreneur - living the dream! In my own quest and through talking with other home bound warriors I have been thinking about some mental and psychological triggers and how that affects their performance and their growth.

Below are just some ideas around 5 Mental Workshifting Triggers that affect the way you work away from a traditional office.

Time Management

The first is a critical aspect to your success working from a non corporate office environment. How you spend your time dictates your success. Spend too much time on noncritical tasks and your paycheck, clients and output suffer. Spend too much time working on growing your business or working on tasks and you miss out of the benefits of location independent based working. There are plenty of sites and resources geared towards productivity.

This group includes:

To Do and Task Management - Remember the Milk, TaDa List, Prioritiz'd
Project Management - Bacecamp, Front Office Box
Life Hacking - Life Hacker, Zen Habits
Lifestyle Design - Four Hour Work Week, The Life Design Project, Rock Star Lifestyle Design Outsourcing - Source Control, eLance, Guru
Automation - TubeMogul, Ping.fm

Time management is something that many teach and few actually follow through. Personally I try one system every week only to play on Twitter and read RSS Feeds for hours and wake up and smell the deadlines. The best system I have found so far is the one that fits your goals and growth plans. Those that are ambitious and strive for excellence manage their time much differently than those with lackluster or passion driven goals (or those with no or undefined goals). Every person will manage their time differently from David Allen and the Getting Things Done system to the freelancer working a 9-5 and fitting in client projects with every waking minute, break and crack of free time in the day.

The end goal here is to find a system that fits within your values:

Step 1 - Define your values and goals.
Step 2 - Figure out what it will take to get there.
Step 3 - Manage your time to succeed.

Motivation

The second touch point is personal and professional motivation to perform the work. Seeing the body language and the amount of effort it takes to give and receive response, many home based workers have a tendency to be, for lack of a better synonym, lazy. Getting out of bed, putting on appropriate clothing and getting serious in your spare bedroom or makeshift office is a difficult task for many remote based workers.

How do we program ourselves to be motivated and excited to get out of bed 6 months, 12 months, 2 years after we begin working at home. The feeling you had the first week out of the office is now very distant and the same problems will begin to arise. Remember your first week on your own? Coffee was on at 6am, you ran a few miles before dawn and hopped out the shower with a crisp pair of jeans and even did your hair like you had a million dollar client meeting? Now it's 6 months down the road and the alarm snoozes till 8am. The run has turned into walking the dog to the "spot" and back and your basketball shorts and company picnic tee make your uniform look, well, you get the picture.

One of the keys to motivation is to always have something to be motivated about. If you are working from home just to get by, well, its going to be no different than mulling around in the office. If you started a company and became complacent with your clients and your income, well, then, get used to the groggy 8am wake up call. One piece of advice I got from John Jantsch (Duct Tape Marketing) is that we all need to be striving for the next thing. We all need to be treating our work like we are starting a business, the business of you. What I took from this is that we all need to be working towards "awesome" and whatever that is for you. For me it's a picture of an Audi R8 and some beach front property, right next to a picture of my wife. For me it's breaking free and living on my own terms and everyday I wake up, see these pictures, glance at my goals and get to work before the sun cracks the window.

Finding that motivation is going to be different for you and you will be inspired in different ways. The one thing I know if that we don't NEED Tony Robbins to whip us into shape, we need to find that fire deep down in ourselves and then seize the day!

Single Child Syndrome

One thing that many are not prepared for is the realization that you are working by yourself, in your home, alone. We attempt to supplement this with Twitter chat, Facebook and IM, but the fact is that human to human interaction is such a strong part of how we grow, learn and develop. Communication with people, like real, breathing people is something that helps me get through the day and can always give me a second to remember that no matter what business you are in its a people business.

Some cures for the single child syndrome can include conferences and events. The number one reason people go to large seminars and events is to meet people and learn things. They want to exchange cards, talk about their business and learn about yours. There are conferences and large scale events for every niche, every industry and every hobby on the planet. Some of the best networking for me has come from events where not everyone was a marketer. I've gone to food and restaurant trade shows and events to meet restaurant owners to talk Social Media and online marketing and as one of the only marketing agencies there I had some great conversations that were interesting and a great time that led to great relationships and ultimately business in the long run.

Possibly the newest form of live bodies in a room is the Tweetup. Get on Twitter, find some locals and find a place to hang out. Cheap, effective and very powerful for local community building. Other great sources of finding live bodies (aka not Twilight'ian vampires) Upcoming - Yahoo crowdsourced directory of goings-on in your neighborhood Eventful - Events based on location Mashable's Guide To Events.

Rotating Office Chairs

The 4th trigger is your ever changing office chair, and I don't mean the seasonal upgrade at Ikea (although that would make for a great Christmas gift if anyone is thinking of sending one my way). What I mean is the ever changing office settings from coffee shops to Panera's to makeshift home workstations to buses, planes and waiting places. When you were working in an office or going to school, you were prepared for the everyday consistency. You knew your seat, the time to be there, the people that would surround you and you basically had a routine. Now that your boss gave you some freedom or you made it on your own, your environment is no longer consistent. Even in your local coffee shop your table or chair may change, the traffic flow can fluctuate, new distractions come into play and your routine is now a routine of adjusting to your surroundings.

While you may be thinking that the freedom of choosing your workspace is awesome (and personally I think it is), there are certain time and space constraints that need to come into consideration. I for one, create a great deal of videos for my membership sites and filming screen casts are not going to happen at Panera. Other limitations can include download and upload speeds (even your home connection may not be as strong as those T1's at the old office).

The key here again to to determine your needs and evaluate locations in your hometown that match your goals and workload. For me it's a combination of working at home and in some local spots that allow me to be comfortable and get in the zone to write, record and manage my day-to-day activities. I also plan my days to fit the times at these local spots when I can best utilize their environment. For me its the post breakfast time. I find that arriving at 9am is a great time to get in some culture, then find quiet and hit the zone before the lunch rush. At home, its early mornings before my wife wakes up. I'd love to learn more about your limitations with your rotating office chair. (Share in the comments below)

Communication

The last major factor that I have been studying is the communication piece. I have found that in my companies and in many others this is still a major barrier to growth and stability. While the tools may be there, the lack of follow through and discipline inside of organizations is extremely disappointing. This can include email overhaul at the top of the list. A booking agent friend of mine sees over 200 emails from artists, other agencies, venues and major players every single day. This doesn't include the social media requests and general email. That is 200 emails that typically need a response and posiibly need it with time sensativity (a band en route needing directions or confirmation on a show time). This makes his business awfully difficult to manage even though he can work from anywhere at anytime.

Interestingly enough we live in an information society that can have answers to complex problems in a matter of seconds yet have payments sent to wrong addresses, sent to wrong people in the wrong format or miss the ball with time zones for scheduling. Communication is the number one reason businesses fail and succeed. From hiring new employees, freelancers or outsourcing - the ability to send clear and concise directions can be a major challenge. For work at home employes, being able to communicate virtually and maintain the level of activity can be very challenging out of the gate.

The best resources are only as good as the pilots using them. For my love of tools like RTM or Basecamp, if the orgization or individual fail to use them, the tools ultimately fail (or the user does, depends on whose eyes you are looking from). For many people and entrepreneurs in particular, the idea of communication while workshifting needs to be a top priority as the other elements we have talked about today fall into line if there is routine and efficient communication.

Conclusion

Today I really wanted to share some ideas and concepts that have been brewing in my head over the last few weeks. These are challenges in my own business and in businesses that I have the pleasure of learning about or working for. They all tend to be different for every business but the same in nature and the way you go about setting triggers and responses to combat the situations.

The main theme is surrounding your business and your work with actionable goals that continue to help you grow. Once you have these goals it becomes much easier to develop communication strategies, adapt to work environments, work with teams or by yourself, get motivated and manage your time. Let's talk in the comments below and see how you manage and work with these problems.

Photo by: David R. Carroll

It used to be that office = work and everywhere else = life. I listened to lots of small business owners talk about work/life balance in a focus group recently. A theme that I heard repeatedly was that there's no line between work and life now.  Workshifters have anytime access to work and the people they work with. I couldn't help but ask myself, are we losing the "life" in work/life balance? Here are two different perspectives I heard from the small biz owners group:

Work and life should be more intertwined. The most passionate business owners are those that have made work an extension of their lives. I heard from architects to book store owners about the fact that their work isn't really "work." For these people work and life happen simultaneously where one minute you're drawing blueprints for a house and the next minute you're drawing artwork for your spouse (that wasn't intended to rhyme). You really have to love what you do for this philosophy or you will burn out quickly. But for those who have this nailed down, good for you.

Set expectations and turn off. The other school of thought is that we need to keep work and life separate thus developing a balance. I fall into this group more than the other. I heard from one woman who tells her clients that she's not available on Monday or Tuesday after noon and Sunday altogether. If the client needs something they'll just have to wait. If this is your philosophy then you need to be able to turn off and hold strong. Your customers build expectations based on what you do, not what you say. If you say you don't work on Sundays then you better not answer work email on Sunday.

What do you think? What is work/life balance to you? Do you fit into either of these groups or do you have a different perspective?

Photo by: Kaitlin Shiner

Does the ability to connect with work anywhere and anytime actually improve our work-life balance? That's the question Kelly Services posed in a recent international workplace survey of 100,000 people in 34 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The study concluded that:

• 75% of respondents appreciate the opportunity provided by technology to stay in constant contact with work.
  
  
• This is despite the fact that 35% say that technology contributes to longer working hours.
  
  
• 85% say the ability to work anywhere, and at any time, is a motivating force and a better balance between work and personal life.
  

I am not overly surprised with these results. As Workshifters, we are able to take advantage of many benefits - the most obvious of which is the luxury of being able to use our laptops and smartphones to work (for the most part) wherever we want.

But despite this - or perhaps because of this - employers expect us to be available at all times, possibly even more so than our office warrior counterparts. As a result, there are very few of us who are ever more than an arm's length away from our Blackberries or iPhones.

In spite of this constant connectivity, my first year of workshifting hasn't result in a skewed work/life balance. While I haven't necessarily worked more hours than I did when I worked in an office setting, I have undoubtedly worked harder and A LOT more efficiently than I have ever done so before. There's just something about cutting out all the water cooler gossip and office shenanigans that makes the items on your to-do list get crossed off a lot quicker.
 
So, as personal communications technologies continue to evolve, how will this impact our work/life balance in the future? In his book Elsewhere, USA, sociologist Dalton Conley predicts the rise of the "intravidual." Here's how he explains it:

"Changes in three areas - the economy, the family and technology - have combined to alter the social world and give birth to this new type of American professional. This new breed - the intravidual - has multiple selves competing for attention within his/her own mind, just as, externally, she or he is bombarded by multiple stimuli simultaneously..."

Sound familiar? As professionals, our lives are dictated by multiple data streams and screens - our laptop screen, our TV screen, our smart phone screen, etc. To maintain our work/life balance, it's up to us to make sure that our "real" world doesn't get left behind.
 
What do you think? How has the evolution of personal communications technologies impacted your work/life balance?

Photo by: EngineeringDaily.net

Becky McCray comes and hangs out with us today to provide the small town workshifting perspective.  Becky is the co-owner of a retail liquor store and a cattle ranch. She publishes the popular SmallBizSurvival.com about small business and rural issues, based on her own successes and failures. She works with clients in the US and Africa on grant writing, web presence and marketing.  You can find Becky over on Twitter most days.

Once you accept the idea that you can work from anywhere, it isn't too big of a jump to realize you can make your home anywhere, too. So one step beyond workshifting, is what you could call lifeshifting: live where you want, and work worldwide.

For me, that means working from a small town. I'm far from the major tech enclaves, but right where I want to be. For you, it might be moving nearer to family, to a part of the country you love, or really, just about anywhere in the world. That likely means a smaller town, too. You know the tools and tactics that let you work from where ever you like; how can you extend that to living where ever you like? Here are just a few of the practical considerations, especially if you're looking at a smaller town.

If you're thinking of relocating, be sure to check into the availability of high speed internet. Although it may seem universally accessible, once you get more remote than the suburbs, coverage isn't guaranteed. You also have to watch out for coverage gaps, and places where what the provider claims is covered isn't quite what is actually available. You'd rather find out about any access problems before you buy, rather than after. 

Workshifters working from small towns also have to make back up plans for internet access. What will you do when the satellite service goes down, or you have to wait weeks for a repair to your phone line? That means seeking out all your local public wifi and internet sources. Most public libraries, even in small towns, offer either internet terminals or wifi access, or both. Also check around for motels with wifi that will permit you to work in a pinch; make friends with managers before you need their help! And yes, you might even check out the local coffee shops.

Workshifters know the feeling of being isolated by not working in a traditional office. They fight it by working in coffee shops, scheduling in person meetings, and co-working at events like Jelly. Workshifters face an even more intense isolation in small towns. It's hard to hold an effective Jelly in a town of 250 people. Networking online takes on the more serious purpose of replacing that in-person contact. You can also make local connections that are not necessarily tech related. Look for the local chamber of commerce or civic organizations. As a bonus, it's easier to get involved and make a difference in a small town.

Get to know which shipping companies are best for your locale. In my hometown of Alva, Oklahoma, for example, UPS is the primary package service. FedEx is slower to get deliveries here the city folks expect, and there isn't a drop off point, so forget about shipping via FedEx without driving almost an hour. So I have to let people know that before they send me a package, or it will take longer than they expect. 

Those are just a few of the small town workshifting issues. I'd love to hear your own stories and suggestions of how you can live where you want, but work all over the world.

Photo by: StevenM_61