Recently while I was in a hotel room in Tusayan, Arizona, the sun was coming up around 8a. The family's asleep, internal clocks still set to Eastern Time.

So was mine, but I had been online for the better part of 3 hours.

As a writer, my work travels with me to wherever my laptop-in-tow sniffs out an Internet connection. That day, that was 5 miles from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

I emailed editors back East, scheduled some interviews for when we return, written a client blog and Facebook note about our adventures and reviewed the Nikon D3100 digital SLR that's chronicled almost every moment of our trip.

A fairly full morning from a quiet hotel room

My clients often wonder aloud why I "work" while on family getaways. They chide me, though their comments are offered as gentle, constructive advice about powering down. They're not suggesting I just turn off the laptop now, but that I disconnect in the greater sense - from work while away. Absorb the vacation, they say. Get into the moment.

Twenty-two years into workshifting, almost 20 years navigating that intersection where home-based entrepreneurship meets parenthood - and just as many years spent traveling with family and work in tow - I've discovered a thing or two about getting into the moment. I realized long ago it's a deeply personal thing, ingrained into each of our DNA.

Frankly, my moment comes before the first family member stirs in the morning. By the time they'll awaken today, I'll have logged more than 1,000 words of varying sorts - both billable and non-billable. They'll be none the wiser; my clients will feel, well, if not "lucky," then thankful that I delivered their project (even though I warned them before leaving home that I would NOT be working - and IF I happened to deliver work, then that would not be an invitation for them to open the floodgates to more requests or obligations).

Workationing is about managing expectations - of family, of clients, of yourself

I don't push the issue with the family, though as the children of an entrepreneur, my kids can connect the dots between work, paycheck and vacations. As for myself, I abide by the limit we seem to have worked out here: once the family is awake, the laptop soon closes, likely until we hunker down for the night. Then my time is my own again.

So working from the road means different things to different people. To me, it's about finding balance in life and work - and frankly, I love what I do. As a writer, I enjoy the writing and editing process. I find catharsis in creativity and release in the moment I hit Send to deliver a finished product. I feel blessed that freelancing affords me the chance - or shall I say, the freedom - to pursue my career from anywhere: a hotel room near the Grand Canyon, a lodge in the Ozark Mountains, or a cruise ship in the Caribbean.

As the family awakens, it's time to power down (the laptop, not my workshifting). I still have my BlackBerry; I still get work emails and correspondence in need of response. And I respond. My family won't chide me if I peek and reply here and there.

They're OK with that.

And so am I.

Photo Credit: chrissam42

Today, I hazarded (pun intended) a quick survey of the deskscape that is my home office workspace:

An empty plastic cup. A dinner plate with the greasy smear of today's lunch of leftover pizza. A strand of dental floss. An unopened router I'm supposed to review for one of my tech pubs. A tax return ready to be mailed. Today's mail. Yesterday's mail. Yester-week's mail.

Don't even ask about my floor.

Clutter is apparently hard-coded into my DNA. I recall the sign that used to hang in my father's office (where stacks of files were on every surface, even as file cabinets sat empty): "Please don't straighten out the mess in my office. You'll confuse me and screw up my whole world."

Guess this organizationally challenged heathen didn't fall too far from that tree.

That said, I'm efficient and successful. I wish I had a buck for every time some home office guru advised, "A tidy home office is a productive place. Cleanliness is next to godliness." Last I checked, Google is much closer--and its apps have done much more for my productivity than cleanliness has. Given the confusion in my workspace, I'd be better off taking advice from Waste Management.

Let this home office contrarian share two cents of advice found beneath the sofa cushions and the terrier that rests atop them:

• My home office is just that--my home office. So is your home office yours. Find your own rhythm clutter-wise. Sweat is better expended on billable stuff.
  
  
• My space, my rules. I've been working from a successive line of cluttered home offices since 1989, and I don't recall getting pink-slipped because my space would fail an OSHA inspection. There've been baby toys and play pens in the mix, too, at times. (That's another taboo, having kids in the home office, sages say. Well, one's now in college and two are in grade school, and they seem pretty well adjusted, thank you very much).
  
  
• Personal hygiene is no barometer. I was Facebooking with a fellow home officer who said he knew business development was slow when his scruff had grown thick. Frankly, I'm just the opposite--my beard grows thick when I'm busy.
  
  
• Watch out for the video conference requests. Recently, another friend (not a workshifter) scheduled a Skype video call with me. Unshaven, hair disheveled, and wearing a tank top, I was in no mood for such nonsense, but I threw on a hat and obliged him anyway (with the camera conveniently tilted to avoid the sight of my home office floor).
  
  
• Forget the pretense. I work from home, and all my friends and clients know this. Back 10 years ago or so, I would never leave the home in anything less than nice shorts and t-shirts. Now, I leave with no care at all about my attire. Those who know me don't care. For those who don't know me, I don't care.
  
  
• Friday will come. That's the day I generally clean the home office: transfer dishes to the kitchen, ditch detritus, file or shred papers, empty the garbage can. Which Friday this happens, I'm not sure. But one always comes along just as I'm feeling sufficiently motivated to clean.

Truth be told, professional organizers have a point in their calls for cleaner workspaces. For most, cleanliness is probably a good thing, if you want focus and productivity and all that. There's a lot to be said for the sanitary and even hypo-allergenic benefits of a space kept clean.

But I realized long ago that work is an intensely personal thing.

So, until the webcam becomes standard issue, clutter is OK--just make sure the cam's tilted up a few degrees and your secret will remain safe.

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Beall

Sorry Basecamp. Stay away QuickBooks. No thanks, Harvest, because I'm a paper girl at heart. Maybe it's my roots with my dad's old college typewriter, the non-electric one in which you had to pound the keys one by one so that the work of writing was truly work.

Or maybe it's because I just can't figure out why I should go to the cloud to track an expense I can just as easily mark down in my (big paper) calendar.

Yes, I know--these online programs don't just track stuff; they make it easy to sort, file, and make pretty reports. And they let the entire team track timelines, tasks, milestones, and budgets. They're systems--they're just not my system.

For all the systems out there, I haven't found one that is easier for me than "me, paper, and pen."

I crave simplicity.

I was on the #solopr tweet chat the other day when the question arose:

What do you use to track clients/campaign progress and keep it all straight? Paper? Software? Project management tools?

Here's the surprising thing: Apparently I'm not alone. A lot of the workshifters on the tweet chat said they similarly use paper for more than you might think given our early adopter status and propensity to tweet, chat, comment, and like stuff.

Kate Robins called us "neo-Luddites" (I think her exact phrase was neo-Luddites are great thinkers.) I'd define a neo-Luddite as a techie with one hand still holding a pen.

There's a reason Moleskine notebooks are so popular.

Are you a neo-Luddite?

Photo Credit: C.C. Chapman

"I've developed a new philosophy... I only dread one day at a time." - Charlie Brown (Charles Schulz)

Up to 90% of all visits to the doctor are for stress-related symptoms and the major cause of stress is worry. We all know that worrying serves no purpose, but that doesn't make it easy to stop a worry habit. Here are 9 techniques for worry busting:

Swap worrying time for thinking time

Nuroscientists have proven that worry is worse than useless when it comes to resolving big problems--it is counterproductive. Worry impairs our reasoning abilities. If you have a big worry, think about it instead. Get into problem solving mode. It helps enormously to talk to someone else while problem solving rather than to try to do so in your thoughts alone.

Walk down the memory lane of your previous worries.

Can you remember what you were worried about this time last year? If you can actually remember them, which were worth the worry? Remember the old saying: "Today is the tomorrow that we worried about yesterday."

Brainstorm all your worries

Brainstorm all your worries, big and little. Now for each worry write down what you can do about it. Don't just sit there worrying--do something about it!

Accept the worry

Accept the worry when it is beyond your control.

Write your worries down

Write your worries down and ask a friend to read each one out loud. As they do so, ask them to role-play the worry. They should act as if they are you, and you play the devil's advocate to challenge each worry. The aim of the game is for you to have the final say as the devil's advocate. The purpose of this is to retrain your mind into positive, solution-led thinking.

Play with your worry voice

Play with your worry voice. Give the voice a character with a life.

For the sake of illustration, I like to call mine Dobby (after the negative little house-elf from Harry Potter). Now try having a conversation with Dobby, who might start off like this:

"But master, what if the Dark Lord comes tonight?" Hear Dobby's high-pitched, little whiny voice, see his big ears and his wringing hands. He's a bit ridiculous, isn't he? How would Harry Potter respond to Dobby?

How will you respond to your Dobby equivalent? Give him a bloomin' good kicking, that's how. Kick that Dobby voice NOW!

Turn the volume up and down

Turn the volume on the worry voice up and down, change the pitch of the voice, get it to sing. How about getting the voice to sing its lyrics to the tune of Kylie Minogue's "I Should Be So Lucky"? Once you've had a good old play, go back to the volume and turn it right down until you can't hear that worry voice at all!

Halt the repetitive worry cycle

When your worries become almost mechanical, with a rhythm that goes on and on (when you're getting the same thoughts again and again), do something physical or just plain daft. Here are a few ideas:

• Run up and down the stairs.
  
  
• Snap an elastic band on your wrist--ouch!
  
  
• Sing the alphabet backwards in the style of Pavarotti.
  
  
• Touch your tongue to your nose, wiggle your ears, raise one eyebrow, try a handstand (best done at home rather than at work for this one). Just do something physical that requires some concentration. I bet you can't worry at the same time!

The possibilities are endless; the key is to get out of your own way!

Perform a worry autopsy

Write down what you are worried about in a notebook. What is the worst that could happen because of these worries?

• Think about how you would handle this worst-case scenario.
  
  
• Decide where you have control over this worry. What can you do to reduce the chances of this worry becoming a reality? Where can you take action?
  
  
• Look at the worrisome thoughts that you feel you can't take any action on. Which of these have you inflated or distorted? Which have little basis in reality?
  
  
• Write opposites or alternatives to the worrisome thoughts.
  
  
• Learn the alternatives by heart. Each time you catch yourself worrying replace the original worry with the new positive thought.

Photo Credit: Photo Plod

As an admittedly and often frenzied workshifter and project manager, I have many conflicting priorities - which, by definition - all take priority! So, I often find myself turning to personal growth and guidance techniques for solace from the chaos, and routines and rituals to help me stay productive. In a recent article by career consultants, Three Giant Leaps, I was reminded that:

"Before you can become who you are meant to be, you need to sift through who you have been. So much of what you need to know about the next steps to a better career future can be uncovered in your history."

I could not agree more, and this statement would also resonate with anyone who spends time in self-reflection ...but, it led me to wondering how many of my fellow workshifters consciously chose [or in some cases, lobbied for ] this particular modus operandi based on their past experiences in the traditional workplace. Whether one had a corner office or cubicle, was a high profile executive or grunt worker - surely we all reached a point where we just knew. We knew that the road to productivity was not only open from 9am to 5pm; we knew that just one ounce of flexibility could lead to gallons of extra output, and we knew that sometimes, we could place life/family/fun before work but not necessarily at the expense of it.

There is no shame in knowing oneself, what works, what does not and having the courage to create a new model for yourself against societal norms. Because, it all comes down to one fundamental truth: if you heed , respect and nurture your best working environment, then your output will reflect your best work - and any employer/contractor should want nothing less.

How did you know that your next step was workshifting?

Photo Credit: Lachlan Hardy

Have you heard about the study published in the March issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior that found the eroding boundary between work and family life takes a greater toll on women than men?

That's right - while some see workshifting as a woman's best friend, the study found that the constant availability via cell phone or email adds more stress to their lives, instead of decreasing it.

Paul Glavin, a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of Toronto, led a team that looked at the emotional aspects of the balancing act between work and home. They surveyed 1,000 working men and women and found that women who were contacted frequently by work while away from the office reported feeling higher levels of psychological distress than men who were contacted frequently.

Turns out the study showed that it's not that women didn't have the chops to handle both roles. It's that they felt guilty about having the roles blurred.

"Initially, we thought women were more distressed by frequent work contact because it interfered with their family responsibilities more so than men," said Glavin. "However, this wasn't the case. We found that women are able to juggle their work and family lives just as well as men, but they feel more guilty as a result of being contacted. This guilt seems to be at the heart of their distress."

I assume the guilt has a lot to do with the "traditional" mother and wife roles that were (and still are) assigned to women. As a result there is likely more guilt associated with the fear of not meeting those expectations - regardless of whether they are verbalized or not, or whether work contact at home actually hindered either of those roles.

I'm wondering also if it has a lot to do with setting unrealistic expectations, both on the home and the work front.

What do you think? Have you experienced these feelings of guilt? If so - how have you dealt with them? And what about those workshifting couples out there - have you noticed that your partner handles stress differently than you do?

Photo Credit: Surreal Sways

Did you know that hospitals have great wifi?

Granted, a hospital is a weird place to workshift. But it can be done. Of course, I don't recommend a steady dose of it, because it tends to mean that you or someone you love is stuck in one. In my case: my mom. Without delving into the details, suffice it to say she was in the ICU for a week and in the hospital for two.

I've written in the past about how to avoid work pitfalls when you get sick. When someone close to you is in the hospital, however, you have to adjust to that, too. It's just not in the same way.

Here are my 5 tips for workshifting from the ICU:

1. Assess the Limitations. As workshifters, we're used to typing away in unusual venues and talking business in sub-optimal places. I even initiated a client call once when I was in a bar (disclosure: I was hosting an event, and I did give the client a heads up about the timing). But the ICU is not a place where you should be making or taking phone calls.
   
   
2. Give Clients (or Bosses) a Heads Up. Clients don't need (or want) the nitty gritty details, but they do need to know your schedule's in some flux. I was supposed to be setting up interviews for one project; we negotiated what had to be done and what could be postponed a week. (It helps to have great clients.)
   
   
3. There's a Human "Need to Know," Too. It's useful for clients and bosses to know your head isn't fully in the game. It's okay. We're human, and it happens. We just have to share that fact with other people from time to time.
   
   
4. Think Pen and Paper. There were enough machines in the ICU without my computer to get in the way. I used a pen and paper to draft several blog posts and work on some client stuff.
   
   
5. Books Are Good. I had a book review to write, which meant a book to read. The ICU is a quiet place to catch up on reading. I also used my Google Reader app to skim through posts on my Droid.

Yes, I did put the wifi to good use--after my mom was moved to a regular medical ward. (She's now back home recovering.) And I discovered that the cafeteria serves a good breakfast, making me wonder if it might be a good place to hang out and get some work done in the future. That is, if I hadn't already decreed that my family should boycott hospitals for a while.

Where's the craziest place you've workshifted lately?

Photo Credit: nerissa's ring

I remember the days when I used be able to go to work early and stay late. I'd wake up naturally to the sun peeking into my room, jump in the shower and get ready for work. Now that I'm a full-time working mom, my mornings and evenings are a bit different. It's more like a Barnum & Bailey production with me as the ringmaster. Well, perhaps it's my son who is the ringmaster. Either way, it's certainly a circus and probably entertaining enough to be a new reality show on Bravo or TLC.

Our nanny doesn't arrive until 8 AM, so I can't head out the door and start my day any sooner. Then, I have to get out of the office early enough to relieve our nanny and try and spend some quality time with my son before his bedtime - no easy task with a hectic workload. During the first few months of leaving the office with time to do that, I found myself quietly grabbing my keys and walking the furthest route to the door in order to leave undetected. I didn't want the potential glares and grumbles from co-workers as I strolled out of the building at 4 PM. So I'd slink off and hear the run-down of my son's day, play until his bedtime, and then go back to work in my home office. So why did I feel like my walk to the car at 4 PM was something to be ashamed of? I was getting my work done; it just wasn't in the traditional 9-5 time period.

Let's get real here for a second here, though. Workshifting is a privilege and not a right. Of course there will be some people who abuse it. Heck, maybe even more than some. But that shouldn't ruin it for others, who truly care about their job and need more flexibility to create a proper work-life balance. There are far too many remote access and online meeting tools out there to be confined to your office building. When I tell people about my schedule and situation I usually get an expression of shock, envy, or both. But I keep saying to these people, working from home doesn't have to be reserved for online survey takers, ad clickers, or cold callers. It's just another option and tool that everyone should be able to have. Perhaps employers and organizations need to think less about the potential abuse and more about making life easier for their employees. I no longer look at my departure as a walk of shame, but rather something I've earned over time and am proud of doing.

What do you think holds companies back from allowing their employees to workshift?

Photo Credit: dcmetropeople

"The most expensive thing you will ever own is your ego."

These wise words were spoken to me several years ago by one of my mentors. Workshifting doesn't exempt us from working with others and in many cases places a premium on our ability to build relationships in non-traditional work environments.

One of the biggest hurdles to working with others is ego. I have seen more than one business fail because the owners, employees, or customers had ego problems. Small things that could have been remedied with a little humility and perspective cost them everything. Here are four indicators of an unhealthy ego. Learning how to spot these things will save time, money, and most of all, relationships.

1. Me-monster - I borrowed this term from Brian Regan. If a person's ego is bloated, they will talk about themselves too much. We've all seen that guy that turns every conversation into a story about him. Healthy egos listen more than they talk. Go [here] to listen to Brian talk about me-monsters.
   
   
2. Resent other peoples' recognition - Unhealthy ego's hate it when others get the recognition it feels like it deserves. Resentment and hurt is felt instead of congratulations. Healthy egos do the right thing and don't care who gets the credit.
   
   
3. Unteachable - One of the first signs of a hazardous ego is when people stop learning. When you become unteachable you stop growing and think there is nothing new to learn. Learning is a sign of humility, which is a cornerstone of a properly aligned ego.
   
   
4. Critical of others - De-edifying and criticizing people instead of complementing and encouraging is a sure symptom. Tearing down of others happens because inflated egos like to judge people and their actions. Being secure in one's identity removes the need to compare yourself to others.

Successful workshifting is dependent on strong relationships among all the parties involved and great relationships hinge upon healthy egos. Have you dealt with any unhealthy egos in your organization? How did you remedy them?

Photo Credit: marioanima

The capacity to see the "big picture" is an essential skill for any emerging or existing leader, and the ability to connect concepts and see beyond immediate constraints the keystone to both professional and personal success. Having spent the past year of my life transitioning to a more flexible schedule and workshifting culture, never before had I been more challenged to juggle multiple tasks, schedules and both client and personal demands. My world certainly "shifted" - of that I am certain! Transitioning from the tunnel vision of my former full-time career to the open windows of the workshifitng world, I have been constantly challenged to find alternative ways of approaching almost every opportunity and responsibility placed before me.

And, since workshifters are essentially CEOs of their own career path, many of the same big picture skills which apply to the CEO of a large organization apply to us, as well.

1. Expand Your Focus: while you will want to singularly focus on any one responsibility or client's needs at a time, expanding your focus to encompass clients, opportunities and approaches that you may not have before nor otherwise considered is a wise skill to possess. Seek parallels to your current strengths in any new projects which present themselves - although you may not have done anything similar before, there could be strong parallels in what it takes to accomplish this seemingly new situation to many of the things you have done successfully in the past! After all, I told myself -isn't one of the best parts of being a workshifter the ultimate flexibility of choice?
   
   
2. Cross-Pollinate: Trust me when I tell you that working on one project will inevitably and undeniably boost your skills in another. Share your strengths with yourself, if you will! As a project manager, writer and business woman, I am never ceased to be amazed at how one project will inspire me to write on a particular topic, how project management has helped me focus my writing, how interacting with clients reminds me about skills I forget I have and helps me discover new skills I want to grow...I could go on and on, infinitely, as to the cross-pollination that occurs if you are both open to it and aware of it. Increasing big picture skills means starting with yourself; if you cannot visualize beyond your immediate scope for your own tasks, you will stand no chance at helping clients or other businesses accomplish the same.
   
   
3. Bundle Your Expertise: Your expertise makes you who and what you are. Experts are always desired and required, but try not to limit your area of focus; if it becomes too small, you may never visualize the larger picture before you - not to mention the corresponding opportunities associated with it. And, much like Amazon wants you to do when it tells you, "If you like this, you may also like...," complement your own skills with either your own [smaller] expertise in another area or the expertise of someone you know to produce a really high quality solution that could not be achieved singularly!
   
   
4. Step OFF the Canvas: We cannot see the picture we are painting if we are standing right in the middle of the canvas as it is being painted. To the same end, we can never clearly see our options in their totality until we step away from the immediate situation/project/challenge and view it with a fresher and more expanded perspective.

Of one thing I am sure: the more expansive your thinking and open your mind is to new and alternative options, the greater chances you have of achieving success.

How do you translate your skills into BIG picture thinking?

Photo Credit: krossbow