The school holidays are fast approaching, indeed we have less than two weeks before my days of quiet and concentrated working are suspended for six weeks. From a family point of view I can’t wait; the kids will be out some days at a childminder and holiday clubs and we do have a lot of adventuring planned.
Juggling work and family life during the holidays isn’t however always the easiest of tasks. It has taken years however I have finally manged to work out ways in which I may balance my working hours and the needs of my clients with precious time with the kids. It sometime involves working very early mornings, very late nights and even the odd weekend but it is only for six weeks however we’ll manage.
I am fortunate in that the work that I do may largely be scheduled at whatever time suits me. Business meetings tend to take place via Skype and between us I can’t remember the last time I had to force myself into a business suit.
I know a lot of parents however who don’t have the same luxury as I do and who need to work during the day in a professional environment (by this I mean somewhere that isn’t littered with Lego traps or has background noises that make it sound like you are at the zoo). Renting an office full-time regardless of whether you have children or not may work out overly expensive, especially if you have a perfectly good office at home you may use the majority of times.
Using a serviced office such as those offered by Skyline Offices could well offer the solution to a number of problems that many who work from home have to deal with. Having nowhere suitable to hold meetings, having nowhere quiet to work when the family are at home or finding somewhere more appropriate than a hotel lobby when away for a time on business are all dealt with by renting a serviced office.
These offices come stocked with practically everything that you might need in the event of wanting or needing to work from home, with a secure wi-fi connection, numerous telephone points, relevant office furniture and chairs as requested and a number of additional devices and extras which you might need from whiteboards to printers.
I won’t pretend that I haven’t been tempted by the idea of renting out one of these offices myself in the past, especially when on a deadline. Being isolated from distractions and yet having everything I need at my fingertips could be the answer to those ridiculously busy weeks where I end up working at 2am to ensure a project has been completed fully when in reality I could have been tucked up in bed by 9pm if I’d have a distraction-free zone to work from.
Whether you are looking for a part-time office solution during the holidays, to use as and when required for special projects, when working away from your base or in the case of a colleague of mine, to be able to keep working after a recent house move with her broadband provider making her wait some time for a connection a serviced office could be just the thing.
*Written in co-operation with the mentioned business