Working environments. A friend recently shared this article from The Christian Science Monitor called: “Why America loves its office culture.” After graduating from college I worked in an office, then we moved to Portland and I worked from home for nearly a decade. I am now working in an office again. Which do I prefer?

I like both options. Working from home I would roll out of bed in my pajamas, make tea, and rev up the laptop to start my day. I always wanted to get up and do all these things before I started my day, but for some reason I was like a magnet to my laptop. I found my mornings were usually those of the liquid diets. After my tea, I had a green smoothie, and after that coffee. By then it was lunch time. I have to say I was VERY productive working from home. Which is interesting because this article just came out from Fast Company titled: “Working From Home Makes You More Productive.” There are some interesting statistics in the article that companies should look at to see if telecommuting should be an option for employees when possible.

Now I am up at 5:30/6:00 am and have my green smoothie, post my blog, check emails, and shower and am off to work. I like my morning routine. I am not sure why it was so hard to get up and have my own “personal time” routine when I worked from home. I guess it was easier to roll over and close my eyes again and again since I did not have to worry about traffic. Or, a shower.

That is my morning routine. You care right? So what I loved about working from home was how much I was able to get done. I was never one to do home stuff or watch television. Everyone always asked how I was able to stay focused. I always had so much to do that I never had time to think about distractions from home. I loved the quiet and the focus I could have in my own space. But. Yes, there is a but. I missed being around people. Sure I would often be on conference calls all day long, but it is just not the same.

Now that I am back in an office I love the interaction and face-to-face time with other people. I love the people I work with, everyone is so interesting, intelligent, and I learn so much from them every day. The hardest part for me is since part of my job involves writing, it is at times hard to find the quiet mental space to write as I was more easily able to do when I worked from home. It is a balancing act in the fast paced world of the office.

Both have its pros and cons. Many people also have the best of both worlds. Some have days in the office, and days at home.

What is your preference?