So as many of you know, I left Bank of America and took a contract with IBM’s Lotus forms UX team. The position is based out of Durham but I live some 150 miles away just north of Charlotte. Luckily the fine folks at IBM allowed me to work from home.

Initially I was really unsure how this was going to work. I had concerns that being at home would be too distracting and that I would struggle to keep productive. I’m happy to say that concern was unfounded. What I discovered was that without the hassles of getting ready for work and driving into the office I was more focused and productive.

However what I do miss is the interactions between colleagues that you have in a traditional office environment. I like impromptu work discussions and the ability to get to know your coworkers on a more personal level. Granted you can do the same in a distributed work environment but I’m used to having most of the team in one location and a few members remote. It’s quite a different experience when I am one of the remote members.  So far it’s been a good learning experience.

Oh yes, I miss my chair. Bank of America had us sitting in Herman Miller Aeron Chairs. My home office chair isn’t nearly so nice.