Going to the Real Office to Get Less Done

All optimism about being on-site aside, my week in the Real Office has been the worst of both worlds. It's like being on vacation (in that I'm not at the computer at all and away from my phone so email and voicemail are piling up and there is a ton to work through when I get back). But it's like being at work (in that I'm attending meetings all day and getting piles of things that I need to address, working through issues, and just generally being busy).

The net result is that I go home tomorrow with a bag full of dirty laundry and spend next week picking through the backlog of email and work that I haven't been doing this week. And my feet are really not happy about wearing Real Shoes all day in the Real Office.

But good things happen when you're in the Real Office, too: I got to meet a lot of new staff members we've hired in the past few months. I was able to contribute to the baby shower gift pool for one of my co-workers. I met the project manager for one of my key vendors in person for the first time after working with her for more than a year. And I'm going to be able to participate in a project finish celebration in person rather than as a vivacious disembodied head on a screen.

That seems better than sitting in my office at home having a beer at noon by myself, somehow.